Three roots on one plate

Set a plate of arroz con gandules, habichuelas guisadas and tostones in front of Mami Bruny and she'll tell you it's lunch. Look closer and it's a history lesson.

What the Taíno grew

The Taíno farmed in mounds called conucos: yuca, batata (sweet potato), corn, ají peppers and beans. They baked yuca into flat casabe bread and colored food with achiote seeds. The annatto that turns your rice orange is a Taíno habit.

What Africa brought

Enslaved Africans brought pigeon peas, ñame (yam) and ways of cooking that shaped the whole cuisine. Mofongo is a cousin of West African fufu, starchy food pounded smooth. Plantains came to the Caribbean by way of Africa, and the frying tradition of the coast, from Loíza's bacalaítos to alcapurrias, owes a lot to African cooks.

What Spain brought

Spain brought pigs, rice, wheat, garlic, olives, capers and the slow-cooked aromatic base that became sofrito. Spanish colonists also brought sugarcane, and sugar is what brought enslaved Africans to the island in large numbers.

What the island did with all of it

The result isn't Spanish, African or Taíno food. It's Puerto Rican. Ají dulce and culantro, both from the Americas, went into a Spanish-style sofrito. African pigeon peas went into Spanish rice with Taíno color. And the diaspora kept going: pernil in Bronx kitchens, jibaritos made with plantains in place of bread in Chicago, and a coquito recipe for every family.

This is a simplification, of course. Ingredients crossed oceans in every direction, and every cook changed them. But the next time someone asks what Puerto Rican food is, hand them a plate.

FuentesSources

• Cruz Miguel Ortíz Cuadra, Eating Puerto Rico: A History of Food, Culture, and Identity (University of North Carolina Press, 2013)