Recao (culantro) has got to be the most distinctive ingredient in
the flavor "signature" of Puerto Rican cooking; to PR cooking what,
say, fresh ginger is to Chinese cooking.

Question: what is the "signature" of *Cuban* cuisine? Does it
have an ingredient comparable in its distinctiveness to recao in
PR cuisine?

Thanks,

jill

P. S. I've spoken to a couple of Cuban non-cooks (friends of mine)
who both surmised that there may not be anything as characteristic
of Cuban cooking as recao in PR cooking. Is this true??

"J Krugman" wrote in message ...
>
> Question: what is the "signature" of *Cuban* cuisine? Does it
> have an ingredient comparable in its distinctiveness to recao in
> PR cuisine?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jill
>
> P. S. I've spoken to a couple of Cuban non-cooks (friends of mine)
> who both surmised that there may not be anything as characteristic
> of Cuban cooking as recao in PR cooking. Is this true??

I can only speak for myself. My mother is from Havana and I grew up eating
Cuban food regularly. To me the distinctive flavor if Cuban food it the
lemon/lime and garlic combination.

Take a piece of cubed steak and soak it for forty five minutes in lemon or
lime with some garlic and salt that was mashed in a mortar and pestle, cook
it in a hot cast iron pan. After the steak is done take the remaining
marinade, reduce it in the pan and use as a sauce over the steak and rice.
It doesn't get much better.

I think I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow.

-Mike

J Krugman wrote:
> Recao (culantro) has got to be the most distinctive ingredient in
> the flavor "signature" of Puerto Rican cooking; to PR cooking what,
> say, fresh ginger is to Chinese cooking.
>
> Question: what is the "signature" of *Cuban* cuisine? Does it
> have an ingredient comparable in its distinctiveness to recao in
> PR cuisine?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jill
>
> P. S. I've spoken to a couple of Cuban non-cooks (friends of mine)
> who both surmised that there may not be anything as characteristic
> of Cuban cooking as recao in PR cooking. Is this true??

Very false! The triad of Cuban cooking is cumin, oregano, and olive oil;
and sometimes "naranja agria" sour oranges.

You have to remember that Cuban cuisine is very easy on spices, but
heavy on technique. Take for example a suckling pig roasted in a device
called a "caja China" a chinese box. The skin comes out perfectly
crispy, yet the flesh nice and juicy.

Actually I'm more fond of Dominican cuisine, with it's heavy use of
cilantro, ajies cachucha, and other wonderful spices, herbs, and fruits.

Regards,

Richard

--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991

Mike Pearce wrote:
> "J Krugman" wrote in message ...
>
>>Question: what is the "signature" of *Cuban* cuisine? Does it
>>have an ingredient comparable in its distinctiveness to recao in
>>PR cuisine?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>jill
>>
>>P. S. I've spoken to a couple of Cuban non-cooks (friends of mine)
>>who both surmised that there may not be anything as characteristic
>>of Cuban cooking as recao in PR cooking. Is this true??
>
>
> I can only speak for myself. My mother is from Havana and I grew up eating
> Cuban food regularly. To me the distinctive flavor if Cuban food it the
> lemon/lime and garlic combination.
>
> Take a piece of cubed steak and soak it for forty five minutes in lemon or
> lime with some garlic and salt that was mashed in a mortar and pestle, cook
> it in a hot cast iron pan. After the steak is done take the remaining
> marinade, reduce it in the pan and use as a sauce over the steak and rice.
> It doesn't get much better.
>
> I think I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow.
>
> -Mike
>
>
>

Ah yes, the obligatory cubed steak. Also, the palomilla (spelling?)

I think it's a mixture of Spanish, African, Chinese, Arab, Jewish,
Polish, et cetera melting (more like mosaic,) pot that Cubans are.

Richard

--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991

"Richard Periut" wrote in message ...
> Mike Pearce wrote:
> >
> > Take a piece of cubed steak and soak it for forty five minutes in lemon
or
> > lime with some garlic and salt that was mashed in a mortar and pestle,
cook
> > it in a hot cast iron pan. After the steak is done take the remaining
> > marinade, reduce it in the pan and use as a sauce over the steak and
rice.
> > It doesn't get much better.
> >
> > I think I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow.
> >
> >
>
> Ah yes, the obligatory cubed steak. Also, the palomilla (spelling?)

Oh yeah, I think Cuban food, I think comfort food. <g>

I don't, or didn't, know the Spanish names for a lot of what I grew up
eating. My dad doesn't speak Spanish so it wasn't spoken in the house. I
grew up eating potato omelets (tortillas), beef stew which was nothing like
what my friends parents would make (carne guisado ?), and fried bananas
(maduros). My mother could never remember the English word for butterfly so
they were mariposas to me. I'd heard of avocados, but didn't know what they
were until I'd grown and moved out of the house. I called my mom one day
after going shopping asking her, "Did you know that avocados and aguacate
were the same thing and they sell them in regular grocery stores?"

My mother's father was from Spain and her mother was from Ireland. We grew
up eating a kind of Cuban/Irish/American combo cuisine. The Cuban food
always seemed special to me. Maybe because that was the stuff that only my
family ate.

> I think it's a mixture of Spanish, African, Chinese, Arab, Jewish,
> Polish, et cetera melting (more like mosaic,) pot that Cubans are.

I don't think a lot of people realize that about Cuba. I knew a woman was
Albanian by heritage and she was as much a Cuban as anyone I've known.

-Mike

In > Richard Periut > writes:

>Also, the palomilla (spelling?)

I've heard of it, and had it (in bistec encebolla'o), but what cut
of beef is it? Is it pounded to make it that thin, or does it come
already cut that way?

Jill

It depends on whether you are cooking seafood, pork, chicken or beef.

You could begin marinating with olive oil, garlic, lime juice, cumin,
sometimes oregano is added. I have also used pineapple juice or sour
orange juice.

To answer the question, I would say garlic, lime juice and cumin. I
am not Cuban, maybe they could tell you.

Becca

J Krugman wrote:
> In > Richard Periut > writes:
>
>
>>Also, the palomilla (spelling?)
>
>
> I've heard of it, and had it (in bistec encebolla'o), but what cut
> of beef is it? Is it pounded to make it that thin, or does it come
> already cut that way?
>
> Jill
>

I never really delved into finding out what type of cut is this. Now a
days, I just buy cubed steaks, fry them quickly with some onions, place
this on some cuban bread and add match stix french fries.

My brand of comfort food : )

R

--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991

Mike Pearce wrote:
> "Richard Periut" wrote in message ...
>
>>Mike Pearce wrote:
>>
>>>Take a piece of cubed steak and soak it for forty five minutes in lemon
>>
> or
>
>>>lime with some garlic and salt that was mashed in a mortar and pestle,
>>
> cook
>
>>>it in a hot cast iron pan. After the steak is done take the remaining
>>>marinade, reduce it in the pan and use as a sauce over the steak and
>>
> rice.
>
>>>It doesn't get much better.
>>>
>>>I think I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Ah yes, the obligatory cubed steak. Also, the palomilla (spelling?)
>
>
> Oh yeah, I think Cuban food, I think comfort food. <g>
>
> I don't, or didn't, know the Spanish names for a lot of what I grew up
> eating. My dad doesn't speak Spanish so it wasn't spoken in the house.

What a shame; I know people that are sending their kids to school, to
learn the language. Not only for culture, but for Bu$ine$$ reasons.
I
> grew up eating potato omelets (tortillas), beef stew which was nothing like
> what my friends parents would make (carne guisado ?), and fried bananas
> (maduros). My mother could never remember the English word for butterfly so
> they were mariposas to me. I'd heard of avocados, but didn't know what they
> were until I'd grown and moved out of the house. I called my mom one day
> after going shopping asking her, "Did you know that avocados and aguacate
> were the same thing and they sell them in regular grocery stores?"

Yes, my parents raised me speaking and writing fluent Spanish. My father
forced French on me (he was born in Cuba of French / Basque
extraction,) but I hated it.

>
> My mother's father was from Spain and her mother was from Ireland. We grew
> up eating a kind of Cuban/Irish/American combo cuisine. The Cuban food
> always seemed special to me. Maybe because that was the stuff that only my
> family ate.
>

Wow! Reminds me of my brother in law. Irish/Italian, speaks fluent
Spanish like a Cuban (he grew up in Union City, NJ and is a detective
there, so it's evident,) and his Dominican wife makes him both Dominican
and Cuban dishes. It's funny to see a blue eyed freckled Irish looking
guy, speak Spanish with such mannerism : )


Regards,

Richard

> > I think it's a mixture of Spanish, African, Chinese, Arab, Jewish,
>
>>Polish, et cetera melting (more like mosaic,) pot that Cubans are.
>
>
> I don't think a lot of people realize that about Cuba. I knew a woman was
> Albanian by heritage and she was as much a Cuban as anyone I've known.
>
> -Mike
>
>
>
>



--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991

Hi,

I'm currently living in Tampa, which is a bastion of Cuban food.
Around here, sour orange trees abound, and I have been told that the
juice from these is what gives the black beans, pork, etc. their
distinctive flavor. I'm not sure where you'd buy these, I suppose
Clementines or Seville oranges would be an adequate substitute, but if
you live in Florida chances are you have a few of these trees growing
in your backyard

oh- the juice is an excellent substitute for lime juice in mojitos as
well.

--Erica

J Krugman > wrote in message >...
> Recao (culantro) has got to be the most distinctive ingredient in
> the flavor "signature" of Puerto Rican cooking; to PR cooking what,
> say, fresh ginger is to Chinese cooking.
>
> Question: what is the "signature" of *Cuban* cuisine? Does it
> have an ingredient comparable in its distinctiveness to recao in
> PR cuisine?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jill
>
> P. S. I've spoken to a couple of Cuban non-cooks (friends of mine)
> who both surmised that there may not be anything as characteristic
> of Cuban cooking as recao in PR cooking. Is this true??

In > (Erica) writes:

>Hi,

>I'm currently living in Tampa, which is a bastion of Cuban food.
>Around here, sour orange trees abound, and I have been told that the
>juice from these is what gives the black beans, pork, etc. their
>distinctive flavor. I'm not sure where you'd buy these, I suppose
>Clementines or Seville oranges would be an adequate substitute, but if
>you live in Florida chances are you have a few of these trees growing
>in your backyard

Yeah, it's a real bummer that one can't get sour oranges in the
northeast. So many Caribbean recipes call for it! I've seen using
a mixture (50-50?) of lime and orange juices as substitute...

Jill

In > Richard Periut > writes:
>...his Dominican wife makes him both Dominican
>and Cuban dishes.

I don't know the first thing about Dominican cooking. How does it
compare to Puerto Rican or Cuban cooking?

Jill

As long as we're here, is there any secret to Cafe Cubano? I had some
in Miami years ago and it was terrific. Is it anything more than
heavily sugared espresso? And ambiance? I can't seem to get it right.

In > Frogleg > writes:

>As long as we're here, is there any secret to Cafe Cubano? I had some
>in Miami years ago and it was terrific. Is it anything more than
>heavily sugared espresso? And ambiance? I can't seem to get it right.

For Cuban coffee I use one of those inexpensive two-chamber metal
pots (aka "greca") that has a holder for the ground coffee and a
metal filter between the two chambers (I have two, a 2-cup and a
4-cup; I bought them in Boston's North End--our local Little Italy);
water goes in the lower chamber and the whole thing is placed on
a hot burner; after a little while the water boils through the
coffee grounds, and one ends up with coffee in the upper chamber.

In the little serving cup(s) I vigorously mix a little bit of the
freshly brewed coffee with 2 teaspoons of sugar (per cup, some
people use more, some less) to form a slightly frothy sweet paste.
To this I add the rest of the coffee and mix well. In Puerto Rico
I've often had an absolutely *delicious* variation on this, which
in addition to sugar includes hot Carnation evaporated milk, in a
ratio of about 1:3 milk to coffee.

I also like Vietnamese coffee, using condensed milk; one of these
days I'll go out and buy myself a few of those little Vietnamese
coffee presses, but this thread is drifting fast...

jill

In > Frogleg > writes:

>As long as we're here, is there any secret to Cafe Cubano? I had some
>in Miami years ago and it was terrific. Is it anything more than
>heavily sugared espresso? And ambiance? I can't seem to get it right.

Oh, one more thing, the bean/roast combination may be what you are
missing; see if you can buy Cuban or Puerto Rican coffee roast in
the store (e.g. Bustelo or Yaucono). Use a fine grind if you're
going to use a "greca"-type pot.

[Bustelo is not really Cuban (AFAIK the beans don't grow on Cuban
soil) but it is what all my Cuban friends in Miami drink.]

Jill

J Krugman wrote:
> In > Richard Periut > writes:
>
>>...his Dominican wife makes him both Dominican
>>and Cuban dishes.
>
>
> I don't know the first thing about Dominican cooking. How does it
> compare to Puerto Rican or Cuban cooking?
>
> Jill
>

I would say a bit more intense in flavor, more use of spices, herbs, and
fruits in their dishes.

Check out: http://www.dominicancooking.com/index.htm

Richard

--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991

Frogleg wrote:
> As long as we're here, is there any secret to Cafe Cubano? I had some
> in Miami years ago and it was terrific. Is it anything more than
> heavily sugared espresso? And ambiance? I can't seem to get it right.

Both : )

All kidding aside. When you buy a "colada" that obligatory styrofoam cup
chock full of dark expresso, they give it to you with about 10 tiny
paper cups (for the whole crowd you are buying it for.)

Anyway, the types of machines they use, and the ones used to grind the
coffee, are what makes the rich expresso with the rich "crema" (the
latter more of Italian use,) foam. The dip shit machines (mills and
expresso / cap makers,) they sell in your average store, doesn't cut it.

The Cubans in Miami have found a way of getting that foam, with one of
those cheap expresso makers. They take the sugar to be used in the
coffee, and mix it with the first teaspoons that come out of the maker.
Then they mix it in a vessel (very quickly,) with a spoon, until the
result is a rich creamy foam, which they top the coffee with.

Richard

--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991

J Krugman wrote:
> In > Frogleg > writes:
>
>
>>As long as we're here, is there any secret to Cafe Cubano? I had some
>>in Miami years ago and it was terrific. Is it anything more than
>>heavily sugared espresso? And ambiance? I can't seem to get it right.
>
>
> Oh, one more thing, the bean/roast combination may be what you are
> missing; see if you can buy Cuban or Puerto Rican coffee roast in
> the store (e.g. Bustelo or Yaucono). Use a fine grind if you're
> going to use a "greca"-type pot.
>
> [Bustelo is not really Cuban (AFAIK the beans don't grow on Cuban
> soil) but it is what all my Cuban friends in Miami drink.]
>
> Jill
>

Bustelo and El Pico, to name a few, are the most horrendous thing in
making coffee. Buy a dark french roast, and grind it with a real grinder
(the ones in the markets are fine,) then smell and taste the difference
in the final product.

BTW, I've tasted Cuban coffee and it was very good. I would of loved to
taste freshly ground beans. Unfortunately, what is given to the "people"
is ground garbanzos mixed with the most inferior grade beans
available--when you can get it.

Richard

--
"..A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava
beans and a nice chianti..."

Hannibal "The Cannibal"

Silence Of The Lambs 1991