WHAT RICE

[mellisas]

would you experts use to make black beans and rice..l have made it with long grain but is not the same..cuban rice is alot plumper..maybe a spanish one..rose can you help amiga..

[Man from Che]

the rice I was eating done there reminded me more of chinese steam rice

[mellisas]

yes your right mfc...a bit fatter than normal..great taste..will be taking julio to the markets so he can have a look at it..says he is a good cook...and l do love beans and rice with an egg on top...have to keep him away from our pork though..all that none fat crap..no taste...the pork in cuba is so juicy and tender...

[Peter Perez]

UNCLE BENs' IS THE CLOSEST TO REAL CUBAN RICE.

[hjb]

would you experts use to make black beans and rice..l have made it with long grain but is not the same..cuban rice is alot plumper..maybe a spanish one..rose can you help amiga..
Doesn't the majority of the rice they eat in Cuba come from the US these days? Food imports from the US have increased strongly after some correction of the embargo made that possible. In think that was in 2001. It might even be true that the majority of all the food now available in Cuba comes from the US. So if this is all true, you should use US rice!

[Peter Perez]

Doesn't the majority of the rice they eat in Cuba come from the US these days? Food imports from the US have increased strongly after some correction of the embargo made that possible. In think that was in 2001. It might even be true that the majority of all the food now available in Cuba comes from the US. So if this is all true, you should use US rice!

Until last year most Rice eaten in Cuba was domestic and about 50% was from China, only about 10% is from the US.
Most of the uS rice is used up by the Hotels and restaurants that cater to tourists.

[hjb]

Are you sure? What is your source?

Until last year most Rice eaten in Cuba was domestic and about 50% was from China, only about 10% is from the US.
50 % of the rice is from China and 10 % from the US, that sums up to 60 %. How does this match with your statement that most of the rice eaten in Cuba is domestic???


United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/cuba/cuba-faq.html)says the following:

Cuba imported nearly $1.0 billion worth of agricultural products in calendar year 2004, up from about $800 million worth in 2003. U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba reached $380 million in 2004, accounting for 44 percent of total imports, the highest level since passage of the Trade Sanctions Reform Act of 2000 (TSRA) that authorized the resumption of U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba. In 2004,

Bulk commodities such as rice, wheat, coarse grains, and soybeans account for the majority (57 percent) of U.S. exports to Cuba.

So 44 % of the food imports in 2004 came from the US and rice is a big part of that. So the 10 % of the rice coming from the US you mention might not be correct...

[hjb]

Question: how do the imports of food relate to Cuba's own production? I have the idea that the majority of food is imported and that the amount of food produced in Cuba itself is very very low.

[Peter Perez]

Question: how do the imports of food relate to Cuba's own production? I have the idea that the majority of food is imported and that the amount of food produced in Cuba itself is very very low.

Yes it was very low for Years and that is why the complaints were so high, That is when in 2004 the importation of rice began from the USA.
But until last year most of the rice in Cuba consume by the populus was domestic, the imported rice which is superior as a finish product goes to the Tourist trade.
The Imported rice relieved the gov. to allow a larger allowance to the people,You can tell the domestic rice by the color and unpolished surface and women spend hours soaking it and cleaning it from debris.
This is stuff I have lived and seen with my own eyes, I don't need a source.

[mellisas]

the unpolished rice is what l am looking for..imo it tastes so much better than the polished stuff..will try to get it from market...

[Rose]

Mellisa, to me, it looks more like the rice we used for paella:

http://www.gastronomiavasca.net/hl/glosario/picture?item_id=925

But "man from Che" knows best, where he comes from, is THE PLACE for paella and rice in Spain... right?

[hjb]

Yes it was very low for Years and that is why the complaints were so high, That is when in 2004 the importation of rice began from the USA.
But until last year most of the rice in Cuba consume by the populus was domestic, the imported rice which is superior as a finish product goes to the Tourist trade.
The Imported rice relieved the gov. to allow a larger allowance to the people,You can tell the domestic rice by the color and unpolished surface and women spend hours soaking it and cleaning it from debris.
This is stuff I have lived and seen with my own eyes, I don't need a source.


So your conclusion is that all of the polished rice comes from the US and goes to the tourists and that the unpolished rice is domestic and goes to the Cubans? Might be so, certainly when you consider the difference between the quantities of imported rice and the homegrown rice... These tourists really know how to take care of themselves in a third world country, don't they?

[hjb]

Mellisa, to me, it looks more like the rice we used for paella:

http://www.gastronomiavasca.net/hl/glosario/picture?item_id=925

But "man from Che" knows best, where he comes from, is THE PLACE for paella and rice in Spain... right?
link does not work

[Peter Perez]

Like I estated before,My Family has owned Cuban Cuisine restaurants for 50 years, The Rice used is Uncle bens long grain, it is not totally white either.
and when cooked properly it does not stick.

[mellisas]

were these resturants in cuba...?

the thing is when you have rice and beans down on the farms in cuba they have a whole different flavour...a flavor l like..sure we have had the same dish in hotels and paladars but it is not the same...

we got lost in baracoa looking for the iidian caves..not prepared at all...was so hot...a farmer found us walking along the road and we went back to his house for oj...we stayed for lunch ..it is one of the meals in cuba we will never forget..wood fire roasted yuca dipped in honey..pork fried in palm oil with tomatoes and chilli...and of course beans and rice...

[Peter Perez]

were these resturants in cuba...?

the thing is when you have rice and beans down on the farms in cuba they have a whole different flavour...a flavor l like..sure we have had the same dish in hotels and paladars but it is not the same...

we got lost in baracoa looking for the iidian caves..not prepared at all...was so hot...a farmer found us walking along the road and we went back to his house for oj...we stayed for lunch ..it is one of the meals in cuba we will never forget..wood fire roasted yuca dipped in honey..pork fried in palm oil with tomatoes and chilli...and of course beans and rice...

Yes my great grandparents had restaurants in Varadero and El Vedado then in Miami they had 12, 2 of those are still owned by my uncles and Am part owner of 1 called El Molino.

You know I did speak to someone in Cuba Just last night, she says that you are right, they are making a fufu out of Yuca, so I apologize for that.
I was comparing the old Cuban Cuisine which is what is still done in Miami and in our homes.
Cuban cuisine has changed quite a bit since the robolution took over, cubans with their great save have had to adjust and surely the cuban kitchen has changed.
Cooking a lot of times without condiments, making steaks out banana peals and even out of a cleaning mop, so yes a lot of things might have changed in the cuban kitchens due to the scarcity of things.

[hjb]

Like I estated before,My Family has owned Cuban Cuisine restaurants for 50 years
Are you talking about the Castro family here or about some long time ago?

[hjb]

Yes my great grandparents had restaurants in Varadero and El Vedado then in Miami they had 12, 2 of those are still owned by my uncles and Am part owner of 1 called El Molino.

You know I did speak to someone in Cuba Just last night, she says that you are right, they are making a fufu out of Yuca, so I apologize for that.
I was comparing the old Cuban Cuisine which is what is still done in Miami and in our homes.
Cuban cuisine has changed quite a bit since the robolution took over, cubans with their great save have had to adjust and surely the cuban kitchen has changed.
Cooking a lot of times without condiments, making steaks out banana peals and even out of a cleaning mop, so yes a lot of things might have changed in the cuban kitchens due to the scarcity of things.

I understand now that the restaurant owning was in the past. Long before the robolution. Does not surprise me;)!

[hjb]

link does not work
It does now, thank you Rose. Must have been that climate change everyone is talking about these days. All these windmills use too much electricity and burn urls.

[mellisas]

thanks for that peter..http://www.cubamania.com/cuba/images/icons/icon7.gif