Official Review: Puerto Rican Cooking for Beginners

Mai Tran · Post by **Mai Tran** » 28 Sep 2019, 00:03

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Puerto Rican Cooking for Beginners" by Chef Didi.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Puerto Rican Cooking for Beginners by Chef Didi serves as a brief introduction to the cuisine through staple foods that are usually present on a typical Puerto Rican Christmas table. The book promises simple, mouth-watering recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts, ending with alcoholic drinks. With this book, whisking up a full-course meal couldn’t be easier.

I have always been fascinated with food from different cultures around the world, so when I saw the chance to taste authentic Puerto Rican cooking from my own kitchen, I jumped at the opportunity. Considering most recipes were simplified to accommodate beginners, I was a bit concerned that they might not be true to the Puerto Rican taste, but Chef Didi promised her recipes were still delicious enough to eradicate any diet plan. I was sold.

To my surprise, most recipes call for ingredients that are common and readily available. The sofrito, a base sauce used in many Latin American recipes, is made with bell peppers, onions, garlic, and cilantro, all blended with oil. That sounds easy enough. Some recipes are pleasantly familiar with a small twist like the one for bread pudding (or budin as Chef Didi calls it) that uses baguette instead of other types of bread.

Most recipes are easy to understand and follow, though occasionally, I found myself needing some clarifications. Besides some awkward sentences and typos that need to be addressed, parts of the cooking instructions are unclear or missing. For example, the recipe for water bread (pan de agua) is unfortunately cut off mid-sentence toward the end of the first page. In making pastelón, which is the Puerto Rican version of lasagna, the chef instructs to first marinate the meat but doesn’t specify what to use.

Regarding the layout, the text is rather small compared to the overall size of the book, taking up only a fourth of the landscape-orientated pages. Although the Kindle edition can be read comfortably in full-screen mode, it was a challenge for me to use the built-in notebook because the text would then become very tiny and unreadable. On the other hand, despite much of the book being reserved for images, about half of the recipes have an empty orange background in place of a photo. This waste of space makes the book seem incomplete to me.

Overall, this is a beautiful cookbook that offers a sneak peek into the Puerto Rican culinary world, but some adjustments and additions would need to be made. I’m giving it 3 out of 4 stars. I think people who love Latin American cuisines and aspiring home cooks who like to try their hands at foreign recipes would be very interested in this book. Although the ebook works well enough, I recommend interested readers to get a paper version for their ease of navigation.

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Puerto Rican Cooking for Beginners
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Post by **Ngozi Onyibor** » 30 Sep 2019, 05:27

I have a taste for food from different cultures, however, I mostly just want to eat them while another does the cooking. But if the recipes are simple enough, I might be tempted to get my hands a little dirty. I hope the author takes your review to heart, and work on the errors mentioned. Thanks for sharing.

Meg98 · Post by **Meg98** » 30 Sep 2019, 21:20

This sounds like an interesting book, but it might make me quite hungry reading it! Thanks for the great review. Cheers:)

Kaitlyn Canedy · Post by **Kaitlyn Canedy** » 01 Oct 2019, 00:27

It sounds much like an informative cookbook! I do want to ask- Does this book talk about the culture of Puerto Rico? I know that cuisine is a part of it. I wanted to ask because when I read the review, I did not see it mentioned anywhere. Thank you in advance!

spluficvictory · Post by **spluficvictory** » 01 Oct 2019, 03:31

Thanks for sharing. Everyone loves food, but only a few appreciates where it comes from. I haven't tried recipes outside the African world, but this one definitely calls to me. It will be an added advantage to learn how to make Puerto Rican dishes, don't you think?

Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 01 Oct 2019, 11:46

I may have to pick this up. One of my husband's best friends was Puerto Rican, and he used to cook for us. He passed a few years ago, but I bet my husband would love to be able to recreate some of those dishes.

Mai Tran · Post by **Mai Tran** » 01 Oct 2019, 21:28

byebye98 wrote: ↑01 Oct 2019, 00:27 It sounds much like an informative cookbook! I do want to ask- Does this book talk about the culture of Puerto Rico? I know that cuisine is a part of it. I wanted to ask because when I read the review, I did not see it mentioned anywhere. Thank you in advance!

Thanks for the question! I'm sorry to say that this book doesn't really delve into the cultural aspect of Puerto Rican cuisine, though most recipes have a brief introduction describing the significance of the dish: a few have interesting histories, some are prepared for special occasions, etc. The information is just enough to wet your appetite. I hope that helps.

Kaitlyn Canedy · Post by **Kaitlyn Canedy** » 01 Oct 2019, 21:30

Yes thank you very much!

Mai Tran · Post by **Mai Tran** » 01 Oct 2019, 21:38

esp1975 wrote: ↑01 Oct 2019, 11:46 I may have to pick this up. One of my husband's best friends was Puerto Rican, and he used to cook for us. He passed a few years ago, but I bet my husband would love to be able to recreate some of those dishes.

I'm sorry for your loss. Food has that special power of bringing back memories. Recreating some of his dishes would be a great way to remember your friend.

Mai Tran · Post by **Mai Tran** » 01 Oct 2019, 21:56

spluficvictory wrote: ↑01 Oct 2019, 03:31 Thanks for sharing. Everyone loves food, but only a few appreciates where it comes from. I haven't tried recipes outside the African world, but this one definitely calls to me. It will be an added advantage to learn how to make Puerto Rican dishes, don't you think?

Yes. I think it's definitely an advantage, especially when the cost of dining out keeps rising. It's also fun to try something new. Thanks for stopping by!

HeatherEi · Post by **HeatherEi** » 03 Oct 2019, 07:58

Too bad about the formatting and text issues. But I do love food and trying new things!

Kelyn · Post by **Kelyn** » 10 Oct 2019, 15:45

I don't think I'm in the target audience for this book. I'm very much not an adventurous cook; actually, I don't even like to cook. I'm also a very picky eater. I'm giving this one a hard pass, but I'm glad you enjoyed the recipes. I do like that it's focused on a holiday tradition. Thanks for the review!