Cuban Traditional Cuisine - African Influence

Article Index Cuban Traditional Cuisine Aborigen Legacy African Influence Spain Influence Other Influences All Pages Page 3 of 5 African Influences When the slaves from various regions of Africa arrived to the country, there was an increase of the variety of dietary habits, due to changes they or their descendants made to the different Mediterranean dishes and to the creation of new ones, using various forms of preparation and cooking of products. From that continent we received: yams, okra, the guinea fowl, though it is valid to emphasize that these products were introduced to the island by the merchants on their ships. From the african culture came to us the custom of eating rice mixed with other foods, sauces and fried foods and also dishes like fufu and tostones (green banana to punching or Chatinos). By the seventeenth century, the number of slaves increased a lot and for keeping them fed, the owners of the allocations decided to systematize the importation of tasajo, cod and rice. Even today there are many Cubans who like these products. The slaves daily consumed large amounts of sugar, either by absorbing the juice from the sugarcane directly in the field or by eating the intermediate products of sugar production as the guarapo, the honey bleed or the scrape and finally the sugar; for that reason in our days we have the taste for very sweet desserts. << Prev - Next >>