"Congri"

"congri"

~Blog post #3~

April 17, 2015

By: Nicholette Davis

Traditional Cuban food can be explained in two words; or rather as Cubans like to name it “congri.” rice and beans, the main staple to all Cuban dishes past, present, and future.  The reason Cubans love to have rice and beans is based on how it was originally brought from the settlers who arrived on the island.  The Spaniards were drawn to Cuba because of the importance of the Havana port.  As the island was beginning to become farmland, farmers began to cultivate rice into a major crop.  However, as time progressed, Cuban farmers began to have difficulty in producing rice.  Cuban farmers were beginning to fall behind regular production rates of the Central American and Caribbean countries due to the shortage of usable water and fertilizer.  Farmers also did not have modern agricultural tools which hindered the situation.  Therefore, Cuba is a major importer of rice due to cultural demand.  The other staple is beans.  Contradictory to logic, Cuba does not grow its own beans, and as a result of this, Cuba imports all of the beans that its citizens consume.  Even though Cubans pay a high cost for beans, they continue to consume beans for most meals.  As I spoke in a previous post, rice and beans can be combined in any manner and this variation allows for the people to have rice and beans several times a day.  Essentially every meal typically has some sort of rice or beans with it or a combination of the both. Rice and beans are not only the staple for all Cuban meals it is also a great source of protein in their diet.

Irvine, Robert. "Red Beans and Rice : Robert Irvine : Food Network." Red Beans and Rice Recipe : Robert Irvine : Food Network. N.p., 2007. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.