Adobo is the traditional seasoning for meats. It is a powder made from crushed oregano, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Adobo is now found in most store shelves in the mainland. The modern Puerto Rican family uses store bought sofrito. Bottled sofrito and adobo are available throughout most of the United States although sometimes only at specialty stores.
Rice is the most common and varied dish.
Puerto Ricans are expert rice cookers and can teach the rest of the world a thing or two about variety in rice. Along with rice, plantains are the favorite side dish. In 500 years Puerto Ricans have never stopped inventing ways to cook rice and plantains. Traditional desserts often include coconut and guava. Other traditional desserts include flan, arroz con coco, coconut bread pudding, and besitos de coco.