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Foods Used in Traditional Hispanic Caribbean Cuisine

Starchy Vegetables

• Beans (habichuelas, frijoles, judías, alubias, judias, porotos, and caraotas) Habichuelas in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic – Frijoles and Judias in Cuba
• Chayote squash (tayota) – Chayote in Puerto Rico and Tayota in Dominican Republic
• Green bananas – boiled and served as a side dish. It could be accompanied by fish and other starchy foods
• Green peas (petit pois, arvejas, or chícharos) Petit Pois in Dominican Republic
• Pigeon peas (guandules or gandules)
• Pumpkin (calabaza or ahuyama) Calabaza in Puerto Rico – Ahuyama in Dominican Republic
• Sweet potato (batata or boniato) Batata in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic – Boniato in Cuba
• Yautía (taniers) A starchy root vegetable. It’s white to yellow to pale pink, turns mauve-gray or violet when cooked. The taste has been described as a combination of chestnuts and artichoke hearts.
• Yam (ñame)
• Yuca (cassava or mandioca)

Nonstarchy Vegetables

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Lettuce
• Okra
• Onions
• String beans (vainitas, habichuelas tiernas, or habichuelas)
• Watercress (berro)

Dairy

• Cheddar cheese (queso de papa)
• Gouda cheese
• White cheese. Also known as queso blanco or queso para freir, this is a firm cheese that doesn’t melt when fried.
• Whole milk

Fruits

• Avocado (aguacate)
• Banana
• Breadfruit (pana or panapen). A large, round green fruit with a rough rind and pale flesh.
• Chirimoya. A heart shaped or oval fruit with white flesh that has a sweet-sour flavor.
• Chico zapote (nispero). Sweet fruit with a flavor similar to maple sugar
• Grapefruit
• Guava (guayaba)
• Mamey. A large, oval football-shaped fruit.
• Mango (mango)
• Orange (china or naranja) China in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic – Naranja in Cuba
• Papaya (lechoza and/or fruta bomba for Dominicans and Cubans)

• Parcha (maracuyá). Also known as yellow passion fruit, this is a round, green fruit with orange pulp.
• Passion fruit (parcha [chinola, or ceibey). Round or oval fruits with green-orange pulp and sour-sweet flavor.
• Pineapple
• Plantain (plátano). Resembling large, thick-skinned green bananas, plantains are a popular fruit in Caribbean cuisine. When ripened, the outer skin turns yellow with black pigmentation and it is sweet.
• Queneps [ (kenepas, limoncillos, or mamoncillo) Also known as Spanish limes, this fruit appears like green grapes. The sweet yellow flesh is surrounded by a large inedible pit.
• Soursop (guanabana). Deep green heart-shaped fruit with white juicy flesh and a tangy, acidic flavor..
• Star fruit. Unusually shaped fruit with golden yellow skin and crisp juicy flesh.
• Tamarind (tamarindo). Cinnamon-brown pods that contain sticky and tart brown pulp and inedible large brown seeds.

Spices

• Achiote (annatto seeds). Used to impart a yellowish color to rice dishes.
• Adobo. A seasoning made by mixing crushed peppercorns, oregano, garlic, and salt, with olive oil and lime juice or vinegar
• Alcaparrado. Capers and olives in brine that are added to rice dishes and stews.
• Bay leaves. Used in fricassee and other stews.
• Coriander (cilantro)
• Sofrito. Made of tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, peppers and recao (a green leafy vegetable with a pungent, peppery taste), sofrito is the principal condiment used to season stews, beans, and meats.

Meats

• Beef
• Blood sausage (chorizo or morcilla)
• Chicken
• Codfish (bacalao)
• Eggs
• Fried pork rind (chicharrón). A crunchy piece of fat-back pork that is sold in Puerto Rico. Small pieces of chicharrón are used to season rice dishes, especially rice with pigeon peas.
• Oxtail.
• Salami (salchichón)
• Shredded beef (carne ripiada or ropa vienja)
• Tripe (mondongo, tripas, panza, or menudo)

Mixed Dishes

• Arroz con camarones. Rice with shrimp.
• Arroz con pollo. Rice with chicken.
• Asopaos. A soupy rice, vegetable and protein mixture.
• Casabe. Cassava bread.
• Locrio. A dish of mixed rice, beans and meat.
• Kipe. Fried meat patty made of ground beef, bulgur wheat, and spices.
• Maduros. Sweet fried plantain.
• Mafongo. Mashed green plantains with added meats such as pork.
• Mangú. A Dominican dish of green plantains that are boiled and mashed and used in place of bread or cereal for breakfast.
• Pastelón. A Hispanic variation of lasagna that uses slices of fried sweet plantains instead of pasta.
• Pernil. Pork chops and roasted pork shoulder.
• Platanitos en escabeche. Green bananas in a vinegar/oil dressing.
• Serenata. Puerto Rican dish that mixes cod fish (bacalao) with root vegetables.
• Tostones. Twice fried green plantains.

Beverages

• Coffee
• Rum
• Malta, a non-alcoholic beverage made of barley and hops. Often perceived as highly nutritious and iron rich.
• Herbal teas such as chamomile, passiflora, cinnamon, peppermint, ginger, and aloe. Are considered to have medicinal properties, especially among Dominicans.

Desserts

• Dairy desserts such as dulce de leche, flan, majarete, and tembleque.
• Piraguas. Shaved ice cones with syrup flavors such as tamarind, raspberry, pineapple and coconut.

Drago, Lorena. Beyond Rice and Beans: The Caribbean Latino Guide to Eating Healthy with Diabetes. Alexandria, VA: American Diabetes Association;2006
Starchy Vegetables