Cuban Traditional Cuisine - Aborigen Legacy

Article Index Cuban Traditional Cuisine Aborigen Legacy African Influence Spain Influence Other Influences All Pages Page 2 of 5 By: Zogelis Torres Aborigen Legacy Our eating habits begin to arise in the pre-Columbian era, being the aborigines who made their first contributions. A lot of foods were grown in these lands at that time such as: corn, wild malanga, peanuts, pepper, sweet potato, pumpkin, several types of beans, mainly “caballero” and “carita” beans. Natives also cultivated a variety of cassava from which they produced the cassave, which formed the bedrock of their diet. Existed various fruits among them: papaya, mamey, hicacos, pineapple, coconut, guanabana, guava, medlar, cashew, anon, caimito and the acid tamarind. Besides, in the archipelago there were different species of wildlife, for example: hutia, almiquíes, manjuaríes, majaes, manatees, turtles, oysters, rombifer crocodile, ducks and their eggs, crabs and mollusks, from which were fed the inhabitants. Iguanas and other reptiles were regarded as special delicacies that were reserved for tribal leaders. They consumed many species of fish and crustaceans like: mojarras, bassoons, stingrays, lobsters, wreckfish, beaked and snappers. Biajacas and jicoteas, among other species, were very abundant in the rivers. Aborigines used to make some preparations from the products mentioned above, some of them persist up to date. Cassave, ajiaco and roast in plectrum are examples of the legacy they left us. Later, during the early years of conquest and colonization, the aborigines contributed significantly to the diet of the Spaniards, letting them know all of these foods they had. Besides, they learned from the "indocubanos" some ways to cook and store food, for example the drying of fish and meat, for that purpose they used a kind of grill above fire they called barbecue. In turn, the Spanish conquerers brought to “the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen ": poultry, cattle, horses, pigs, rabbits, donkeys, coffee, sugarcane, other legumes, bananas, rice, oranges, lemons, favoring the variety of food on the island. << Prev - Next >>