Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-12-25
PORTO RICAN TABLE.
WHAT TEE NATIVES OF OUR NEW
POSSESSION EAT.
THEY ARE FOND OF GOOD LYING.
Cookery widely Different from Tint
of the United stntcs--Fondness of
the Peasants for Gnr1ic-Typicni
Menus,
Menus.

Mr.. Otto schoenrich, Of Baltimore. who
is travelling in Porto Rico. writes TO the
Sun as follows:
As every people has its own peculiar
diet and manner Of serving IL so the cook
cry OF Porto Rico, founded on that OF
Spain. is distinct from that general In the
United states. In his way the average
Porto Rican lives well. he is great
eater. and quito extravagant as to his
table There are three meals day. the
desayuno, taken on rising in the morn
ing. the almnerzo. or breakfast, at noon,
and dinner in the evening. Sometimes.
though very rarely, n supper Is served
later. For desayuno, only bread and
coffee are served. but the deficiency is
more than made up in the other meals,
which are strong and substantial
The first notable difference between
their manner Of cooking and ours is in the
coffee which is better, but much stronger
than that TO which we are accustomed.
The way in which it is prepared. utilizing
nearly all OF the bean, accounts for its
strength. The coffee in the first place
is roasted until black. then ground to a
fine powder. then placed in the "colador,'
which is generally n vessel similar 10
that we use in making drip coffee, or in
the country. often nothing more than a
cloth bag: then boiling water is poured
over Il and allowed to filter, the result
being rich coffee Tea Is never served
and. indeed. none but medicinal tea is
obtanable. The sugar used is brown
and often very crude as there arc no
large refneries in the island.
Bread i'm this climate becomes dry very
rapidly, so it is baked fresh every day,
or even twice a day. Cake, as we know
#. is rarely seen. There IS no such thing
as homemade bread. as cooking is done
over charcoal fires, and few families have
an oven or stove. In many places the
bakers US, no yeast. but prepare the
dough ly heating It well, and the bread
tastas and looks Ike the well-lnown
Maryland biscuit. In the mountain dis
tricts cornbread in the shape of hard,
brown stjcks q foot long is used extern
sivelv Batter IL not used much. princi-
pallv because the native product is so
poor and good foreign butter is so eX-
uensive. II seems strange that country
which has 50 many fine cattle and pro-
duces such delicious cream cheese shonld
give so little attention TO buter-making,
bat the reason Is that the people neither
have the indictments. nor DO thsy know
how The LITTLE native butter If made by
hand and used by country people. !: Is
perfectly white and almost tasteless. Most
ffr.I In, ga4
tin cans. and costs from 40 cents to 81
pound Porto Rican money. The best
comes from Denmark, or the Danish IS
lands. and that from Holland Is also good.
That from France woulc make medium
good oleomargarine while the Asturfan
butter from Spain might do very well
for axle-grease. As butter il is a rank
failure.
MEATS AND RICH SAUCES.
One distinctive feature Of the Porto
Rican diet is the great amount Of meats
and rich sauces served. At every one OF
the principal meals two or three kinds
Of meats and fish are served. As there
are no ice-bOXes. and in most places no
ice the meat must be Of animals killed
not more than twelve hours before the
meal. or fish, the favorite kind. especial
" in tho country districts, is goldfish i'm
lCltN0
there are selling at 10 cents. dozen. but
they are scarcely larger than a thumb-
nail.
AS for vegetables, besides the native
products. American canned goods are
used to some extent and would be used
far more were the prices less exorbitant.
In their stead recourse is had TO the
thousand and one fruits of the Island
and these are prepared In rs many diff
ferent ways. The principal fruit is the
banana. of which there are two princi-
pal kinds, large ones, called piatanos
or plantains, and used for cooking only
and smaller ones whose many subdi-
visions. including the kind sold n Bal |
timore. are known under various names !
The size of the bananas ranges from one
and half inches TO one and a third feet !
and the taste and flavor varying as much |
as the sizes They are prepared in many |
fried, boiled. stewed, and |
as ingredients of numerous dishes A |
number of our fruits such as pears and |
peaches, are unknown. Apples there are |
but few. selling at cents each. They |
are often used for preserves. To US |
apples and the many dishes TO which |
they give rise are such matter Of fact |
things that l was quite surprised at first |
at the astonishment Of the ladies' when |
lbeY DedlO tnhl dppts ctulu ne lIltu |
and stewed 'lke bananas"
RICE OF MANY COLORS.
Among the many things Spain sent to
her colony Was her typical grain. the /
garbanzo. a bean q little larger than the |
pea. 1t Is used very extensively as are |
also white ana red beans. Rice, also a
stable article Of food. is consumed in
enormous quantities. In fact. no meal
Is complete without beans and rice, and
they ere served as regularly as Tread. |
The rice is boiled and steamed 50 that
each grain viii stand apart from it's neigh
Jors. By adding bacon. tomatoes RED
pepper. or caramal fish. during the steam
Ing process, the rice Is obtained in differ
mt colOrs yellow, brown, red and even
black.
LOVERS OF GARLIC.
one OF the reasons why many dishes of
the Porto Rican cuisine are repulslYe to
American palates is because they are
strong and too generously treated with
oil. onions. garlic, and pepper. In the
litchens of the better classes these in
gradients are used with moderation; in
many families indeed, they are not used
IT all. but among the lower classes every
fish has a liberal allowance Of them. Ny
irst experience i'm this line was on one
IF my trips 10 the mountains, when my
friends and myself were overtaken by an
exceptionally severe rain, which made the
steep mountain trails impossible and
obliged us TO take refuge for time I'm
he little hut OF a iibaro as the peasants
ire called. From the rafters OF the house
lung long strings Of red and yellow
pepper, Of onions, and Of ali, a small but
concentrated form of red pepper. From
he omen shed that served as kitchen, |
Where barefoOted women were preparing