Culebra Food

Food in Culebra is, because of the isolation from the 'main island' and the lack of agriculture, somewhat different from the 'main island' of Puerto Rico. Most people have a small garden where they grow their own mangos, papayas, guineos (bananas) and citrus.

There is a variety of places to eat out though. They range from sidewalk frituras ($1 to $2.50) from a kiosko to restaurants with their own chef, averaging $50 - $80 per person, and some in between.



Puerto Rican cooking has Spanish, African, Arawak and Taíno influences, using ingredients like coriander, papaya, cacao, nispero, apio, plantains, and yampee. Locals call their cuisine "cocina criolla".

Arawaks and Taínos, the original inhabitants of the island, thrived on a diet of corn, tropical fruit, and seafood. When Ponce de León arrived with Columbus in 1493, the Spanish added beef, pork (lechon asado!), rice, wheat, and olive oil to the island's foodstuffs. Soon after, the Spanish began planting sugarcane and importing slaves from Africa, who brought with them okra and taro (known in Puerto Rico as yautia). The mingling of flavors and ingredients passed from generation to generation among the different ethnic groups that settled on the island, resulting in the exotic blend of today's Puerto Rican cuisine.