Characteristic products and habits
Cuban cuisine makes extensive use of vegetables and starches. The term viandas has nothing to do with meat(carne), but refers to tubers and bananas: yuca (manioc), papa (potato), malanga (taro), boniato (sweet potato), plátano (banana, fruit or plantain). Plátano can be fried in chunks(tostones) or in thin strips(mariquitas), or boiled and mashed with chicharrones - crispy fried bacon - under the name fufú. The latter is a dish brought by slaves and extremely widespread in Africa. Unlike many of its Caribbean neighbors, Cuban cuisine, though spicy, is not very spicy.
As for meat, pork(cerdo) is the Cuban favorite. It is often marinated in a mixture of bitter orange, oregano, garlic and cumin before being roasted or grilled. Pork is also processed into charcuterie and sausages, such as chorizo, which is very popular here. Carne de res (beef) is eaten in Cuba as picadillo (minced meat) or steak. Chicken is also very popular. Despite Cuba's island location, fish and seafood are eaten less frequently. However, seaside resorts offer a multitude of restaurants serving fish and shellfish to tourists. Lobsters are particularly famous.
When it comes to restaurants, there are two main options: paladares, which are privately owned and can be set up in pretty houses, and state-run restaurants, which resemble more traditional establishments. You'll find prices for both categories, ranging from fast-food to gourmet restaurants. However, it's generally in privately-owned establishments that you'll find the best food, as the cooks are often more attentive. For those on a budget, snacks and small stalls are common along the markets.
The classics of Cuban cuisine
Cuba's national dish is ropa vieja, literally "old clothes". This dish consists of beef simmered for a long time in a richly seasoned tomato-based sauce before being shredded. Bistec de palomilla - "butterfly steak" - is beef steak marinated in garlic, lime juice and pepper, then pan-fried with a generous amount of onion. Closely related, vaca frita is a fried, pulled steak with caramelized onions. Boliche is roast beef stuffed with a ham or chorizo-based preparation. It is then simmered with onions and various spices. Picadillo a la habanera is a recipe for minced meat with tomatoes, olives, onions, white wine and raisins. Tasajo is dried or smoked horsemeat. Cut into small cubes, it is usually served with a sauce.
Lechón, or roast suckling pig, is usually prepared for special occasions. Simpler, bistec de cerdo encebollado is a pork steak with caramelized onions, while masas de cerdo fritas are fried pork cubes marinated in bitter orange juice. Caldosa is a rich peasant soup - originally from the Cuban Oriente - with pork, beef, chicken, sweet potato, corn, potato, squash and a host of spices.
Chicken is commonly served in Cuba and can be found, for example, inajiaco. A dish of African origin, ajiaco is a sort of stew made with chicken, vegetables and tubers. It is garnished with plantain bananas, potatoes, manioc, sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkin, yams and more. Chicken is also served with saffron rice in the classic arroz con pollo. Rice is essential in Cuba. There's the classic Moros y cristianos - literally "Moors and Christians" - made with white rice and black beans, as well asarroz cubano, a tomato rice with plantain and fried egg. Thearroz imperial is tomato and saffron rice, topped with ham, shrimp and chicken, all baked au gratin with cheese. Rice is a classic accompaniment toenchilado de camarones cubano, shrimp in a finely spiced tomato sauce.
Tamales - found throughout much of Latin America - are prepared by wrapping corn dough in corn husks and then cooking the whole thing in boiling water. They are usually garnished with pork. As their preparation is long and tedious, they are often made in the family. Another local classic, yuca con mojo, is a recipe for boiled cassava with a garlic, onion and coriander vinaigrette. A Taino staple, casabe - called "bread of the earth" by the Spanish colonists - is made from flour extracted from cassava. It resembles a Mexican tortilla and is still eaten today, especially in the east of the island, with pork.
For those wishing to eat on the go, it's impossible not to mention the traditional Cuban sandwich or medianoche. Prepared with pan cubano - a kind of lightly brioche baguette - it is filled with cold roast pork, ham, mustard, Emmental cheese and sweet pickles. But there's a surprising variant filled with turkey, fromage frais and strawberry jam, created by local socialite Elena Ruz in the 1930s. The term " bocadillo " generally refers to the simpler sandwiches sold on the street and in cafeterias, con jamón (ham), con queso (cheese) or con lechón (roast pork). Cubans also love pizzas. Quite different from Italian pizzas, they are generally very thick, brioche-crusted, with a slightly sweet tomato sauce and lots of cheese. They're perfect for a quick, hearty meal.
There are many different types of frituras, often based on starches: corn, malanga, tostones (plantain), etc. Croquetas cubanas are béchamel, ham and cheese-based croquettes, breaded and fried, as in Spain. Papa rellena is also a type of mashed potato croquette filled with minced meat, chorizo and cheese. Cuban empanadas are, as in the rest of Latin America, half-moon-shaped turnovers filled with minced meat and vegetables. Cajitas are small takeaway boxes, ideal for small budgets, with a cooked dish, usually pork or chicken, with rice, black beans, manioc and/or fried banana.
Desserts and drinks
Cuba's secret culinary delights include boniatillo (a sweet potato cream flavored with cinnamon),arroz con leche (rice pudding), cusubé (cassava jam), malarrabia (banana jam), mermelada de fruta (jam) and majarete, an excellent dessert made with grated corn juice, milk and cinnamon. Locals are also very fond of ice cream. Queso con guayaba is a mixture of guava paste and fromage frais: surprising but delicious. Cascos are candied fruit peels, usually citrus or guava.
A tropical island par excellence, Cuba produces a wide variety of succulent exotic fruits: pineapple, mango, watermelon, guava, coconut, papaya and, of course, banana. The banana as we know it in Europe is called plátano fruta. There's also a tiny variety called plátano-manzano (banana-apple), which has an apple-like aftertaste. Other rarer fruits include theanón, the chirimoya and the guanábana, with their sweet white pulp. The mamey is a large brown West Indian fruit with tasty orange flesh and a huge lacquered stone.
These fruits are widely processed into juice, milkshake or batido. Guarapo is the traditional freshly squeezed cane juice. Granizade is a drink made with crushed ice and a non-alcoholic liqueur, served in the street. Beware, however, of anything containing ice cubes and crushed ice, often made with tap water, which is not drinkable on the island. Malta is a carbonated malt drink with an aftertaste of beer and cola, often with a dash of sweetened condensed milk.
We can't leave the Cuban table without mentioning the deliciously full-bodied and very sweet café cubano, which is at the heart of local social life. The cortadito is a long coffee with a generous amount of milk. The casas de infusiones, or tea rooms, are also popular, but serve herbal teas and other infusions.
Cuba, land of rum
Cuba's history is inextricably linked with that of sugar cane and, by extension, rum. The island is marked by two emblematic houses that symbolize " ron " in their own right. Bacardí, founded in 1862, and Havana Club, founded in 1878, both had different destinies. After the Cuban revolution of 1959, the Bacardí family fled the island and settled in Bermuda, while production was relocated to Puerto Rico, at the " Cathedral of Rum ", now the world's largest rum distillery. Conversely, Havana-Club was nationalized and remained in Cuba.
The company's different products include Silver Dry, a sweet white rum suitable for cocktails; Añejo 3 Años, a slightly amber colored rum, to be drunk neat or in cocktails; Añejo Reserva and Añejo 7 Años, darker in color and woody in flavor, to be drunk neat or on the rocks. But Havana Club is not the only brand of Cuban rum. Others include Arecha, Santiago de Cuba, Edmundo Dantes, Varadero and Santero y Caney.
On the eve of the Revolution, Havana was a profoundly cosmopolitan city, attracting artists, socialites and businessmen from all over the world, and especially from the United States. Numerous rum-based cocktails were created here, such as the Daïquiri (lime, crushed ice), Cuba Libre (cola, lime), Mojito (mint, lime, crushed ice, brown sugar), El Presidente (dry vermouth, curaçao, grenadine, orange zest), Ron Collins (lemon, sugar, sparkling water), Hemingway Special (grapefruit juice, maraschino, lime) or Greta Garbo (maraschino, lime, crushed ice, anisette).
Other spirits found on the island includeaguardiente, an unrefined rum often served as a saoco with coconut water and a dash of honey. Guayabita del Pinar is a kind of arranged rum in which small wild guavas are left to macerate. Cubans - as well as tourists - are also great consumers of beers, mainly lagers, such as Hatuey (named after an Indian cacique), which is the best-known brand. Cristal, Bucanero and Mayabe are produced by the Holguín-based brewery Cervecería Bucanero S.A., founded in 1997. La Tropical is Cuba's oldest beer, produced since 1883, not to mention Tínima, one of the island's few strong beers, at 8°.
