Available for the first time in English, Cruz Miguel Ortiz Cuadra's magisterial history of the foods and eating habits of Puerto Rico unfolds into an examination of Puerto Rican society from the Spanish conquest to the present. Each chapter is centered on an iconic Puerto Rican foodstuff, from rice and cornmeal to beans, roots, herbs, fish, and meat. Ortiz shows how their production and consumption connects with race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and cultural appropriation in Puerto Rico. Using a multidisciplinary approach and a sweeping array of sources, Ortiz asks whether Puerto Ricans really still are what they ate. Whether judging by a host of social and economic factors--or by the foods once eaten that have now disappeared--Ortiz concludes that the nature of daily life in Puerto Rico has experienced a sea change.

"Originally published in Spanish with the title Puerto Rico en la olla."

FOREWORD BY LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA AND LUIS A. MIRANDA, JR. The true story of how José Andrés and World Central Kitchen’s chefs fed hundreds of thousands of hungry Americans after Hurricane Maria and touched the hearts of many more Chef José Andrés arrived in Puerto Rico four days after Hurricane Maria ripped through the island. The economy was destroyed and for most people there was no clean water, no food, no power, no gas, and no way to communicate with the outside world. Andrés addressed the humanitarian crisis the only way he knew how: by feeding people, one hot meal at a time. From serving sancocho with his friend José Enrique at Enrique’s ravaged restaurant in San Juan to eventually cooking 100,000 meals a day at more than a dozen kitchens across the island, Andrés and his team fed hundreds of thousands of people, including with massive paellas made to serve thousands of people alone. At the same time, they also confronted a crisis with deep roots, as well as the broken and wasteful system that helps keep some of the biggest charities and NGOs in business. Based on Andrés’s insider’s take as well as on meetings, messages, and conversations he had while in Puerto Rico, We Fed an Island movingly describes how a network of community kitchens activated real change and tells an extraordinary story of hope in the face of disasters both natural and man-made, offering suggestions for how to address a crisis like this in the future. Beyond that, a portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to the Chef Relief Network of World Central Kitchen for efforts in Puerto Rico and beyond.

Foodies and lovers of Carribbean cooking will be inspired by the authentic Puerto Rican recipes in Yvonne's Ortiz's essential cookbook, A Taste of Puerto Rico. Yellow rice, papayas, guavas, pina coladas, adobo, cilantro, and recaito—color, spirit, and sun-splashed flavor identify the national cuisine of Puerto Rico. A Taste of Puerto Rico is the first major cookbook in years to celebrate the vibrant foods of Puerto Rico, from hearty classics to today's new, light creations. Culinary professional Yvonne Ortiz captures the very best of island cooking in 200 recipes for every course. Adapted for the modern kitchen but completely authentic, these wonderful dishes, bursting with tropical tastes, bring a rich and diverse culinary heritage to your table.

"When her family moved from Puerto Rico to Atlanta, Von Diaz traded plantains, roast pork, and malta for grits, fried chicken, and sweet tea. Brimming with humor and nostalgia, Coconuts and Collards is a recipe-packed memoir of growing up Latina in the Deep South. Inspired by her grandmother's 1962 copy of Cocina Criolla--the Puerto Rican equivalent of the Joy of Cooking--Coconuts and Collards celebrates traditional recipes while fusing them with Diaz's own family history and a contemporary Southern flair. Diaz discovers the connections between the food she grew up eating in Atlanta and the African and indigenous influences in so many Puerto Rican dishes. With stunning photographs that showcase the geographic diversity of the island and the vibrant ingredients that make up Puerto Rican cuisine, this cookbook is a moving story about discovering our roots through the foods that comfort us. It is about the foods that remind us of family and help us bridge childhood and adulthood, island and mainland, birthplace and adopted home."--[page 166]

"In a work brimming with fascinating firsthand voices and in-depth interviews with Caribbean Hispanics (she focuses on individuals self-identified as of Cuban, Dominican, or Puerto Rican ancestry) with high levels of circular migration to NYC and with health professionals working among these groups, Fuster eschews common understandings that take on only cultural or structural factors in favor of studying Caribbean Hispanic foodways at the intersection of culture, history, and structural contexts. She argues that addressing health problems and inequities in immigrant and ethnic communities requires, yes, engaging with understandings of cultural factors and traditional food practice ideals (the approach conventionally taken by nutritionists working with these populations)-but also more. While culture is an important aspect guiding health-related behaviors, it needs to be considered along with key structural factors including race, gender, and social class. Fuster's intersectional approach brings into view how health disparities and quality of life measures are related to food access, health, behaviors and overall wellbeing of migrant communities. By viewing and understanding these communities within an inequitable, interconnected and global migration experience, Fuster finds that the same global forces that create migration flows are also creating distinct conditions and 'othering processes' that do in fact result in different health outcomes in the receiving countries"--