Street Food in Current Cuba
Today, there is little variety in street food, and what is available is not highly recommended unless you know the vendor.
As we say here... * Who knows where that came from? *
Necessity drives people to be creative, and not always in the best way. So sometimes it's better to play it safe...
Today, I want to talk to you about two sweets that you can find on every corner of any city.
Tortica Morón (Morón cookie)
Shaped like a cookie and with a unique texture, this sweet originated in the old Camagüey (now Morón belongs to Ciego de Ávila). According to my great-grandmother, who was born in Camagüey around that time, the sweet became quite popular quickly, and everyone knew the lady who made it.
She did recreate it because the original recipe comes from Andalusia. The lady replaced the nuts with lemon zest and made it a bit salty.
It's a sweet with a slight salty touch.
As a child, there wasn't a corner I passed without wanting to eat one; they are simply addictive.
Moreover, they are very easy to prepare, making them perfect for anyone to sell on the street. However, the recipe doesn't turn out well for everyone (but that's a topic for another post).
I don’t know if this sweet exists where you are reading from; if so, what do you call it?
Guava Pastry
This is a very Cuban modification, derived from French pastry.
As I have said many times, scarcity brings out people's ingenuity (and Cubans can be overly ingenious at times).
According to various theories, this modification arose from leftovers in bakeries of the upper bourgeoisie in Cuba. They had leftover puff pastry and decided to add some guava pulp, and thus the guava pastry was born.
The recipe, texture, and quality vary practically with each attempt. This is another street food that you will often find in Cuban cities.
Pastries are a favorite for many. They are small, and you can eat them as you walk, with the best part being when you reach the center where the guava hides, adding an even sweeter touch to the dough.
An addiction!
On this occasion, I bought these two sweets at a bakery where I go to unwind a bit. Of course, the prices here are a bit higher.
Still, a guava pastry starts at 80 CUP (0.2 USD), and the cookies can be found even cheaper starting at 60 CUP (0.15 USD). Not bad, right?
No matter what time of year you visit Cuba, you will always find someone shouting about guava pastries or something similar.
And la tortica? Well, if you leave Cuba without trying it, it's like you never came.
You’ll have to eat more than one of each. Eating just one should be a sin :)
If you’re from Cuba, let me know some of your memories with this street food.
Read you soon!
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