Puerto Rican cuisine facts for kids

Puerto Rican food mixes cooking traditions from Europe (especially Spain), Africa, and the native Taíno people. This unique blend started forming in the late 1800s. Today, you can find Puerto Rican cuisine in many other countries too.

History of Puerto Rican Food

Puerto Rican cooking, often called cocina criolla, has been shaped by different cultures. It's a bit like Spanish and other Latin American foods, but it uses special local seasonings and ingredients. By the end of the 1800s, traditional Puerto Rican cooking was well-known. The first restaurant, La Mallorquina, opened in Old San Juan in 1848. The island's first cookbook, El Cocinero Puertorriqueño, came out in 1849.

How Taíno People Influenced Puerto Rican Food

The Taíno people, who were the first inhabitants of Puerto Rico, ate many tropical roots and tubers. These are called viandas. Some important ones are yautía and yuca (also known as cassava). From yuca, they made thin, cracker-like bread called casabe. They also made pasteles, which are like Puerto Rico's version of tamales.

Many foods we eat today came from the Taínos. These include ajicito (a mild chili pepper), recao/culantro (spiny leaf coriander), avocado, pimienta (allspice), achiote (annatto), different kinds of peppers, peanuts, guavas, pineapples, and guanabanas (soursops).

The Taínos also grew beans and some maíz (corn). However, corn wasn't as important to them as it was to people in Mesoamerica. This is because hurricanes often hit Puerto Rico and destroy corn crops. Plants like yuca, which grow in protected mounds, did better. When corn was used, it was often made into cornmeal and then into guanime, a mix of cornmeal, mashed yautía, and yuca, wrapped in corn husks or large leaves.

The Taínos cooked their food on a grill made of logs over a fire pit. They called this barbacoa.

How Spanish and European Cultures Influenced Food

Spanish and European influences are very strong in Puerto Rican cooking. Foods like wheat, chickpeas (garbanzos), cumin, onions, garlic, cilantro, basil, sugarcane, citrus fruit, grapes, eggplant, lard, chicken, beef, pork, lamb, goat, and dairy products all came to Puerto Rico from Spain.

Olives, capers, and olive oil are also a big part of Puerto Rican cooking. Since these can't grow well in the tropical climate, they were imported from Spain. Early immigrants from places like the Netherlands, France, Italy, and China also added to Puerto Rican food traditions. All these different influences came together to create La Cocina Criolla.

How African Culture Influenced Food

Many foods came to Puerto Rico from or through Africa. These include coconuts, coffee, orégano brujo, okra, tamarind, yams, sesame seeds, gandules (pigeon peas), and many types of banana fruit. African slaves also brought the method of deep-frying food, which is used for dishes like cuchifritos.

How the United States Influenced Food

The United States influenced Puerto Rican cooking after Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898. One big change was how people fried food. Spaniards first brought expensive olive oil. Later, cooks used cheaper lard, which could be made on the island. For many years, corn oil from the U.S. replaced lard for making cuchifritos.

Galletas de soda (soda crackers) also became popular. They were like the crunchy casabe bread and stayed fresh in tins, which was great in the humid tropical weather.

American bacon is now used in many Puerto Rican dishes, like rice, stewed beans, and to stuff mofongo and meats. Turkey (pavo), which is not from the island, is now a common holiday meal. It's often roasted like lechón (roasted pig) and seasoned with sazón or adobo.

How Latin American Culture Influenced Food

Other foods from Latin America arrived on the island through Spanish trade. These include cocoa, tomatoes, chayote, papaya, bell peppers, and vanilla from Mexico and Central America. Potatoes and passion fruit were brought by the Spanish or Portuguese from Peru and Brazil.

Other Food Influences

Panapén (breadfruit) first came to the Caribbean from the South Pacific in the late 1700s. It was a cheap food for slaves. After spreading around the Caribbean, panapén became a key part of Puerto Rican cooking. It's used in puddings, deep-fried tostones, mofongo, and like sweet or green plantains.

Regional Foods

Puerto Rico's main island has mountains, coastal plains, and a northern karst region. Each area and town has its own special food traditions.

Arecibo's Cuisine

Arecibo is a large town on the northern coast. It's known for using a lot of cumin and coriander seeds, which give dishes a smoky and tasty flavor. In the Río Grande de Arecibo river, small fish called cetí are caught. These tiny fish are used in mofongo, alcapurrias, and empanadas. They are most famous when battered and deep-fried. One restaurant in Arecibo is known for pasteles filled with cetí. These pasteles are made from yuca, yautía, squash, and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves, and then grilled.

Hatillo's Dairy Products

The town of Hatillo is on the north coast. It's called the Dairy Capital of Puerto Rico because it has almost as many cows as people! The town produces about one-third of the milk used in Puerto Rico. Hatillo is the only place in the Caribbean that makes cheese similar to European cheeses. Each cheese is named after a place in Puerto Rico.

Loíza's Afro-Puerto Rican Flavors

Loíza is a town on the northeastern coast, known for its African traditions. Its Afro-Puerto Rican food has a special Taíno touch. Coconut is used a lot in both sweet and savory dishes. You can find empanadas made from yuca dough with coconut milk and seafood, or yellow rice with coconut and seafood.

Some unique sweets from Loíza include dulce de coco (sweet milk coconut), cazuela (a sweet potato, pumpkin, and raisin pie cooked with coconut milk and banana leaves), and dulce de ajonjoli (a sesame brittle). Popular dishes from Loíza also include pasteles, rice and coconut arepas, mofongo, and guanime. Loíza's food has influenced all of Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean.

Vieques' Spiced Drink

Vieques is an island off Puerto Rico's eastern coast. It's known for a spiced drink called Bilí. This drink is made by fermenting white or dark rum for a year or more with Spanish limes or cherries, cinnamon, clove, orange peels, lemon peels, allspice, vanilla, brown sugar, and other spices. While it's available throughout Puerto Rico, it's usually saved for the holidays.

Basic Ingredients

Grains and Legumes

• Pink beans (Habichuelas Rosadas) – The most common bean in Puerto Rico.
• Pigeon peas (Gandules)
• Chickpeas (Garbanzo)
• Rice (Arroz) – White medium-grain rice is most popular. Pearl rice is used for rice pudding. Rice flour is also used for fritters and custards.
• Sesame seeds (Ajonjolí) – Used in snacks like lollipops and Turrón de ajonjolí (sesame bars). Horchata de ajonjolí is a milky drink made from ground sesame seeds.
• Tamarind (Tamarindo)
• Black beans (Habichuelas Negras)
• Coffee (Café)
• Corn (Maíz)

Herbs

• Caribbean thyme (Tomillo) – Stronger flavor than English thyme.
• Culantro (Recao) – Eryngium foetidum. Similar to cilantro but with a stronger taste.
• Cilantro
• Basil (Albahaca)
• Orégano brujo – This oregano grows wild and has a strong smell. It's key in adobo seco and adobo mojado.
• Bay leaves (Laurel)
• Mint (Menta)
• Parsley (Perejil)

Starchy Tropical Tubers

Starchy tubers, starchy fruits, chayote, and squash are all called viandas or verduras. They are used in many ways: boiled, made into chips, mashed with butter and milk, or roasted. Mofongo is popular with all viandas, especially plantains.

• Sweet potato (Batata) – Tropical sweet potato with purple flesh.
• Arrowroot (Lerén)
• Taro (Malanga)
• Yam (Ñame)
• Potato (Papa)
• Eddoe (Yautía)
• Cassava (Yuca) – Similar to a potato but starchier.

Vegetables

• West Indian pumpkin (Calabaza)
• Eggplant (Berenjena)
• Chayote
• Onion

Meats and Poultry

• Pork – Every part of the pig is used, especially pernil.
• Chicken – The second most popular meat after pork.
• Chorizo – A common Spanish sausage.
• Beef
• Corned beef (Carne bif) – Usually stewed with potatoes and served with fried sweet plantains and white rice.
• Vienna sausages (Salchichas) – Popular in dishes like arroz con salchichas (rice with sausages) or Salchichas Guisadas (sausage stew).
• Ham – Important in Puerto Rican food. Searing ham in annatto oil is often the first step in making sofrito.
• Blood sausage (Morcilla) – Adopted from Spanish morcilla. Puerto Rican morcilla has rice, culantro, cilantro, chilies, and garlic.
• Turkey (Pavo) – A common holiday meal.

Seafood and Shellfish

Seafood is popular in coastal towns like Luquillo and Fajardo.

• Red snapper (Chillo or Pargo)
• Clams
• Conch (Carrucho)
• Dried and salted cod (Bacalao)
• Mahi-mahi (Dorado)
• Octopus (Pulpo)
• Shrimp (Camarones)
• Spiny lobster (Langosta)
• Crab (Jueyes)

Fruits

Fresh tropical fruit is a key part of the daily diet.

• Acerola cherry
• Avocado – Grows wild and is often eaten in salads.
• Bananas (Guineos) – Many types are used in savory and sweet dishes.
• Orangelo (Chironja) – A mix of orange and pomelo, native to Puerto Rico.
• Citrus – Lime, lemon, bitter orange, and oranges are widely used for juice and marinating meats.
• Coconut (Coco) – A very common dessert ingredient. Used in coconut flan, coconut cream, and more.
• Guava
• Mango
• Okra (Quimbombó) – Came from Africa and is eaten stewed, fried, pickled, or in soups and salads.
• Papaya
• Passion Fruit (Parcha)
• Pineapple (Piña) – Native to the island. Puerto Rico grows four types.
• Peppers – From sweet to hot, peppers are important in cooking. Most meals use a mix of sweet, mild, and slightly hot peppers.
• Soursop (Guanábana)
• Starfruit (Carambola)
• Tomato

Starchy Fruits

• Breadfruit (Panapén) – Used like green plantains and in desserts.
• Green Banana (Guineo) – Used in soups, with root vegetables, or broiled with escabeche.
• Plantains (Plátanos) – A core part of any Puerto Rican meal. They are a savory banana that must be cooked. Tostones are fried plantains, often served as an appetizer. Mofongo is a well-known plantain dish. Ripe plantains are often fried as maduros.

Hot Sauce

Traditional pique (hot sauce) is made with oil and vinegar, infused with whole peppers, garlic, onions, and other spices. You can find it in almost every restaurant and food stand.

• Coco loco – Coconut hot sauce with coconut water, cream of coconut, lime, molasses, and chilies.
• Pique criollo – A vinegar-based Puerto Rican hot sauce.
• Pique de piña – A fermented and pickled pineapple skin hot sauce.

Condiments

Puerto Rican cooking uses many spices and seasonings due to its mixed influences. While Caribbean curries exist, sazón and adobo are more common. Traditional cooking uses fresh local ingredients like citrus for mojo and mojito isleño, and fresh herbs and vegetables for recaíto and sofrito.

The base of many main dishes is sofrito. A good sofrito is a sauté of fresh ground garlic, tomatoes, onions, recao/culantro, cilantro, red peppers, cachucha, and cubanelle peppers. It's usually cooked with olive oil or annatto oil, bacon, salted pork, and cured ham. A mix of stuffed olives and capers called alcaparrado is often added, along with spices like bay leaf, sazón, and adobo.

• Annatto oil (Aceite de achiote) – Made by cooking annatto seeds in oil. It colors food red-orange.
• Adobo mojado – A wet marinade with garlic, salt, black pepper, olive oil, orégano brujo, and vinegar or citrus juice.
• Adobo seco – A dry seasoning mix with garlic powder, onion powder, dry orégano brujo, salt, and black pepper.
• Alcaparrado – A mix of green olives, peppers, and capers.
• Criollo – Puerto Rican creole sauce. A basic salsa criollo uses recaíto as its base, cooked with pork, spices, tomato sauce, and liquid.
• Mojito isleño – A sauce served with fish or shellfish.
• Mojo criollo – A herb sauce with finely chopped cilantro or parsley, garlic, citrus, vinegar, and olive oil.
• Paprika – Often used with sazón for more color and flavor.
• Pique Sauce – Homemade hot sauce made by soaking hot peppers in vinegar.
• Recaíto – A green cooking base mix of cilantro, Spanish onion, culantro, roasted garlic, green bell pepper, and ajicitos.
• Sazón – A seasoning mix with coriander seeds, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and annatto powder.
• Sofrito – A mix of ajicitos, green cubanelle peppers, plum tomato, roasted pimiento pepper, cilantro, Spanish onions, culantro, and garlic.

Puerto Rican Dishes

While daily meals can vary, there are some common patterns. Breakfast is often simple, like coffee and a pastry. Dinners almost always include meat, rice, and beans. Puerto Ricans enjoy many traditional dishes.

National Dishes

• Arroz con dulce – Sweet sticky rice cooked with spices, ginger, milk, coconut milk, raisins, and rum. This is a national Christmas dessert.
• Arroz con gandules y lechón – Yellow rice with pigeon peas and roasted pork is considered the national dish.
• Asopao – Similar to gumbo, this soup is made with rice, shellfish, chicken, chorizo, and other ingredients.
• Coquito – Coconut milk and rum eggnog. This is a national Christmas drink.
• Pasteles – Dough made from green banana, squash, plantains, and root starches, filled with meat and other ingredients. A national Christmas dish.
• Piña colada – Created in 1963. It has been the national drink of Puerto Rico since 1978.
• Tembleque – Coconut corn starch pudding. This is the national dessert.

Holy Week Dishes

During Holy Week, people often eat lighter meals with fish, eggs, and dairy instead of meat.

• Bacalao a la Vizcaína – Salted cod fish stew, cooked with milk, potatoes, raisins, olives, peppers, onions, garlic, and tomato sauce.
• Caldo Santo – A soup made on Easter with salted cod fish, shellfish, octopus, squid, fish, coconut milk, sofrito, and various root vegetables.
• Guanimes Con Bacalao – Corn dough seasoned with coconut milk, steamed in banana leaves, and served with salted cod fish in tomato sauce.
• Serenata de Bacalao – Salted cod fish cooked with viandas, then seasoned with salt, peppers, and olive oil. Served with hard-boiled eggs and avocado.

Thanksgiving Dishes

Thanksgiving was adopted by Puerto Rico after it became a U.S. commonwealth. Many American dishes have been adapted for this day.

• Arroz con Maiz y Salchichas – Yellow rice with corn and Vienna sausage.
• Coquito – A Thanksgiving version of this Christmas drink can be made with pumpkin or chocolate.
• Pasteles – Families often gather to make pasteles a week or two before Thanksgiving. Pork is most popular, but some make "Thanksgiving pasteles" with turkey and dried cranberries.
• Pavochon – A turkey roasted like lechón (suckling pig). The word pavochón combines pavo (turkey) and lechón. The turkey is often stuffed with mofongo that includes almonds, raisins, olives, and hard-boiled eggs.
• Dulce – Thanksgiving desserts often mix American and Puerto Rican traditions. Classic sweets are made with sweet viandas like pumpkin, yams, and sweet potatoes. Examples include Flan de calabasas (squash flan) and Cazuela (a pie with pumpkin, sweet potato, and coconut).

Christmas Dishes

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a long celebration, starting in November and lasting until late January. Food is a big part of these festivities.

• Arroz con gandules – Yellow rice and pigeon pea dish. Sofrito and annatto oil are key for flavor and color. It includes olives, capers, pork pieces, and spices.
• Beverages – The official Christmas drink is coquito, a rum and coconut milk drink like eggnog. Piñas coladas are also popular.
• Pasteles – A favorite holiday dish. These are soft, dough-like masses wrapped in banana or plantain leaves and boiled. They are filled with chopped meat, seafood, chicken, raisins, spices, capers, olives, sofrito, and sometimes chickpeas.
• Lechón – Roasted piglet cooked on a spit is central to holiday cooking. Other pork dishes include pernil (baked pork shoulder) and morcilla (blood sausage).
• Ensaladas – Most Christmas tables have salads like potato salad with peppers, onions, and mayonnaise, or macaroni salad with tuna or spam.
• Dulce – Many sweets are enjoyed during the holidays. Popular desserts include Arroz con dulce (rice pudding with milk, coconut milk, and spices), Bienmesabe (small cakes soaked in coconut cream), Tembleque (coconut pudding), and Flan (egg custard).

Sandwiches

• Boricua or pernil sandwich – Roasted pork stuffed into toasted pan de agua or pan de sobao with ham, salchichón, cheese, guava paste, mayonnaise, and pickles.
• Tripleta – A popular lunch sandwich made with toasted pan de agua. It has mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and sofrito spread on the bread. It's filled with roasted beef, pork, chicken, cheese, caramelized onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and potato sticks.
• Jíbarito – A sandwich that uses unripe green plantains instead of bread. The Jíbartia uses ripe sweet plantains as bread.

Appetizers and Fritters

Puerto Ricans love fried food and pork. Most meals include fried appetizers, with tostones being a favorite.

• Almojábana – A fritter made from rice flour or mashed cassava or sweet plantains, stuffed with cheese, and fried into a ball.
• Macabeos – A green banana fritter, filled with meat, shaped into small balls, and deep-fried.
• Mofongo – A very popular Afro-Puerto Rican dish made with fried unripe plantain and other root vegetables mashed with garlic, fried pork (chicharrón), olive oil, and broth.
• Plátanos Maduros – Slices of deep-fried sweet plantains.

Breakfast

While traditional American breakfast foods are popular, Puerto Rico adds its own touch.

• Arroz con leche – Rice cooked until sticky with milk, sugar, and cinnamon, served with fruit.
• Avena – Oatmeal with cinnamon, vanilla, brown sugar, raisins, and milk, served with fresh fruit.
• Farina – Cream of wheat cooked with spices, ginger, milk, sugar, citrus peels, and coconut milk.
• Café con queso – Coffee is often paired with cheese. A cube of cheese might be put into a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.
• Funche o Harina de Maiz – A breakfast dish made from boiled coconut milk or cream, milk, salt, and butter mixed with cornmeal until thick.
• Pan de Mallorca – Sweet and light yeast rolls topped with powdered sugar. Eaten with coffee or stuffed with eggs, cheese, and ham.
• Tortilla de Huevos – An omelet made with diced tomatoes, cilantro, onions, peppers, garlic, oregano, and cheese.

Lunch and Dinner

Lunch and dinner in Puerto Rico are not usually very spicy, but sweet-sour combinations are popular. Adobo, sofrito, and annatto are used in most dishes. Food trucks are common for quick lunches. Hot soups are enjoyed, often with tostones, bread, or avocado.

• Arroz y habichuelas – Rice, always with beans (arroz con habichuelas) or gandules (pigeon peas). Beans are richly stewed with pork, potatoes, olives, capers, squash, recaíto, spices, and tomato sauce, then poured over rice.
• Bistec Encebollao – Thinly sliced steak with onions, marinated in adobo mojado and white wine vinegar.
• Chillo frito al Mojito Isleño – A whole red snapper seasoned overnight, coated in flour and plantain chip crumbs, deep-fried, and served with tostones and mojito isleño.
• Chicharrón de pollo – Small chunks of fried chicken, marinated in lemon juice, rum, and seasoning, then tossed in batter and fried.
• Chuleta Kan-Kan – Deep-fried or grilled pork chop with the rib and skin still attached. The skin is sliced to resemble pork rinds.
• Guisado – Braised meat or fish. Meat or fish is seared with annatto oil. Ham and salted pork are often added to thicken the stew. Recaíto, olives, capers, potatoes, carrots, cumin, and other spices are basic ingredients.
• Fricasé – A hearty and spicy chicken, beef, turkey, rabbit, or goat dish braised in sofrito, butter, and olive oil.
• Pastelón – Puerto Rican version of lasagna, using sweet plantains or cassava instead of noodles.
• Picadillo a la Puertorriqueña – Puerto Rican style ground meat, used in fritters or served with rice.
• Sopa y asopao – Soups are typically served with bread, tostones, or rice. Puerto Rico's national soup is asopao, similar to gumbo, made with rice, chicken, chorizo, or seafood. Sancocho is a popular hearty stew with various meats, tubers, corn, and squash.

Breads, Pastries, Sweets, and Desserts

Puerto Rican cuisine has many dessert recipes.

• Alfajor – Spiced cassava cookies.
• Bizcocho de Piña Colada – A popular birthday cake with crushed pineapples, rum, cream of coconut, and coconut flakes frosting.
• Bolitas de Tamarindo – Sweet tamarind balls mixed with milk, coconut milk, honey, brown sugar, rum, and cinnamon, then baked.
• Dulce de Batata – A chewy tropical sweet potato candy.
• Dulce de Piña Colada – Coconut and pineapple fudge.
• Dulce de Leche – Often made with key lime peels or added coconut milk in Puerto Rico.
• Dulce de Papaya con Queso Blanco – Unripe green papaya cooked in a heavy syrup with spices, served with slices of white cheese.
• Limber – Frozen treats made with milk, egg, coconut cream, fruit flavors, and spices. Frozen in plastic cups or as popsicles.
• Majarete – A rice flour custard with milk, sugar, orange leaves, coconut milk, and vanilla, dusted with cinnamon.
• Panetela – A cake with guava paste and cheese or coconut jam baked in the middle.
• Pilón or Pilones – Puerto Rican lollipops made with tropical fruit.
• Queso Blanco con Pasta de Guayaba – White cheese with guava paste served on a soda cracker.
• Tembleque – A pudding with coconut milk, cornstarch, cinnamon, and sugar.
• Tres Leches Cake – A three-milk sponge cake. Puerto Rican style adds cream of coconut or mango milk and rum.

Beverages

Puerto Rico's tropical climate means fruits, sugar, and coffee grow wild. Coffee is a common start to the day. Fresh fruit drinks and smoothies are popular.

• Agualoja – Ginger tea made with ginger, spices, mint, and molasses.
• Chocolate Caliente – Hot chocolate made with cocoa, vanilla, milk, spices, and sometimes cheese, topped with whipped cream.
• Coquito – A traditional holiday drink with cream of coconut, evaporated milk, condensed milk, white rum, cinnamon, and vanilla.
• Frappe tropical – Passion fruit juice, coconut cream, banana, and pineapple chunks blended together.
• Piragua – Shaved ice dessert shaped like a pyramid, covered with fruit-flavored syrup.
• Refresco de Avena – Oatmeal drink made with toasted oatmeal, milk, ginger, orange peels, cinnamon, and vanilla.
• Refresco De Tamarindo – Tamarind drink made with brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and star anise.

Kiosks

The Luquillo kiosks are a beloved part of Puerto Rico. All over the island, you can find rustic stalls selling all kinds of fritters. Kiosks are a popular and important part of beach days and the island's food culture. You can often find fresh octopus and conch salad. Larger kiosks might serve hamburgers, Caribbean fusion, Thai, Italian, Mexican, or Peruvian food. This mixes new cuisines with classic Puerto Rican food. Kiosks also offer many drinks, often with a special signature drink.

• Alcapurrias – Fritters made with a dough of eddoe (yautía) and green bananas (guineos verdes) or yuca. They are stuffed with meat, crab, shrimp, or lobster.
• Arañitas – These get their name from their spider-like shape (araña means spider). These shredded green plantain fritters are mixed with mashed garlic and cilantro, then fried.
• Arepas or Yaniclecas – Flatbreads unique to Puerto Rico. They are usually stuffed with meat, seafood, cheese, or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
• Bacalaítos – Codfish fritters from Puerto Rico. They are a common food at many kiosks.
• Empanadilla and pastelillo – Deep-fried turnovers filled with meat, seafood, vegetables, cheese, or fruit paste.
• Papa rellena – A popular potato ball fritter stuffed with meat.
• Piononos – Mashed sweet plantain patties filled with picadillo (seasoned ground beef) and cheese.
• Sorullos – Cornmeal sticks, often made with cheese.
• Taco – These are not like traditional Mexican tacos. Puerto Rican tacos are like cylindrical empanadillas. They are made from dough flavored with annatto and lard, stuffed with beef, rolled up, and fried.

Puerto Rican Food Outside Puerto Rico

• Cuchifritos – In New York, cuchifritos are very popular. They are often called "Puerto Rican soul food" and include various fried pork dishes like morcilla (blood sausage) and chicharron (fried pork skin).
• Jibarito (Plantain Sandwich) – In Chicago, El Jibarito is a popular dish. The word jíbaro in Puerto Rico means a person from the countryside. Jibaritos have meat, mayonnaise, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, all sandwiched between a fried plantain, called a canoa (canoe). Long ago, wheat bread was expensive in the mountains, so jíbaros were made from plantains. The Chicago version was first made with skirt steak, but now you can find it with chicken, roast pork, ham, shrimp, and even tofu.

Chefs

• Alfredo Ayala – Known as the father of modern Puerto Rican cuisine.
• Dora Romano – Author of "Cocine Conmigo" (Cook with Me), written in 1972.
• Daisy Martinez – Author of cookbooks like Daisy Cooks: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World. She also had TV shows like Daisy Cooks! on PBS.
• Giovanna Huyke – A famous television chef.
• Luis Antonio Cosme – A famous Puerto Rican actor and television chef.

Images for kids

• 

  Maví bottles from Ponce, Puerto Rico; left bottle has maví, the right one is empty

• 

  Sorullos from Puerto Rico.

See also

In Spanish: Gastronomía de Puerto Rico para niños