Gastronomy in Puerto Rico

Cooking in the country is a bit similar to Mexican and Spain cuisine; it has a distinctive flavor combine with foreign influences using native seasonings and ingredients. Lunch and dinner normally start with hot appetizers like bacalaitos (crunchy cod fritters); empanadillas (curved-shaped turnovers filled with beef, crab and lobster); and surullitos (sweet plump cornmeal fingers). Some of the classic soup in the country are frijoles negros (black-bean soup); sopón de garbanzos con patas de cerdo (chickpea with pig's feet); sopón de pescado (fish soup); and sopón de pollo con arroz (chicken soup with rice).

Some Puerto Rican dishes are albondigón (meat loaf); arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas); arroz con pollo (chicken with rice) ; carne guisada puertorriqueña (beef stew with cilantro, garlic, green peppers, sweet chile peppers, onions, potatoes and olives stuffed with pimientos); lechón asado (roasted pork); Mondongo (beef tripe stew); pollo agridulce (sweet and sour chicken); pollitos asados a la parrilla (broiled chickens); pollo frito ( fried chicken) and rabo encendido (spicy and hot oxtail stew).

Some list of common desserts in Puerto Rico are tortitas de calabaza (pumpkin tarts), tembleque (coconut pudding), tarta de guayaba (guava tarts), flan (egg custard), mantecaditos (shortbread cookies), besitos de coco (coconut kisses), budín de pan (bread pudding), brazo gitano (sponge cake with cream and / or fruit filling), bizcocho de ron (rum cake), barriguitas de vieja (deep-fried sweet pumpkin fritters); and arroz con dulce (sweet rice pudding).

The popular beverages in the country are coquito (an eggnog-like rum and coconut milk); piñas coladas (prepared with the combination of pineapples, white Puerto Rican rum and coconuts); coffee and beer. The country is a primary producer of rum and mostly the color of rum are gold, amber, or white.