Puerto Rican Lifestyle Cookbook: Why Puerto Rican Food Represents History

Puerto Rican cooking is a combination of indigenous island food, Spanish cuisine, and the food brought by the African slaves.

Sofrito and Sazon, Puerto Rico's most important seasonings, have their origin in Spain. Some of the island's most popular dishes, such as arroz con pollo and asopao, also come from Spain. The love of root vegetables can be traced to the original indigenous residents, who made good use of the island's native assets. Puerto Rico's bold flavors are the result of 15th century Spanish dominance. Other staples, such as coconuts, plantains, and bananas, so prevalent in Puerto Rican cuisine, were brought to the island by Africans.

This Puerto Rican Lifestyle Cookbook incorporates the centuries of foods and extraordinary spices that make the food so special.