Characteristic products and habits

Cuban cuisine makes use of a large number 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). The plátano can be fried in pieces (tostones) or in thin strips (mariquitas), or boiled and mashed with chicharrones - crispy fried bacon - under the name of fufú

. The latter is a dish brought by slaves and is extremely common in Africa. Unlike many of its Caribbean neighbors, Cuban cuisine, although spicy, is not very spicy.

On the meat side, pork (cerdo) is the favorite meat of Cubans. It is often marinated in a mixture of bitter orange, oregano, garlic and cumin before being roasted or grilled. Pork is also made into sausages and cold cuts, such as chorizo, which is very popular here. Carne de res (beef) is eaten in Cuba as picadillo

(ground meat) or steak. Chicken is also very popular. Despite Cuba's insular location, fish and seafood are more rarely eaten. However, in the seaside resorts, there are many restaurants offering fish and shellfish to tourists. Lobsters are particularly famous. There are two main types of restaurants: the paladares, which are privately owned and can be located in beautiful houses, and the state restaurants, which are more traditional. You will find all prices for both categories, ranging from fast food to gourmet restaurants. However, it is usually in the privately owned establishments that you eat best, as the cooks are often more attentive. For those on a budget, snack bars and small stalls are common along the markets.

The classics of Cuban cuisine

The Cuban 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 a beef steak marinated with garlic, lime juice and pepper, then pan-fried with a generous amount of onion. Closely related, vaca frita is a fried and pulled steak with caramelized onions. The boliche is a roast beef stuffed with a ham or chorizo preparation. It is then simmered with onions and various spices. Picadillo a la habanera is a recipe of minced meat with tomatoes, olives, onions, white wine and raisins. Tasajo

is dried or smoked horse meat. It is cut into small cubes and is usually served with a sauce.

Lechón or roast suckling pig is usually prepared for special occasions. The simpler bistec de cerdo encebollado is a pork steak with caramelized onions, while the masas de cerdo fritas is fried pork cubes marinated in bitter orange juice. Caldosa

is a rich peasant soup - native to the Cuban Oriente - with pork, beef, chicken, sweet potato, corn, potato, squash and a host of spices.

Chicken is commonly served in Cuba and is found inajiaco, for example. A dish of African origin, it is a kind of stew made of chicken, vegetables and tubers. It is garnished with plantains, potatoes, manioc, sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkin, yams, etc. Chicken is also served with saffron rice in the classic arroz con pollo. Rice is indeed essential in Cuba. For example, there is the unavoidable Moros y cristianos - literally "Moors and Christians" - made of white rice and black beans, but also thearroz cubano, a tomato rice with plantain and fried egg. Theimperial arroz is a tomato and saffron rice, topped with ham, shrimp and chicken, all baked with cheese. The rice is a classic accompaniment forenchilado de camarones cubano

, shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce.

Tamales - found throughout much of Latin America - are prepared by wrapping corn dough in corn husks before cooking in boiling water. They are most often filled with pork. Since their preparation is long and tedious, they are often made in family. Another local classic, yuca con mojo, is a recipe of boiled cassava with a garlic, onion and coriander dressing. A staple food of the Tainos, casabe

- called "bread of the earth" by the Spanish colonists - is made from flour extracted from cassava. It looks like a Mexican tortilla and is still eaten today, especially in the east of the island, with pork.

For those who want to eat on the go, it is impossible not to mention the traditional Cuban sandwich or medianoche. Prepared with pan cubano - a kind of baguette slightly brioche -, it is filled with cold roast pork, ham, mustard, emmental cheese and sweet pickles. But there is a surprising variant filled with turkey with fresh cheese and strawberry jam, created by a local socialite, Elena Ruz, in the 1930s. The term " bocadillo " usually refers to the simpler sandwiches sold on the street and in cafeterias, con jamón (ham), con queso (cheese) or con lechón

(roasted pork). Cubans love pizza. Quite different from what is found in Italy, they are usually very thick, brioche-like, with a slightly sweet tomato sauce and lots of cheese. They are perfect for a quick and hearty meal. There are many different types of fried foods or frituras, often made with starchy foods: corn, malanga, tostones (plantain), etc. The croquetas cubanas are croquettes made with béchamel sauce, ham and cheese, breaded and fried, as in Spain. The papa rellena is also a type of mashed potato croquette filled with ground meat, chorizo and cheese. Cuban empanadas are, as in the rest of Latin America, half-moon turnovers filled with ground meat and vegetables. Cajitas are small take-out boxes, ideal for small budgets, with a cooked dish, usually pork or chicken, with rice, black beans, cassava and/or fried banana.

Desserts and drinks

Among the delicious little desserts that Cuba has the secret of, we must mention the boniatillo (a kind of sweet potato cream very flavored with cinnamon), thearroz con leche (rice pudding), the cusubé (manioc jam), the malarrabia (banana jam), the mermelada de fruta (jam) and finally the majarete, an excellent dessert made with grated corn juice, milk and cinnamon. The locals are also very fond of ice cream. The queso con guayaba is a mixture of guava paste and fresh cheese: 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 bananas. The banana as it is known in Europe is called plátano fruta. There is also a very small variety called plátano-manzano (banana-apple) which has an apple aftertaste. Other rarer fruits are worth a visit, such as theanón (attier), the chirimoya (cherimoya) and the guanábana (corrosol) with a very sweet white pulp. The mamey

is a large brown Caribbean fruit with a tasty orange flesh and a huge lacquered stone.

These fruits are abundantly transformed into juice but also into milkshake, or batido. Guarapo is the traditional freshly squeezed cane juice. The granizade is a drink made of crushed ice with a liqueur (non-alcoholic) served in the street. Beware of anything with 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. One cannot leave the Cuban table without mentioning the deliciously full-bodied and very sweet Cubano coffee, which is at the heart of local social life. The cortadito is a long coffee with a good amount of milk. The casas de infusiones, a kind of tea house, are also popular, but they serve herbal teas and other infusions.

Cuba, land of rum

The history of Cuba is inseparable from that of sugar cane and therefore of rum. The island is marked by two emblematic houses that symbolize the " ron " in their own right. Bacardí and Havana Club, founded respectively in 1862 and 1878, had different destinies. After the Cuban revolution of 1959, the Bacardí family fled the island to Bermuda, while production was relocated to Puerto Rico, to the production site of the " Cathedral of Rum

", today the largest rum distillery in the world. On the other hand, Havana-Club was nationalized and remained in Cuba.

There are different productions: the Silver Dry, white, sweet, suitable for cocktails, the Añejo 3 Años, slightly amber, pure or in cocktails, the Añejo Reserva and the Añejo 7 Años, darker in color and with a woody taste, to be consumed pure or on the rocks. But Havana Club is not the only Cuban rum brand. There are also other Cuban rum brands such as Arecha, Santiago de Cuba, Edmundo Dantes, Varadero or Santero y Caney.

Havana was, on the eve of the Revolution, a deeply cosmopolitan city, attracting artists, socialites and businessmen from all over the world, especially from the United States. Many rum-based cocktails were created there, such as the Daiquiri (lime, crushed ice), the Cuba Libre (cola, lime), the Mojito (mint, lime, crushed ice, brown sugar), the El Presidente (dry vermouth, curaçao, grenadine, orange peel), the Ron Collins (yellow lemon, sugar, soda water), the Hemingway Special (grapefruit juice, maraschino, lime) or the Greta Garbo (maraschino, lime, crushed ice, anisette).

There are other alcohols on the island, such as theaguardiente - understand "brandy" - which is an unrefined rum, often served in the form of 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 - but also tourists - are also big consumers of beers, mainly lagers, such as Hatuey (named after an Indian cacique) which is the most famous brand. Cristal, Bucanero and Mayabe are produced by the Cervecería Bucanero S.A. brewery, located in Holguín, founded in 1997. La Tropical is the oldest beer in Cuba, produced since 1883, without forgetting the Tinima, one of the few strong beers found on the island, with a strength of 8°.