Blog for School: Puerto Rico A History of the Food ~ Essay

CB
11/14/17
Puerto Rico A History of the Food ~ Essay
My grandma's first language is Spanish and she grew up on the island of Puerto Rico, as was the story for my grandpa. I'm a 3rd generation Puerto Rican, although I'm white and have light features. (with some Spanish in my background.) At 16 she migrated to America. She learned English and got a job and a small apartment in New Jersey. I still feel like Puerto Rico is a part of my heritage and a part of me. My mom, grandma, and grandpa are all linked to me and me to them. That's why I chose this particular place to write about. It has meaning. And it's also very beautiful!

xxnote:This a fun lil essay my parent assigned to me (not by RPC). It is a history of the traditional Puerto Rican food. I think Puerto Rico has a rich, vibrant, and beautiful culture! I had to do research and find my own information to piece together. It was more of an independent project. And I got to pick out the information from my sources, which was different. So, I haven't written an essay like this in awhile is all. I still like my RPC essays though.

all images: (image credit: google images)
PR

So, let's get started with the history..

(note ~ when I say PR, I mean Puerto Rico.)


the PR flag

The history and growth of Puerto Rican food began with the Taíno Indians (15th century). They were the main inhabitants of Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. At the time of the Spanish conquest, the largest Taíno population "areas" may have had more than 3,000 people each. They are the natives Columbus found with his discovery of San Salvador Island (1st voyage). The Taíno were peaceful and friendly to the explorers. Taíno ancestors came to the Carribean from South America.

Taíno food staples included fruit, meat, and fish. There were no large animals on the Carribean so they ate small animals. Because there was a lack of game on the island, the Taíno became skilled fishermen. Taíno fishermen would make nets from cotton and palm. An average sized canoe would hold up to twenty people. One strategy of fishing was to hook a suckerfish (or remora) to the line, dip it in, and wait for the suckerfish to grab onto a bigger fish or even a sea turtle. Taíno in more developed islands, like Puerto Rico, relied more on agriculture. They farmed vital root crops. The primary root crop was yuca: edible, starchy. They planted yuca using coa (a farming tool carved completely from wood.) Sweet potato (Batata) was the second most important crop. Yuca is a Taíno food still used today! That as well as peppers, and corn. They would mash these ingredients in a pilón. The Taíno spoke an Arawakan language. Some words they used kanoa (canoe), hamaca (hammock) and other words found in this paragraph.

if I saw one of these things while swimming I'd be so scared um.. but it's the majestic sea TURTLE

The Spaniards of Spain brought new ingredients to Puerto Rico's culture. Also, the Iberian peninsula had an influence on Puerto Rican food. African slaves introduced plantains to them. America has 48,546 Spain born citizens, which includes the territory of PR, as recorded in 2015. It's a molding of all these different elements coming together to weave the history of the food and culture.

Bacon is in Arroz con gandules, It looks plain but it's very good, and it can be healthy if made right. Bacon is also in potato salad, that's one ingredient found in PR meals. A traditional pastry called Mallorca is a sweet bread with eggs and topped off with powdered sugar. Mallorca is often served as an egg, ham and cheese sandwich. Pigeon peas with rice have Carribean roots but the secret sauce sofrito adds PR flavor.

There are some nice food events in PR too. The Sugar Harvest Festival and Coffee Harvest Festival are two events that happen in Puerto Rico! They have lots of yummy foods to try (and other activities as well such as folk music, parade floats, and of course, coffee making.) The coffee harvest takes place in Maricao the second least populated town in Puerto Rico. The Sugar Harvest festival marks (as you may guess) the end of the sugar harvest on the island. At the Sugar festival, they have an exhibition of the sugar cane plants, and harvesting techniques. That event takes place in San Germán which is in the southwest region of PR. The island is over 3,000 miles in the total area of it.

There is a lot more history of Puerto Rican food than I knew when I started this essay. And also, I think I've learned something from it. Puerto Rico has food sweet, spicy, fresh, recipes from many walks of life, and times of the past and present tied together. It's comfort food straight from the Carribean. And this is all about who and where the food and history came from, I think Puerto Rico fulfilled that with more to find.

~

Background: "An archipelago among the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. The capital and most populous city is San Juan. Its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates.^[19] The island's population is approximately 3.4 million. Puerto Rico's history, tropical climate, natural scenery, traditional cuisine, and tax incentives make it a destination for travelers from around the world." - cited from Wikipedia - Puerto Rico

quote and cite "Land was sighted at 2 AM on 12 October by a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodriguez Bermejo) aboard Pinta. Columbus called the island San Salvador, the natives called it Guanahani. The indigenous people he encountered, the Lucayan, Taíno or Arawak, were peaceful and friendly. He wrote with such awe of the friendly innocence and beauty of the natives. "These people have no religious beliefs, nor are they idolaters. They are very gentle and do not know what evil is; nor do they kill others, nor steal; they are without weapons." cited: http://www.christopher-columbus.eu/voyage-1.htm

stuff you can also read: (PR is a US territory but it's not one of the 50 states. It's really not necessary for us to "own" PR anymore, in my opinion. And it's greedy to hang onto it. That's PRs choice to stay a territory, or become a state, or secede. That's just my point of view in a libertarian sense.)

people celebrating PR image link:

food image links: