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Nails 2,400 fries Made from milled rice flour, they are produced daily at the prestigious family business Fábrica de Granos de Humacao, which dates back to 1945 and has been operating in the Patagonia sector since 1961.
In this way, the Cruz Rodríguez family has, for almost 80 years, reiterated its commitment to keep alive the tradition of preparing what is today the typical delicacy of this city and whose “culinary invention” can only be attributed to a person like Don goes. Vicente.
,Grains are the original fried food of Humacao., As humacaños they are part of who we are. They are made from rice flour, but it must be with a specific rice as it cannot be washed, as it must contain starch, otherwise it will not thicken the dough. Boil water, add butter and salt as per taste. They’re always made with a little piece of queso de pelota on top,” explained Benedicto “Benny” Cruz Rodriguez, owner of the place and one of the 11 children of the factory’s founders, Bartola Rodriguez and her husband Fausto Cruz.
“My uncle, Carmelo Cruz, helped Don Vicente sell fried food around town. When Don Vicente passed away, my uncle talked to my father (Fausto Cruz) to see if they could continue it, if it worked for them. First of all, a lot of material, a lot of mass was destroyed. But my mother, Bartola Rodriguez, started trying to make the cereal until she perfected the recipe and it turned out perfect,” said the septuagenarian.
1/8 | Grains, the original fried food of Humacao. Carmelo Cruz was the one who promoted the tradition of creating the product. – Isabelle Ferre Sadurni
Don Benny remembers that the products, shaped like grains or canoes, were sold for two cents and went for “one, two, three”, as the people of Humacao “had it for breakfast, whether with coffee, “Choose delicious dishes. Chocolate or anything.
“Earlier we had 11 vehicles on the road. Every day, at 5:00 in the morning they would leave and people would wake up until Sunday in search of their grains. But now we don’t have vehicles,” Cruz Rodriguez commented.
That attachment of our fellow citizens towards tradition is clearly visible even today in the factory, where the queue of customers does not stop.
“This is the original food of Humacao and this tradition has never died out. My mother said: ‘Don’t let it be lost, it’s a tradition and we have to keep it going.’ When my father passed away, my sisters and brothers were there, and we continued making grains. One time we thought about closing down here and they even put us on strike,” Cruz Rodriguez said.
So the factory remains active with 96 pounds of white rice being prepared, which means – daily – about 2,400 grains. Some are sold already cooked and hot for $1.25 for four grains, while others are sold in boxes of 20 grains for $6.
an art of detail
Although there are not many ingredients and no elaborate preparation process, the mass of each grain, crisp on the outside, but soft on the inside, wins over everyone who tries it.
However, the family claims that achieving consistency of the product requires art and knowledge.
“We give the recipe to anyone who wants it, but people say it doesn’t turn out like ours,” Don Benny said.
In fact, each fry measures approximately five inches across, and required several craft tools to achieve its size.
“You work with a fig spoon and a coconut shell. But, since each fig tree is different, they never look exactly alike. It is situated in the hand so that the dough is held like a canoe. The spoon should have a slight curvature, which can cause shape to vary,” said Melissa Herrera, who works at the factory and is an expert in producing the product.
a new taste
And, as everything develops, the cereal already has a partner who is stealing the hearts of the people of Humacao.
These are balls filled with cheese, made from the same ground rice flour, but with a different consistency.
“Those little balls are the latest. We invented it and it turned out good. It’s the same dough, but filled with cheese inside,” Herrera explained.
“I made that little ball for a festival and they had chicken, cheese and ground beef with cheese. At that time, a great variety was being produced and now we make cheese-filled balls here that people really like,” said Herrera.
In this way, the family continues to arouse the curiosity of diners and, in return, receives the affection and enjoyment of its people on and off the island.
(tagstotranslate)We are Puerto Rico
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