Elizabeth Ferrer

FSS1202 81392
November 3, 2014
Cuban Cuisine

Introduction
Cuban cuisine is one of the most interesting cuisines found in the Caribbean. It has
elements of both Spanish and African cultures with ingredients native to the region. The Spanish
and African cultures emerged in Cuban cuisine because Christopher Columbus, conquistador of
Spain, discovered the island of Cuba on October 28, 1492.1 Spanish colonies were established
and ultimately made the natives almost extinct. Colonists then imported African American slaves
from Africa to work in the mines and plantations.1 Cuba is just 90 miles South of the Southern
most point of Key West, Florida. Cuban cuisine began to emerge in South Florida, more
specifically Miami, Florida, following the Cuban revolution in 1959 when many Cubans
immigrated to the United States for a better life.2 Cuban cuisine offers a powerful link to its
island traditions and memories.
Cuban mealtime customs include having three meals a day breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a
snack with a shot of coffee in the mid afternoon. Breakfast is small and served between 6-9am,
which includes tostada, grilled Cuban bread with butter spread on top, caf con leche, espresso
coffee served with warm milk and sugar.3 People often break the tostada and dip it into the caf
con leche. Lunch is from 11:30am-12:30pm and it often consists of empanadas, Cuban
sandwiches containing chicken or another meat, or pan con bistec, a thin slice of steak on Cuban
bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and a sprinkle of fried potato sticks. 3 After lunch Cubans take a
Spanish tradition of a siesta, short nap.
Cubans have a snack within 2-3hrs after having lunch, which is usually pastelitos, small
and flaky turnovers filled with meat, cheese, or guava, with a side of Cuban coffee.3 Dinner is
the biggest meal of the day served at the table for the couple or family to eat and share the meal
together from 6-8pm. In a typical Cuban dinner there is always meat, chicken, or fish in the main

dish, which is usually served with white rice, black beans, and fried plantains with a small salad
of sliced tomatoes, avocados, onions and lettuce.4
Home cooked meals are a staple in Cuban cuisine. Cooking techniques range from
grilling, frying, pouching, baking, sauting, and slow cooking; olive oil is also used in cooking.2
Meats and poultry are marinated in lime or naranja agria, sour orange juices and salt or
empanizado, breaded.2 Cubans deep fry foods including; tostones, which are deep fried mashed
plantains, vaca frita, which means fried cow is shredded flank steak, pescado frito, which is fried
fish, masitas de Puerco, which are tender fried pork rinds, and yuca frita, which is fried cassava.4
The Spanish words frita and frito mean fried. Many starchy vegetables are used in Cuban cuisine
such as boniato, white sweet potato, malanga, taro root, and yuca, cassava.
The traditional Cuban recipes served for special occasions such as birthdays or holidays
are flan, mojito, and bistec empanizado. Flan recipe is a sweet and rich dessert made with
caramel, eggs, sugar, water, lemon, cinnamon sticks and condensed or evaporated milk.1 Yuca
con mojo is made with mojito, which is olive oil, lemon juice, sliced raw onions and garlic and
the yuca is left marinating in the mojito mixture for a while before serving.4 Bistec empanizado,
breaded steak, is a thin steak that is sprinkled with chopped onion, minced garlic, sour orange
juice, and salt and rubbed into the meat and left in the refrigerator to marinate overnight. Then
seasoned and dipped into eggs, rolled into flour, dipped again in egg mixture, added
breadcrumbs, heated oil in skillet and fried the steak until golden brown.3 Sofrito, a saut of
onions, green peppers, garlic, oregano and bay leaves, is a main ingredient for almost every
traditional Cuban dish.2
Cubans love their meat, which is a distinctly European taste, and Cubans believe that
without meat in the diet the human brain would stop functioning. Regardless of how close the

ocean is to the island and how tropical the climate is, Cubans prefer meat to fish.4 Cubans also
think that a meatless meal is considered highly unsatisfying; therefore, a vegetarian diet lacks
nutrients. In Cuba where coffee and sugar are main exports at the core of the economy, a cup of
very strong and sweet black coffee, with the occasional milk added to it, has come to symbolize
kindliness, social inclusion, and cubanness.5 Cuban coffee is usually served a couple times a day;
breakfast, snack, and after dinner especially at events or holidays with the desert to signal that
the meal has come to an end.5
The Restaurant Experience
I visited La Carreta, Miamis original Cuban kitchen, 8650 SW 40th Street Miami,
Florida 33156 on Sunday October 19, 2014 at 7:30pm. La Carreta is known for its authentic
Cuban cuisine made with amor, love. La Carreta translates to the oxcart in English, which is a
strong open vehicle with two or four wheels, typically used for carrying loads. La Carreta was
especially popular in the Sugar Plantations in Cuba as a way to transport the sugar cane across
the plantations. La Carreta is a Cuban family owned restaurant and it is a staple of the old
Cubas family dinning traditions of abuela (grandmothers) style food and authentic Cuban
espresso.
Being Cuban and living in Miami, FL my entire life, I have eaten at La Carreta many
times for different occasions. When I went with my boyfriend, who is Dominican yet still loves
Cuban food, this time I looked at the menu, my surroundings, and my experience more closely.
There is an option to order and eating outside while standing up from an area, somewhat like a
bakery, where they have premade quick snacks such as the pastelitos, croquetas, Cuban soda,
and Cuban coffee. The other option was to dine inside the restaurant and sit at either the bar, a
booth, circular or rectangular table, while being greeted by hostesses who took us to our table. As
we were walking to our table I noticed all the memorable paintings and signs along the walls and

the actual wall paper that had a scenery as though we were in Cuba with domino tables, birds,
cigars, and the ocean. The restaurant was big and even had a second floor that is reserved for big
groups who have celebrations such as receptions, birthdays, baby showers, baptism, first
communion, or confirmation parties.
The menu was pretty long because it included breakfast, lunch, and dinner options and
was bilingual the names of the dishes were in Spanish and the translation was in smaller ink in
English. Before I even ordered I was greeted with a cup of water and a basket of lightly toasted
and cut Cuban bread that was buttered. As I looked through the menu everything sounded
authentic except for a hand full of items such as grilled cheese, tuna salad, western omelet, and
English muffin sandwich. Everything else from the beverages such as, malt soda and caf con
leche, to the deserts, such as flan and guava or dulce de leche cheesecake.
Featured Recipe
The entre that I sampled was Vaca Frita, which means fried cow in English and only
cost $10.75. The Vaca Frita was made with shredded beef grilled with onions and Cuban mojo; it
was also served with moros rice, sweet plantains, and a fresh slice of lime on the side. Moros, is
simply white rice and black beans that are cooked together and used as a side dish for many
Cuban meals. In the recipe that I found for Vaca Frita had main ingredients and seasoning
ingredients in smaller amounts. This recipe has a prep time of 10 minutes, and cook time of 1
hour and 45 minutes; therefore, the total time it would take to make it would be about 2 hours.
I think it is an easy dish to prepare because I have seen my grandmother make something
similar to it and if you already have the main ingredient, roast cow, and are familiar with it, it
makes it a lot easier to prepare. I do not have most of the ingredients where I live now, but if I
were to go back home in Miami, to my Cuban household, I believe I would find 75% of the
ingredients in my kitchen. If I were to buy the unusual ingredients the recipe calls for, I would

buy them at a local food supermarket such as Publix. In Miami there is a special Publix called,
Publix Sabor, which translates to Flavor Publix in English and was made to have more of a
Hispanic influence. There are also food supermarkets that cater to Hispanic cultures such as
Sedano and Presidente supermarkets.
Flavors
On the menu at La Carreta of the Vaca Frita it said it was made with Cuban mojo, which
is a popular Cuban sauce made from fresh lime juice, ground cumin, garlic cloves, salt, ground
pepper, and olive oil. On the recipe the main ingredients, besides the steak, included; bay leaves,
peppercorns, dry sherry, olive oil, onion, fresh lime juice, green bell peppers. On the seasoning
ingredients list I found garlic powder, black pepper, ground cumin, onion powder, and salt. The
Cuban mojo really stood out to me and I wanted to know more about the ground cumin and how
it contributes to the Cuban mojo sauce and the Vaca Frita dish as a whole.
Cumin is a member of the parsley family, but cumin is known for it's warm and smoky
taste.7 Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds in that they are long and shin in shape. Cumin seeds
can either be used whole or ground into a powder.6 Aside from using cumin in sauces, because of
its warmness is commonly used in a lot of stews, soups and can bring warmth to recipes.
Cumin, Cuminum cyminum, is native to the area from the eastern Mediterranean to
eastern India.6 cumin has been used by traditional cultures for both for cooking and healing.
Persians, native of Persia (Iran), are thought to be the first people to have cultivated cumin.
Cumin is used in coking and as a medicinal herb throughout the Middle East, North Africa,
South Asia, and parts of southern Europe.6 Cumin is naturally found in Iran, Turkey, India,
Pakistan, Argentina, China, Central America and other regions.7
Cumin is the second most popular spice in the world after black pepper. Cumin fruits are
also used as spices and are used as culinary herbs. Cumin is also used as flavoring agents in

perfumery and cosmetic products.7 In Cuban cuisine cumin in also used to make sofrito along
with other secondary ingredients, some of which are also in the Vaca Frita recipe, include, but
are not limited to, tomato sauce, dry white wine, bay leaf and cilantro. Cuban sofritos are the
basis of many side dishes such as beans, rice and stews.

Reference List
1. Food In Every Country Web site.
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Cuba.html. Accessed October 26, 2014
2. Le Cordon Bleu Web site.
http://www.chefs.edu/student-life/culinary-central/august-2009/cuban_influence_south_florida.
Accessed October 26, 2014
3. University of Miami Web site.
http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/littlehavana/Cuban_Food/Cuban_Cuisine/cuban_cuisine.htm
l. Accessed October 26, 2014
4. In mamas kitchen Web site.
http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART_II/food_history_and_facts/cuban_food_co
oking.html. Accessed October 26, 2014
5. PAPONNET-CANTAT C. The joy of eating: Food and identity in contemporary cuba
(english). Caribb.q. 2003;49(3):11-29.
6. Natural Standard Web site. https://naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com/databases/food,herbs-supplements/c/cumin/bottom-line.aspx. Accessed October 28, 2014
7. Hajlaoui H, Mighri H, Noumi E, Snoussi M, Trabelsi N, Ksouri R, Bakhrouf A (2010)
Chemical composition and biological activities of Tunisian Cuminum cyminum L. essential
oil: A high effectiveness against Vibrio spp. strains. Food Chem Toxicol. 48:2186-2192.

Cuban Vaca Frita recipe - How to Make "Fried Cow"

http://www.tasteofcuba.com/vacafrita.html

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Main Ingredients:
2 pounds flank steak
2 whole bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
3 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, sliced
2 small limes, cut into wedges juice from one lime (or two tablespoons lime juice)
2 medium green bell peppers, sliced
Seasoning Ingredients:
1 teaspoon garlic powder
teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
Place the steak in a pot or deep pan, and just enough water until the beef is covered. Add the bay
leaves and peppercorns. Cover the pot, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 hours.
Remove pot from heat, and allow the contents to cool down.
When the steak is still warm but not especially hot, remove it from the pot. On a plate or in a
nonreactive container, shred the beef using two forks, or pull the beef apart using your fingers.
Add the seasonings, sherry and lime juice, and mix them into the beef using your hands. Set
aside.
Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Add onions, bell peppers,
and saut until the onions are tender (about 5-8 minutes). Turn the heat up to medium-high, then
add the shredded beef. Cook the beef for 5-15 minutes, until it is crispy.
Remove from heat and serve with lime wedges. It can be served by itself, with white rice on the
side, or with moros y cristianos.
Serves 4-6.