Cuban cuisine

As a result of the colonization of Cuba by Spain, one of the main influences on the cuisine is from Spain.[2] Other culinary influences include the Taíno, the indigenous people of Cuba, Africa, from the Africans who were brought to Cuba as slaves, and French, from the French colonists who came to Cuba from Haiti.[3] Another factor is that Cuba is an island, making seafood something that greatly influences Cuban cuisine. Another contributing factor to Cuban cuisine is that Cuba is in a tropical climate, which produces fruits and root vegetables that are used in Cuban dishes and meals.[4]

A typical meal consists of rice and beans, cooked together or apart. When cooked together the recipe is called "congri" or "Moros" or "Moros y Cristianos" (black beans and rice). If cooked separately it is called "arroz con frijoles" (rice with beans) or "arroz y frijoles" (rice and beans).[5]

A typical Cuban sandwich

A Cuban sandwich (sometimes called a mixto, especially in Cuba[6][7]) is a popular lunch item that grew out of the once-open flow of cigar workers between Cuba and Florida (specifically Key West and the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa) in the late 19th century and has since spread to other Cuban American communities.[8][9][10]

The sandwich is built on a base of lightly buttered Cuban bread and contains sliced roast pork, thinly sliced Serrano ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles, and yellow mustard. In Tampa, Genoa salami[11] is traditionally layered in with the other meats, probably due to the influence of Italian immigrants who lived side by side with Cubans and Spaniards in Ybor City.[12] Tomatoes and lettuce are available additions in many restaurants, but these are considered by traditionalists as an unacceptable Americanization of the sandwich.[6][13]

After assembly, the Cuban sandwich may be pressed in a grooveless panini-type grill called a plancha, which both heats and compresses the contents.[6]

Two Cuba Libres

• Batido – Milkshake coming in flavors such as guanabana and trigo (wheat)
• Cafe Cubano – Cuban espresso
• Cuba Libre – Rum, Coca-Cola, sugar, and lime
• Daiquiri – Rum, Lime, syrup (variations with fruit)
• El Presidente
• Guarapo – juice made from pressed sugar cane
• Hatuey beer
• Ironbeer
• Malta (soft drink) – malt beverage
• Materva
• Mojito – Rum, mint, sugar, lime, and club soda
• Jupiña – pineapple soda
• Cortadito – Cuban espresso and steamed evaporated milk
• Carajillo – Cuban Espresso, Liquor 43
• Cuban Piña colada – Aged rum, lime, pineapple, and sugar

• Caribbean cuisine
• Flattop grill

• Aróstegui, Gonzalo, et al.: Manual del Cocinero Criollo, Cuba, 19th century.
• Buchmann, Christine. "Cuban Home Gardens and Their Role in Social–Ecological Resilience." Human Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Journal 37.6 (2009): 705–721. 16 Jan. 2010.
• Cancio-Bello, Carla. "The Growing Popularity of Cuban Cuisine." (2012): http://www.cubancuisine.co.uk
• Carris Alonso, Cynthia. "A Taste of Cuba: A Journey Through Cuba and its Savory Cuisine." ISBN 978-1-948062-00-8 Apollo Publishers, 2018
• Folch, Christine. "Fine Dining: Race in Prerevolution Cookbooks." Latin American Research Review 43.2 (2008): 205–223. 3 Feb. 2010.
• Hunt, Nigel. "The Agriculture History in Cuba." Cuba Agriculture. 2008. Web. 11 Feb 2010.
• Murray, James. "Cuban Cuisine, Cuba History and Their Food." 2009. Articlesbase. Web. 16 January 2010.
• Reyes Gavilán y Maen, Maria Antonieta: Delicias de la mesa. Manual de Cocina y Reposteria, 12ed., Ediciones Cultural S.A., La Habana, 1952.
• Rodriguez, Hector. "Cuban Food Profile: Cuban Food History." 2010. Latinfood.about.com. Web 16 January 2010.
• Villapol, Nitza: Cocina Cubana, 3ed., ISBN 959-05-0042-0, Editorial Cientifico-Técnica, Habana, 1992.
• Warwick, Hugh. "Cuba's Organic Revolution." Forum for Applied Research & Public Policy 16:2(2001): 54–58. 27 Feb. 2010.

Historical aspects of Cuban cuisine

• Brenner, Philip, Jimenez, Marguerite, Kirk, John, and Leo Grunde, William. A Contemporary Cuba Reader: Reinventing the Revolution. Rowman and Littlefield Publication. 2008.
• Harpers Weekly. Starvation in Cuba. The New York Times: May 30, 1897.
• Hernandez, Rafael. Looking at Cuba: Essays on Culture and Civil Society. University of Florida Press, 2003. P. 101
• Houston, Lynn Marie. Food Culture Around the World: Food Culture in the Caribbean. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005. Pg. 115–116.
• Maria Josefa Lluria de O’Higgins. A Taste of Old Cuba: More Than 150 Recipes for Delicious, Authentic, and Traditional Dishes Highlighted with Reflections and Reminiscences. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 1994.
• Pieroni, Andrea and Price, Lisa L. Eating and Healing: Traditional Food as Medicine. New York, 2006. Haworth Press Inc.
• Randelman, Mary U. and Schwartz, Joan, Memories of a Cuban Kitchen: More than 200 classic recipes. New York: Macmillan. 1992.