The delicious sancocho, the steaming asopao and the nutritious milkshake, among others typical dishes and drinks of the Dominican Republic They are the result of European influence, especially Spanish, African and of the Taíno population, an indigenous people that inhabited the Caribbean, coming from South America.
The arrival of the Spanish in the Dominican Republic At the end of the XNUMXth century, it brought with it its desire to conquer the new world, its culture, its customs and among them, its gastronomy and food. They contributed various types of food, cereals such as lentils, wheat, beans, chickpeas; legumes such as lettuce, radish; vegetables like carrot, turnip; drinks like wine; animals such as sheep, pigs, poultry; fruits such as olives, walnuts; in addition to aromatic herbs, garlic and onion.
The most important contributions of the Spanish it was hunting techniques; season food before cooking; mix food with tomato; the use of oil for cooking food; the special way they had to preserve food, especially perishables such as meats, for this they used spices and salt in order to preserve food for a longer time.
African influence, slave inhabitants of the colony in the middle of the XNUMXth century, It is due to crops such as yams, pepper, banana, banana, watermelon, etc. One of the characteristic dishes of that time is the Moor that it was made from beans left over from the masters' food.
The Taínos contributed chili, yucca, sweet potato, corn, guava, pineapple and soursop to the Dominican gastronomy, agricultural products that they grew for subsistence. One of the characteristics of the food preparation of the Taínos is that they cooked directly over the fire. The casabi and the mabí are two samples of that colonial preparation.
Stew
One of the main typical dishes of the Dominicans is the sancocho. It is a delicious stew so deeply embedded in the heart and stomach of the population that it has even been the source of inspiration for songs performed by popular artists..
The sancocho has as main ingredients tubers, vegetables, condiments and meats. There is a great variety for the preparation of the sancocho, one of them is the sancocho of seven meats that is considered the luxury version, however, the traditional one is prepared based on beef, yucca, banana, yam, yautía, coriander ( coriander).
The preparation of the sancocho requires some time in the kitchen due to the inclusion of numerous ingredients, but the result is optimal and a delight without equal. Sancocho is a dish that is served on all Dominican tables and that it is prepared with greater care on very special occasions, such as national holidays, family reunions or patron saint festivities.