Native Name: Matzah Dietary Tags: Pareve, Kosher for Passover Cultural Background: Matzo, the flat unleavened bread eaten during Passover, commemorates the hurried departure of the Israelites from Egypt, who had no time to let their bread dough rise. Jewish law requires that matzo be made and baked within 18 minutes of the flour first touching […]
Introduction: Croquetas de Jamón are creamy béchamel-based ham croquettes, breaded and fried until crisp, and are a direct inheritance from Spanish colonial cuisine that became fully Cuban through their presence at every cafeteria counter and family gathering across the island. Cultural Background: Croquetas de Jamón are creamy béchamel-based ham croquettes, breaded and fried until crisp, […]
Introduction: Pan Cubano is the light, crackling-crusted white bread that anchors Cuban breakfasts and sandwiches alike, distinguished from a French baguette by the addition of a small amount of lard or vegetable shortening in the dough, which gives it a softer, closer crumb. Cultural Background: Pan Cubano is the light, crackling-crusted white bread that anchors […]
Introduction: Pan de Maíz Cubano is a lightly sweetened cornbread with roots in the island's Afro-Cuban culinary tradition, where corn has long held a place alongside the more dominant wheat breads brought by Spanish colonists. Cultural Background: Pan de Maíz Cubano is a lightly sweetened cornbread with roots in the island's Afro-Cuban culinary tradition, where […]
Native Name: Puls Cultural Background: Puls was the daily bread of Rome long before bread itself was common – a thick grain porridge eaten by farmers, soldiers and senators alike, and considered so central to Roman identity that Romans were nicknamed 'pultiphagi', porridge-eaters, by the Greeks. Cato the Elder praised simple puls as the food […]
Native Name: Libum Cultural Background: Recorded by Cato the Elder, libum was a cheese-and-flour bread baked as an offering to the household gods, the Lares, and also eaten as a treat on birthdays and other happy occasions – a direct ancestor, in both name and form, of the modern Italian ricotta cheesecake. Tips: The bay […]
Native Name: Globi Cultural Background: Cato the Elder gives detailed instructions for globi – small balls of cheese and semolina dough, deep-fried in fat and finished with honey – describing them as an offering food as well as an everyday sweet, popular enough to survive almost unchanged in spirit as the fried dough treats found […]
Introduction: These flaky pastry turnovers filled with sweet guava paste and salty white cheese are a beloved street and bakery snack across Cuba, embodying the classic Latin American pairing of guava and cheese. Cultural Background: These flaky pastry turnovers filled with sweet guava paste and salty white cheese are a beloved street and bakery snack […]
Introduction: Buñuelos de Nochebuena are twisted, deep-fried root vegetable fritters soaked in a spiced anise syrup, traditionally made in the days leading up to Christmas Eve (Noche Buena) in Cuban homes. Cultural Background: Buñuelos de Nochebuena are twisted, deep-fried root vegetable fritters soaked in a spiced anise syrup, traditionally made in the days leading up […]
Native Name: Panis Quadratus Cultural Background: Carbonised loaves of this exact shape were preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius and found in the ruins of Pompeii – a round loaf scored into eight wedges with a cord tied around its middle, likely so it could be carried or divided easily without a knife. Tips: Score […]