A traditional Puerto Rican meal includes rice, beans, meat (stew), salad, and tostones (fried plantain slices). Rice is the most common and versatile dish. Puerto Ricans are expert rice cooks and can teach the world one or two things about the variety of rice. Along with rice, plantains are the favorite side dish. Over 500 years, Puerto Ricans have never stopped inventing new ways to cook rice and plantains.
Traditional desserts often include coconut and guava. Other traditional desserts include flan, coconut rice, bread pudding with coconut, and coconut kisses.
A typical breakfast consists of Puerto Rican coffee with milk and toasted French bread with butter. The aromatic coffee with milk is the “espresso.” Coffee is enjoyed by children and adults alike.
The coffee with milk also sits at the center of the traditional daily "coffee break" in the afternoon, at three o'clock, enjoyed by everyone whether at home or at work, during weekdays and weekends.
Foods are usually cooked in a caldero, the traditional pot used in Puerto Rico for cooking rice and other dishes. They are durable and excellent heat conductors, which means cooking is more efficient and less expensive. The lids seal in heat and steam, keeping meats, rice, and stews moist while they cook.
