Your essential glossary of Cuban culinary terms
Cuban cooking has its own vocabulary — words that don't quite translate, ingredients you won't find in a standard supermarket, techniques passed down through generations. This glossary is your guide to understanding the language of Cuban food.
ah-chee-OH-teh
Also known as annatto, these red seeds from the achiote tree give Cuban dishes their characteristic orange-red color. Used in marinades, rice dishes, and to color the famous "yellow rice" of Moros. Earthy, slightly peppery flavor.
ah-gwar-dee-EN-teh
Raw sugar cane spirit, stronger than rum and less refined. The base for Cuba's oldest cocktail, the Canchánchara. Also used in cooking to flambé or add depth to savory dishes.
ah-HEE cah-CHOO-chah
The essential pepper for sofrito. Small, wrinkly, sweet rather than spicy. Looks like a habanero but without the heat. No authentic Cuban sofrito is complete without it.
ah-ROHS blahn-KOH
Plain white rice — the foundation of every Cuban plate. Cooked simply with salt and a little oil, served alongside beans, meat, or fish. Not an afterthought; the rice is part of the holy trinity of Cuban meals: rice, beans, protein.
bah-TEE-doh
Cuban milkshake, usually made with tropical fruit — mamey, guanábana, mango, or papaya. Blended with milk and sugar until thick and frothy. Served cold, drunk through a straw, the perfect antidote to a hot Havana afternoon.
boh-cah-DEE-toh
Literally "little bite" — a small sandwich, often served at parties. Usually made with thin slices of Cuban bread filled with ham, cheese, or croqueta filling. Two bites, maximum.
boh-LEE-cheh
Eye of round roast, stuffed with chorizo and slow-braised until tender. The chorizo infuses the beef with fat and flavor. Served with its own rich gravy over white rice.
kah-FEH koo-BAH-noh
The foundation of Cuban coffee culture. Espresso pulled directly over raw sugar, creating the espuma — a thick, caramel-colored foam. Sweet, strong, non-negotiable. See our coffee guide for the full ritual.
KAHL-doh gah-YEH-goh
Galician white bean soup, brought to Cuba by Spanish immigrants. White beans, ham hock, chorizo, greens, and potatoes. Hearty, restorative, the kind of soup that cures whatever ails you.
KAR-neh deh PWER-koh
Pork — the most beloved meat in Cuban cooking. Roast pork, fried pork, pork in beans, pork fat used to start the sofrito. If there's a Cuban holiday, there's pork on the table.
chee-chah-ROH-nehs
Fried pork rinds — crispy, salty, crackling. Eaten as a snack, served alongside sandwiches, or crushed and sprinkled over dishes for texture. The Cuban answer to potato chips.
choh-REE-soh cree-OH-yoh
Cuban-style chorizo — different from Spanish chorizo. Made with pork, garlic, and spices, but not smoked or cured like the Spanish version. Used in beans, rice, and stuffing for boliche.
kohn-GREE
Red kidney beans and white rice cooked together until the rice takes on a pinkish hue. Different from Moros (which uses black beans). Both are sacred, both are delicious.
DOOL-seh deh LEH-cheh
Slow-cooked milk and sugar reduced to thick, spreadable caramel. Eaten on toast, drizzled over ice cream, or straight from the jar with a spoon. The Cuban Nutella.
DOOL-seh deh gwah-YAH-bah
Guava paste — thick, sweet, intensely flavored. Served with cream cheese as a classic Cuban combination (cashew cheese is another name for this pairing), or used in pastries like pastelitos.
em-pah-NAH-dah
Flaky pastry turnovers filled with seasoned ground beef, chicken, or guava and cheese. Deep-fried until golden and crispy. Street food staple, party essential.
flahn
Cuban caramel custard — silky, sweet, the dessert of celebrations. Made with condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla. Baked in a water bath, chilled, then inverted so the caramel sauce cascades down the sides.
FREE-tah
The Cuban burger — ground beef mixed with chorizo and spices, topped with crispy shoestring potatoes, served on a soft bun. Street food royalty. See our street food guide.
gwah-NAH-bah-nah
Soursop — a spiky green fruit with creamy white flesh and a flavor that's part strawberry, part pineapple, part magic. Used in batidos. Said to have medicinal properties; abuelas swear by it for insomnia.
gwah-YAH-bah
Guava — the pink-fleshed tropical fruit that perfumes Cuban pastries. Eaten fresh, made into paste (dulce de guayaba), or used in juices. The smell of guava cooking is the smell of Cuban bakeries.
WEH-vohs FREE-tohs / reh-VWEHL-tohs
Fried eggs (fritos) or scrambled eggs (revueltos). Fried eggs have crispy edges from the hot oil. Scrambled are soft and barely set. Both are valid breakfast choices, both are improved by a side of Cuban bread.
leh-CHOHN
Roast pork — the centerpiece of Cuban celebrations. A whole pig (or pork shoulder) marinated in naranja agria and garlic, slow-roasted until the skin is crackling-crisp and the meat falls apart. See our recipe.
mah-LAHN-gah
Taro root — brown, hairy exterior; white, starchy interior. Used in fritters (frituras de malanga), soups, or simply boiled and served with mojo. Mild, nutty flavor, creamy texture.
mah-MEH
Mamey sapote — a football-sized fruit with rough brown skin and salmon-colored flesh. Tastes like sweet potato meets pumpkin pie. Blended with milk into batidos, it's thick enough to be a meal.
MOH-hoh
The Cuban marinade — olive oil, garlic, naranja agria, cumin, oregano, salt. Poured over boiled yuca, used to marinate pork, drizzled on anything that needs a flavor boost. The word means "sauce" but it means so much more.
MOH-rohs
Black beans and white rice cooked together. We call it Moros. Not "Moros y Cristianos" — just Moros. The black beans stain the rice a dark purplish-gray. Served at every Cuban table, every day.
nah-RAHN-hah ah-GREE-ah
Bitter orange, sour orange — the backbone of Cuban marinades. This is what makes Cuban pork taste like Cuban pork. If you can't find it, mix 2 parts regular orange juice with 1 part lime juice. It's not the same, but it'll get you close.
pah-loh-MEE-yah
Thin-cut steak, quickly pan-fried and topped with caramelized onions. The Cuban answer to a quick dinner. Served with rice, beans, and tostones.
pee-cah-DEE-yoh
Ground beef hash — the ultimate Cuban comfort food. Browned beef simmered with sofrito, olives, capers, and raisins. Sweet, salty, savory all at once. See our recipe.
PLAH-tah-noh mah-DOO-roh / VER-deh
Plantain — ripe (maduro) or green (verde). Ripe plantains are sweet, fried until caramelized. Green plantains are starchy, fried twice to make tostones. Same fruit, two completely different outcomes.
ROH-pah vee-EH-hah
Literally "old clothes" — Cuba's national dish. Shredded beef braised in sofrito until it falls apart. Named because the beef shreds like fabric. The most Cuban thing you can eat. See our recipe.
rohn
Rum — Cuba's gift to the world. Light rum for cocktails, dark rum for sipping. Havana Club, Ron Santiago, Ron Matusalem — names that mean something to anyone who loves a good drink.
soh-FREE-toh
The holy base of Cuban cooking. Onion, green pepper, garlic, tomato, and ají cachucha cooked slowly in olive oil until soft and fragrant. Every Cuban dish starts here. Everything. If your sofrito isn't right, nothing else matters.
tah-MAH-lehs koo-BAH-nohs
Cuban tamales — different from Mexican tamales. The masa is mixed with pork and sofrito before wrapping in corn husks. Softer, more integrated filling. Wrapped and tied, then boiled until tender.
tohs-TOH-nehs
Twice-fried green plantains — sliced, fried, smashed flat, then fried again until golden and crispy. The Cuban chip. Served with everything. See our recipe.
VAH-cah FREE-tah
"Fried cow" — shredded beef that's boiled, marinated in mojo, then pan-fried until crispy on the edges. Like ropa vieja but with texture. Topped with raw onions that slightly wilt from the heat of the meat.
vee-AHN-dah
A catch-all term for root vegetables — yuca, malanga, boniato (white sweet potato), ñame. Usually boiled and served with mojo as a side dish. Hearty, filling, essential.
YOO-kah
Cassava root — starchy, mild, takes on the flavor of whatever you serve it with. Boiled and topped with mojo is the classic preparation. Also fried into yuca frita (Cuban french fries). A staple starch in Cuban cooking.