According to Puerto Rican food historian Cruz Miguel Ortíz Cuadra, the origins of pasteles are not easily traced, but there are African roots in relation to wrapping them in banana leaves.

Following is a transcript of the video. These are pasteles Puerto Riqueños. Made from meat and guineo and wrapped in banana leaves, pasteles are typically eaten during the holidays. For three ...

In Eating Puerto Rico: A History of Food, Culture, and Identity, Ortíz Cuadra explains that the technique of wrapping the pastel in banana leaves is owed largely to Puerto Ricans’ African ...