Food has always been one of the ways I connect with my Puerto Rican family. Some of my favorite memories growing up always involve sitting down to eat with my family and enjoying food that has been made in our family for years. While I have always had my favorite Puerto Rican dishes, I started to think about the stories behind the foods I love the most. When I think about Puerto Rican food, many dishes come to my mind. However, of all of the Puerto Rican foods that I grew up eating, there are three main ones that stand out to me as my absolute favorites which are pastelitos, pernil, and tostones.
Each dish has always been my favorite for many different reasons, but they all have something in common: they are connected to the memories of my family. Each dish reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking, who I miss dearly. To learn more about the meaning behind these foods, I asked my mother and great aunt about their memories and experiences with some of my personal favorite dishes from Puerto Rico.
Pastelitos
One of my personal favorites and such a classic Puerto Rican food has to be pastillos. Pastelitos are small, crispy, deep-fried pastries made with thin dough and stuffed with savory fillings. Pastelitos are mainly made with either ground beef or “Tropical” cheese, but out of two, pastelitos with cheese are my go-to. All of the memories always come back to me when eating a pastelito. No matter whose house I am going to, someone always seems to be making pastelito even if it’s not for any special occasion.
I could always go out and buy pastelitos at a Spanish restaurant, but what’s the point when I could have my mom or great aunt cook them. My mom and aunt believe that even though pastelitos are more of a snack and may not be made for every family gathering, holidays, or special occasions, they are still an important and amazing Puerto Rican food that brings the family together.
When I asked my mother about the dishes our family made while she was growing up, she explained that the person whose house everyone went to was usually the person who would cook. If the family went to her grandmother’s house, her grandmother would cook. If they went to another family member’s house, that person would cook.
And that’s still true today. Whether it’s my mom’s cooking or my grandmother or one of my aunts, one of them is always cooking. But even though it may be someone different cooking, we will often have the same dishes because it’s a part of our culture and traditions and pastelitos is definitely one of those main foods. They could be made for holidays, but my mother explained that they are more of a snack that can be made “anytime, any day.” That is part of what makes pastelitos so special to me and my family. They don’t have to be made for one specific holiday or occasion to bring back memories of the family.
Pernil
Pernil is another one of my favorite Puerto Rican foods not only for its amazing taste, but for how it connects to the holidays and family gatherings in my family. Pernil is a famous Puerto Rican dish that is made from a pig’s shoulder and is cooked low and slow. My mother also chose pernil as her favorite out of the three dishes, explaining how it reminds her of the holidays, family gatherings, and the good old days she had when everyone in the family was alive and together when she was younger.
My great aunt has her own memories of pernil from growing up in Puerto Rico. She explained that her family would make it for celebrations and holidays but that it was also a dish that could be eastern throughout the year. She said that back in her days in Puerto Rico, she remembered how the family would make pernil on a stick and cook it slowly over a fire until it was just right. I could only imagine how much different and delicious it would have been to eat pernil cooked over an actual fire rather than always having it made in the oven like I am used to.
My great aunt’s memories of her having pernil really shows how much the meaning of a dish can change depending on the generation experiencing it. For my mother, pernil brings back memories of our family gathering together. For my great aunt, it brings her back to her childhood in Puerto Rico and the way her family prepared food there. For me, pernil is connected to both of their perspectives. It is something I associate with the family gatherings, holidays, celebrations, and special occasions that I experienced growing up, while also making me think and learn about the generations of my family that made pernil before I was around.
Tostones
Tostones are probably a favorite dish of mine that I feel is not talked about enough. Tostones are fried plantains that are a popular side dish with almost any Puerto Rican meal you can think of. My memory of tostones is how my grandpa got me to eat tostones by calling them “Puerto Rican French fries” and ever since then, I have always wanted to have them. Almost every time, no matter what the occasion was, someone would always make sure to have tostones on the side for our Puerto Rican family lunch or dinner.
When I asked my mother if there was a specific person in our family that she associated with these dishes, she immediately thought of my grandmother. She remembered that my grandmother made the best tostones and even had a special seasoning that the family would dip the tostones in and then would fry them again to make it ten times better than it already was. “She made the best food and I learned from her. Everyone says my cooking tastes just like hers,” my mother said.
What my mother said is true and means a lot to me because my grandmother is someone I always associate with these foods and memories even after she had to stop cooking. My grandmother always loved food and always loved cooking. It was something she could always think and talk about. It shows how recipes and cooking traditions can go from one generation to the next. My mother learned everything about cooking from her mother and even though my grandmother is no longer with us, her food and recipes still live on. We will always have the memories and will always have a taste of my grandmother’s food.
My mother explained that the way our family prepares these foods has stayed the same for many generations. No matter how many more generations come into our family, it is expected that the food will continue being the same old and traditional way. It’s what makes our Puerto Rican food so special. She said that the same recipes, seasonings, and ingredients have always been used and that there has never been any new twists with making these foods. “The original is always better,” she said, and I couldn’t agree more because the food always tasted so good, why should it ever be changed?
More Than Just Food
After talking to my family about these dishes, I realized that the foods I grew up eating carry more than just the flavor and taste. They carry memories, stories, and traditions that have been passed down through generations from my family. My mother described Puerto Rican food as being connected to her upbringing, childhood, flavor, and her roots. She also connected the food to her mother and grandmother, saying that she will always have that connection with them.
My great aunt shared similar feelings as my mother by explaining that Puerto Rican food means everything to her because it represents the way her family has always made food and will always be part of their traditions and culture. She also explained that Puerto Rican families traditionally make their own seasonings to make their food more flavorful, including the very popular and well-known seasoning sofrito.
My favorite Puerto Rican food will always be dishes that I look forward to eating, but they mean more to me now that I have thought about the stories behind them. Every time I eat pastelitos, pernil, or tostones, I am reminded of my family and the generations of people who made these foods before me. They remind me of my grandmother’s cooking, family gatherings, holidays, and all the love and memories that were created when we would get together to have family time and enjoy a meal. My mother hopes that our family continues to make pernil and other traditional Puerto Rican holiday foods because she believes they will bring the future generations together, just as they did for my generation, her generation, and the generations before us. For me, these Puerto Rican foods don’t just taste like home. They remind me of the people I love, the memories I have made, and the traditions that truly make home truly feel like home.