Cuban cuisine is influenced by the gastronomic elements of Spanish, African and Creole cuisine. You believe that in a country whose residents are forced to receive food by cards, one should not expect varied menu, and even more so - culinary delights?

Cuban cuisine will convince you otherwise. With all the political turmoil and obvious difficulties in providing food, Cuban cuisine will find something to surprise and delight even the most discerning taste.

Cuban cuisine

The range and quality of dishes offered in local restaurants, as well as those included in the daily menu of most Cubans, have evolved over the centuries. The fact that the lion's share of agricultural production comes from sugarcane and the lack of grain is quite noticeable did not affect the established traditions, the variety of schools and recipes introduced into the national cuisine by the numerous peoples inhabiting the island. The modern island menu combines the gastronomic preferences of Spain, Africa, Latin America. It is not surprising that the composition of dishes and cooking technology was significantly influenced by the customs and food preferences brought here at the beginning of the colonization by the conquistadors. In particular, their influence is noticeable in the use of dried cod, which underlies several traditional and favorite Cuban dishes.

Seafarers were forced to use this product due to the lack of fresh fish on campaigns and during the siege of cities. Now Cuba does not feel a deficit in the fresh gifts of the deep sea, but dried fish is still relevant - it is a tradition that has been valued and preserved for centuries.

Cuban cuisine - seafood

One of the famous old recipes refers to Basque cuisine and is called "Bacalao a la Vizcaína". This is dried cod stewed in oil along with vegetables and special seasonings. Hot croutons are usually served with this popular dish.

Spicy thick soup on fish broth with spices has long been an everyday food of local residents. With the advent of Spanish colonists on the island, the natives learned the taste of meat - corned beef was brought in the ship's holds, then they began to raise livestock. Now in the diet of Cubans have appeared meat soups with vegetables - usually corn or boniato.

Cuban Cuisine - Cuban Meat Soup

Slaves, once brought to the island from Africa, brought recipes for cooking fruits and vegetables to the national gastronomy. In particular, African traditions are credited with cooking caramelized banana slices (“tostones”), a widely used spicy sauce“Yuca con mojo” based on yucca fruits. Rice was initially absent from the local cuisine, but brought from China in the 17th century, it became one of the basic elements of the national food. Many families use “arros relleno” in their diet every day - boiled rice complete with additives, usually legumes.

The products of the national cuisine are quite simple. Meat preferences are poultry and pork. Sometimes other types of meat. Most often, on the tables of ordinary Cubans, there is a bowl of beans, rice or corn. The plant menu is diversified in every possible way by bananas, yucca, and several local varieties of potatoes.

Rice bananas avocado

Cooking methods are especially varied bananas: unripe fruit is fried in the form of plates, for sauces, chopped and stewed in oil with meat or fish, pies are baked with banana filling preparing jelly and other desserts. A very famous dish "picadillo" in the Cuban interpretation - chopped banana is mixed with cheese, while the authentic version, which came from Spain, involves the use of minced meat and vegetables. The most ceremonial dish- suckling pig " lechon asado”, Wholly submitted to festive table.

The most solemn dish - suckling pig "Lechon asado" served entirely on the festive table

suckling pig "lechon asado"

The islanders' table is diversified by a large number of sauces. Most commonly used in Cuban cuisine is "salsa criolla", which consists of tomatoes with garlic, onions and other spicy ingredients. Cuban chefs prepare delicious fruit sauces from papaya, mango, oranges, pineapples.

A distinctive feature of the local seasoning technologies is that, in the absence of their pungency, almost all dishes have a mild taste. It is not customary to use milk here for making sauces, and mayonnaise is also not held in high esteem.

Stew of chicken meat, pieces of ham, vegetables and spices are cooked in a pot and resembles our mixed hodgepodge - the same rich, spicy and tasty dish.

There are a variety of ways to cook chicken. For example, chicken is cooked in a bitter orange sauce.

Chicharones and avocado

The local beer snack has a memorable taste - “ Chicharones-al-Simaron”. The dish is prepared from finely planed pork tenderloin deep-fried.
Many tourists love the Cuban fries - golden and crispy.

Delight and bliss among connoisseurs of cuisine is “ santiuera”- pickled and baked pork legs with sauce Mojito... When serving, the meat is beautifully laid in slices and decorated with pieces of vegetables.

Cuban cuisine - avocado

Cuban cuisine

Cuban cuisine is quite simple but very healthy at the same time. The "Creole" (ie Spanish) way of preparing homemade meals is one of the most famous in Cuba. The main ingredients in these dishes are chicken, beef, pork, eggs, beans, rice, and vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, cassava (yucca), and plantan (a starchy fruit similar to a banana).

Dishes made from these products are quite spicy, as the main Cuban spices are always generously added to them: ajo (garlic) and onions.

Modern trends of European cuisine

Of course, Creole dishes today have their European variations, mainly thanks to tourists from all over the world visiting the capital of Cuba, Havana. It was the tourists who helped create the so-called Cuban fusion. Traditional Cuban dishes have been re-flavored with the addition of ingredients such as flour, raisins, capers and olives.

Asian cuisine did not remain aloof from these gastronomic experiments. She brought her sweet and sour notes to existing dishes, and also added new ingredient- rice.

Such a seemingly small country as, in fact, cannot but delight with its culinary abundance. An excellent example is the cuisine of Eastern Cuba, which generously borrows Caribbean and African culinary traditions, using coconut, chocolate, honey, annatto seeds and other spices in its dishes.

For cooking only fresh food

For dishes such as stews, soups and sandwiches, Cubans only use fresh food... The meat is slowly fried until it becomes so tender that it flakes off the bone on its own.

In addition to such spices as onions and garlic, which are used by absolutely everyone, they are also popular in Cuba. Bay leaf, oregano, coriander, cumin and pepper.

Many sauces are tomato based. For example, sofrito sauce. Imagine Roux cooked without flour. Instead, this sauce combines aromatic ingredients such as tomatoes, garlic, green peppers, chorizo ​​and onions, all simmered with olive oil. Sofrito sauce is often used to add depth and sophistication to rice, bean dishes, soups or stews.

Below are the most popular dishes of the national cuisine of Cuba:

Empanadas and Pastelitos - fried or baked pies with meat filling, similar to Italian calzones.

Arroz con pollo - chicken with rice.

Boliche is a stuffed stew.

Boniato con mojo - sweet potatoes in garlic-citrus sauce.

Cocido de garbanzos - stew from chickpeas.

Congri - red beans and rice.

Dulce de leche is a sweet milk caramel sauce used for making biscuits, pies and sweets.

Flan - a pie based custard, both sweet and salty dish.

Huevos habaneros - Havana-style eggs with tomatoes, peppers and caraway seeds.

La Caldosa - chicken soup.

Maduros - fried sweet bananas.

Moros y cristianos - Black beans and rice.

Pan con bistec - sandwich with roast beef on pressed Cuban bread.

Pulpeta - meatloaf.

Rabo encendido is an oxtail stew.

Ropa vieja - Shredded flank steak or other meat in a thick sauce.

The sad paradox is that the fertile land of Cuba feeds the people inhabiting it very poorly. During the so-called Special Period in the early 1990s. there was an acute shortage of food, and the distribution of harvested fruits and vegetables remains a major problem to this day. Food books do not provide people with enough food to live on and are likely to be phased out, adding uncertainty to the lives of poor Cubans. Those who do not experience a shortage of money (tourists and a small stratum of citizens of the country) do not feel such hardships, receiving a larger and better share of the little that is in the country. Don't expect an unforgettable gastronomic experience from your visit to Cuba. Cuba was once famous for its good Creole cuisine, a fusion of Spanish and African culinary traditions, but nowadays many Cubans are content with simple packed lunches and sandwiches. Restaurants are often lacking in choice and only standard chicken or pork with rice and beans are on the menu. Most hotels are acting for sure by serving international cuisine.

Where to eat

Staying at a resort is likely to run into the monotonous reality of hotel dining. Large hotels often have not only the main buffet restaurant, but also an a la carte restaurant, a poolside parrillaada (grill) and a beach cafe.

There are two types of government restaurants. In some you will have to pay pesos convertibles, in others visitors are served for pesos cubanos. The latter are usually café-type establishments for Cubans. The menu is extremely limited, the food is of poor quality, and the lines are long. In some isolated cities (like Bayamo), food in such establishments will cost very cheaply, although the menu may include a single dish, and local visitors will glance at you with a silent question "how did you get here?" However, often there, as a foreigner, they will take a convertible pesos from you.

Another category is paladares, private restaurants in private homes. There they serve everyone who is ready to pay the convertible pesos. In 1995, the government legalized such establishments, but often only to soon strangle them with taxes and fines. In 2011, some of the restrictions were lifted, and the maximum allowable number of jobs was increased from 12 to 50 in order to create new jobs, and this led to the emergence of more paladares and allowed more people to get jobs. The food is usually better than in government restaurants and the prices are more moderate. For a fixed price, you will be offered a three-course lunch, sometimes with beer or juice. These are simple little restaurants, usually with a menu, located on the terrace or within the walls of someone's house.

If you stay at a casa particular, that is, a private home, you can take advantage of a Creole-style meal with the freshest and finest ingredients. The host family will cook whatever you want or offer dishes typical of the region. In the morning you say that you would like to have for dinner, and the hosts will purchase necessary products and fulfill your order. In the morning you will refresh yourself healthy breakfast fresh fruit, eggs, coffee, juice and bread, and perhaps two of these meals, besides something light in the middle of the day, will be enough for you.

All resorts and cafes around Havana offer sandwiches (almost exclusively with ham and / or cheese), but otherwise the snack selection in Cuba is limited to poor street pizza and cardboard box lunches. It's even more difficult with picnic foods. In hotel shops, you can buy packs of biscuits and chips for pesos, and fruit in farmers' markets.

What is

In large hotels, especially in resorts, breakfast may be the best meal of the day: a buffet of fresh fruit, fresh juices, cheeses, meats and pancakes. Egg dishes are often prepared to order. More modest hotels tend to settle for sandwiches and scrambled eggs.

There is also a buffet for lunch and dinner, which will surely be appreciated by guests with a good appetite. The food is international rather than typically Cuban. The abundance on offer (a few salads, bunches of bananas, watermelons, pies, different types of fish, meat and pasta) makes some tourists uneasy given the limited diets of most Cubans.

Most restaurants offer Creole cuisine. The main ingredients are rice and beans. On the menu you will find either rice with beans (moras in cristianos, that is, "Moors and Christians"), or rice with black beans (congris) - the latter is more common in the east of the island. As for meat, you will most likely be offered polio asado (fried chicken) and cerdo asado (fried pork). White fish commonly referred to as pescado and is generally grilled. Many restaurants also serve lobsters at a hefty price (CUC $ 25-30). Popular side dishes are root vegetables such as malanga and yisa (cassava), plus maduros or tostones (fried banana slices). Common desserts are pasta de guayaba con queso (cheese with guava paste) and Coppelia ice cream, which is produced throughout the country.

What drink

Cuba's national drink, rum, is made from sugarcane juice and molasses, a by-product of sugar production. Young rum, aguardiente ("fire water"), has a very high alcohol content. Five- and seven-year-old rum that is aged in oak barrels, is dark and has a characteristic aroma. They drink it neat or with big amount ice.

Cuban cocktails contain one- or three-year-old white rum. Some cocktails have found cult status. Hemingway drank his mojito (sugar, lime juice, ice, fresh mint, rum and soda) at La Bodeguita del Medio, and his daiquiri (sugar, lime juice and rum mixed with crushed ice) at La Floridita. Less exotic is Cuba libre - rum with cola and a slice of lime.

Cuban beer (Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Tinima and other brands) is very good. Only the most expensive restaurants offer visitors wines. Wine in Cuba is produced using Spanish technology, but the industry is only taking its first steps, and you will not lose anything if you ignore the results of its experiments.

For soft drinks, try the exceptionally sweet guarapo (pure sugarcane juice) and granizado (paper cup flavored ice water sold from street carts). In some cities, you will come across trays of homemade cola - three servings of syrup mixed with soda water. The drink is surprisingly refreshing and only costs 5 cents.

Coffee is one of the main Cuban exports, but you may not always be able to get a drink from export-quality beans. During hard times coffee is mixed with chicory, and many Cubans are used to this aroma and prefer it. Espresso coffee is called cafe and is traditionally drunk with an unimaginable amount of sugar; cafe americano is thinner and is served in larger cups. Cafe con leche - espresso and milk in the same proportion. Coffee with a little cream in Cuba often has a dubious gray tint.

Food of Cuba - a selection of dishes of the Cuban national cuisine, what Cubans themselves eat every day, well, or on holidays, with a photo and description of the ingredients of delicious dishes

Due to colonization and the slave trade, Cuban cuisine is a mixture of Spanish and African influences. Spanish colonialists brought in citrus fruits, rice and vegetables, and African slaves experimented with cassava and corn

There are many restaurants in Cuba that serve traditional dishes... Typical meals include either sandwiches or rice and beans, cooked together or separately. Good THERE have prepared for you a short overview of the dishes that are worth trying when going on a trip to Liberty Island.

Sandwiches

• Cuban sandwich- sometimes called "Mixto" - a popular snack that consists of lightly buttered Cuban bread and includes fried pork marinated in citrus juice, thinly sliced ​​ham, Swiss cheese, pickled cucumbers and yellow mustard.
• Sandwich Medianoche- very similar to the Cuban sandwich, except that the Cuban bread is replaced with a sweetish one egg bread and the ham is sometimes not added at all. The name comes from the time it is eaten (late night snack).
• Pan con lechon(Pan con lechón) is a traditional pressed sandwich, everything is simple and ingenious here: Cuban bread, fried pork, onions.
• Pan con beefsteak(Pan con bistec) - made similarly to the lechon version, but the pork is replaced with a thin beef fillet.

Main dishes

• Arroz con Poyo(Arroz con Pollo) - Cuba's favorite chicken dish, Arroz con Poyo is similar to paella but lacks seafood. The dish is made from rice, chicken with traditional sauce sofrito.
• Moros and christianos(Moros y Cristianos) - This national dish is served in almost every Cuban restaurant. Made with rice and black beans.
• Ropa Vieja(Ropa Vieja) is a traditional Cuban dish made with brisket or steak stewed in a fragrant tomato sauce... White rice is served as a side dish. The name literally translates as "old clothes", but this did not affect the taste in any way.
• Waka Fritta(Vaca Frita) - Made with beef that is marinated in oregano, parsley, cilantro, garlic, cinnamon and red vinegar and then fried until crispy. Served with onions and green pepper for brightness.

Snacks

• Tostons- double-fried slices of plane-tree (a type of banana), similar to potato chips... Fried sweet slices of sycamore - this classic appetizer... Toastons are served with salad leaves, cheese and a variety of sauces.
• Malanga Fritters(Malanga Fritters) - Malanga looks like yam on outward appearance, but to taste for potatoes. This delicious dish is made with taro root mixed with egg and minced garlic, then fried well. it great option for a snack.
• Chicharrones(chicharrones) - crispy fried pork skin, which is made from either pork skin or fried belly.

Tours to Havana

Sweets

• Pastelitos(pastelitos) are baked puff pastries with a sweet or savory filling. Traditional fillings - cream cheese, guava, pineapple and coconut.
• Tres Leches(Tres Leches Cake) - a biscuit soaked in three types of milk: condensed milk, baked milk and cream.
• Flan(Flan) - Cuban flan is prepared with two eggs and cinnamon sticks, this dessert is considered a favorite among the Cuban people. A similar Cuban dish is Copa Lolita, a small caramel dessert served with one or two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Other options might include coconut, guava, or rum.

If you are planning to visit Cuba in the near future, be sure to try National dishes offered by Cuban cuisine. We hope this article on Cuban food will help you make the right choice.

Cuban cuisine is varied, healthy and rich. The basic set of products from which Cubans are mainly prepared is simple and without any special frills. In Cuban cuisine, food is often grilled or stewed in ceramic pots. Of meat, Cubans use more chicken and pork, and much less beef and lamb. A lot of vegetables are eaten, especially for lunch and dinner, and especially black beans, rice and corn, as well as sweet potatoes and yucca. Salted cod It is also one of the most sought-after Cuban products, for example, "bacalao la viszcaina-a" - cod cooked according to an old Basque recipe with "sofrito" - spices and vegetables stewed in oil, an obligatory addition to which is fried bread. They eat ocean fish, mostly fried on coals. Boiled noodles with cheese or stew and tomatoes, poultry and wild poultry cooked on a skewer is also one of the common dishes.

In general, the range of products is small, so they like to season food with sauces. And there is a great variety of sauces here, and they are prepared from a wide variety of products. The most popular sauces in Cuba are salsa criolla, which are made from tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and oil, and mojo made from garlic, tomatoes and peppers. And also all sorts of sauces are made from mango, papaya, citrus and other fruits, which are numerous on the island. Thanks to them, even the simplest dishes acquire a certain sophistication. And here hot sauces they don't do it in Cuba, and unlike the Russian tradition in Cuba, milk sauces are almost never used.

Cuisine has some differences within the country. For example, in Santiago de Cuba and the eastern part of the island, more spicy food is prepared. In the central and western parts of the country, coconut and chocolate are preferred, and they also use exclusively coconut oil and coconut milk for frying.

The national dish is “ajiaco crioglio” - a thick stew that has various varieties; its main ingredients are different vegetables and fruits, which are cooked with different types of meats. The pinnacle of Cuban cuisine is congri (white rice cooked with colored beans) and arros moro, also called the Moors and Christians, rice with black beans. Favorite dish For Cubans and tourists, La caldosa is a stew made from chicken, onions, garlic, oregano, yam, carrots, sweet potatoes, butter, ham and whatever the hostess has. All ingredients fit into clay pot put on little fire and stew for a long time. Chicken is cooked and more exquisite dishes such as fried chicken with bitter orange sauce. Having been in Cuba, it is worth trying “Chicharrones al-simaron” (an original Cuban snack for beer made from thin bacon fried in boiling oil), “Boniato” (sweet potatoes, fried until golden brown), “Santiagora” (pork leg, marinated and baked in the oven, cut into slices, with a mojito sauce decorated with platano slices), African (black bean soup with fried onions, bell peppers and herbs), Medallones mango (pork slices stewed with with mango cubes, wine and spices, garnished with fresh mangoes, onions and mint). Salads in Cuba are prepared mainly from avocados, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and seasoned with oil and vinegar. As a snack or light supper prepare "ensalada de aguacates" - avocado salad, in which own discretion the hostess can add salmon, mango or pineapple.

Cuban restaurants offer a wide range of seafood dishes, for example the Old Havana dish - lobster slices with mussels and oysters in sauce, decorated with lettuce and tomato slices. Cooking seafood is quite traditional - the same as in Europe. But Cubans can add Cuban rum, which creates a new, very interesting flavor, and offer various unusual sauces to the dishes.

In Cuba, many dishes are also prepared from bananas, baked here, added to many dishes and simply eaten raw. For example, to prepare "platanos a punetazos" unripe banana fruit is cut into thin diagonal slices and fried, for pork and couscous sauce it is chopped and seasoned olive oil, the banana is suitable for baking pies and puddings, and finally for the famous Cuban-style picadillo, for which the fruit is chopped and mixed with cheese. Most often, beef is prepared "picadillo" - a mixture of minced meat with vegetables. On holidays, "lechon asado", a whole roasted suckling pig, is prepared.

Cuban desserts are generally very sweet as they are served mainly with cane syrup. These are all kinds of fruits and in in different ways, whole, slices and pies. For clarity, imagine a guava pie - masa real de guayaba or a pie with coconut, oranges and pumpkin. Coppelia ice cream is very popular in Cuba. In recent years, mousses, puddings and more have been made on the island. A quite traditional Cuban dessert is the banana flambé - slices of bananas in hot caramel with orange juice, garnished with almonds and mint - they are served on fire. Cheese desserts (similar to European cheesecakes) are also interesting, for example guayava with cheese, or Barcelona mousse (dark chocolate mousse with sesame seeds and grated white chocolate). Speaking of desserts and sweets, one cannot ignore Cuban coffee, which is very strong and sweet, and Cubans drink it in huge quantities and throughout the day. There are many cafes in the cities, as well as casas de infusions, where you can taste various infusions, decoctions and other drinks. Cubans put in all drinks a large number of Sahara.

It is customary for Cubans to serve table wine for lunch and dinner. Often, dinner begins with a spiced aperitif Canelazos-rum (for a bottle of rum - 30 g of cinnamon, 5 g of cloves) and light snack quesillo - pieces of fried on butter cheese. Most popular alcoholic beverage is rum. The most famous brand of rum is Havana Club. There are three varieties, Carta Oro (gold), Carta Blanca (white), and Anejo (old), which vary in aging. Cubans' favorite rum is Anejo (about $ 8 per bottle). Rum is drunk undiluted or on ice and used for cocktails. There is a rum museum in Old Havana. Here is a wealth of information about the history of its production.
Each Cuban establishment offers its own signature cocktail. Famous Cuban cocktails are mulata, saoko, Cuba libre and others. Daiquiri is one of the ten main cocktails in the world. Daiquiri was originally made from rum, lime and sugar. Now there are many versions of the preparation of this cocktail, one of them is “frozen daiquiri”. In "Сasas de infusions", you can taste various infusions, decoctions and other drinks.