Origins of Puerto Rican Cuisine

Recipes in the La Guinea app are based on a style of cooking referred to by Caribbean locals as "cocina criolla." Cocina criolla involves a complex cooking method that utilizes indispensable herbs and seasoning to create some of the most sensational dishes, native to Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

Puerto Rican cuisine is cocina criolla! This method of cooking is rooted in the Caribbean cultures of early indigenous Taino and Arawak inhabitants, with later influences from Spanish-European settlers, and African migrants at a time when Spain ruled the Caribbean region. Ingredients have their origins from a variety of sources. Livestock and poultry were introduced early by Spanish settlers. Some vegetables, fruits and roots are indigenous to the Islands. Some were contributions from Africa and Asia, as well as Europe and South America.

Worth noting, Puerto Rico has always been a leader in rum and coffee production. Cocktail recipes with rum are popular, and coffee is a suitable finale for any meal. Many of the beverages come in the form of traditional soft drinks and beer. Fruit juices from our tropical fruit trees are very popular, as well as deserts made with coconut.

 

Easy App Navigation

La Guinea offers its users a simple way to utilize our recipes. A useful navigation category index can be summoned from every dish menu page. Just click the link at the top of the page to view the list of categories. La Guinea has responsive technology, so the category index is permanently affixed on wide screens, and collapses when the view is narrowed.

Our recipes are grouped into familiar categories. Choose an item from the category index to open a corresponding dish menu page. Each page has its own collection of images with brief descriptions of the recipes in that category. Pick a dish from the list to view the full description of the recipe, with ingredients, procedure, and images for completing the dish. La Guinea is distributed for mobile phones, and tablets using Android technology.

 

Dedications

La Guinea is dedicated to my parents Herman and Mildred Velez. They enjoyed cooking immensely for the family and all of their many friends. Pop started as a cook during the Korean War. Ma learned the fundamentals from Abuelita (Grandma). Long ago learning to cook at an early age was typical for young girls in Puerto Rico. Ma use to say, "Cooking should always be fun. When you cook a meal for yourself you know exactly what you are eating."  "Most important", she would add, "The more you cook the better your meals will taste, so practice!"

In Puerto Rico practically everything that grew around the Island could be used to create tasty and healthy meals. It was common to have avocado, banana, mango, even coconut trees growing in your backyard. As long as the livestock was plentiful, there was always a fabulous meal at the dinner table.

Because my parents lived close to us, we were able to share countless hours cooking together. Early on, I made it a practice to document everything we made, and present some of my favorites in the La Guinea app. Now it is possible for anyone to cook traditional and popular Puerto Rican cuisine. Ma once said, "A good meal is a gift for the ones you love."  I hope La Guinea is a gift you will love too!

 

La Guinea Disclaimer

Click here to learn about La Guinea's liability to the consumer, and what is expected of you as a user of the La Guinea app.