To get an idea of how North American gastronomy influenced Puerto Rican cuisine, specifically from the southeastern United States, it is helpful to remember that American cuisine is a fusion of many ethnicities and the influence of immigrants from Africa, France, and Mexico.
Native Americans introduced squash, varieties of beans, peppers, and fruits such as blackberries and raspberries, which became part of the settlers' diet.
At the end of the 19th century, when Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory following the Treaty of Paris in 1898, Puerto Rican cuisine experienced American influence in the way food was prepared. It was also enriched with new products brought by Native Americans, such as squash and other crops.
As mentioned earlier, the most significant influence was in the technique of frying foods. Previously, when the Spaniards arrived, frying was done with imported olive oil from Spain, but due to its high cost, cooks replaced it with lard, which was produced locally.
Later, with the arrival of Americans, lard was replaced with corn oil, which had been produced in the United States for the past 60 years, and continues to be used today in preparing cochifritos, which are similar to the North American fried dishes of the southeastern Indigenous peoples, who fried pig’s brains, paws, and liver. Today, these dishes are known by various names, such as Johnny cake.
