rice and beans

Rice and brown beans, as served in a hotel in the southeast Brazilian countryside. The dish may be accompanied by meat, bread, eggs, vegetables, etc.

Rice and beans, "arroz y habas" or "arroz con habichuelas" "arroz con frijoles" or similar in Spanish, "arroz e feijão" or "feijão com arroz", in Brazilian Portuguese, "du riz a pois/haricots" in French, and "diri ak pwa" in Haitian Creole, is a very popular dish throughout Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in communities of Latino people elsewhere. The dish in New Orleans is called beans 'n' rice if talking about rice and beans, but to be more specific, red beans 'n' rice would be used to describe the popular local dish. The caribbean influence on New Orleans culture reflects from the "beans 'n' rice as well as many spices.

Description

The dish usually consists of white rice accompanied by brown, red or black, dry beans (typically Phaseolus vulgaris or Vigna unguiculata) and seasoned in various ways. Different regions have different preferences. In Brazil, for example, black beans are more popular in Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, while in most other parts of the country these are mostly only used in feijoadas. New Orleans serves up red beans'n'rice by the plate daily along with a side of smoked sausage or a fried pork chop.

In many areas, rice and beans are often be served side by side rather than mixed together. Either way, they may be considered a meal or as a side dish to accompany a main dish of meat or chicken. Meat or other ingredients are sometimes placed atop rice and beans or (less often) mixed into it.^[1]

Importance

While simple, the dish is very nutritious. Rice is rich in starch, an excellent source of energy. Rice also has iron, vitamin B and protein. Beans are also protein-rich, and contain a good amount of iron and other necessary minerals. One authority writes:

Rice and beans are an inseparable pair of staple foods for millions of Latin Americans, parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and the Andean Mountain zone. Whether consumed separately or together, these crops figure importantly in the human diet and in national economies across the entire region, and trends in their production are a matter of immediate relevance to practically all of its inhabitants.^[2]

Culture

The dish has been part of culture in Latin America for over 400 years. Early Portuguese settlers carried rice to Brazil, and the Spanish introduced its cultivation to several locations in the Caribbean, and Central and South America and the State of Louisiana in the U.S.. The later introduction of beans into local agriculture resulted in the pairing of both as a common, cheap and affordable dish.^[3]

In discussing Puerto Rican cuisine, a food critic wrote:

Rice and beans are sacred .... They are our "daily bread," our comfort food. When you mess with someone's rice & beans, you mess with their mind. Rice & beans are soul food [...] I ordered Arroz con habichuelas and when they arrived, I poured the entire bowl of beans over the plate of rice and mixed them thoroughly to absorb the gravy. I mention mixing because rice & beans are eaten together in the same bite and not, as I saw the uninitiated do, eaten separately in isolated mouthfuls. It's a synergistic dish and makes a deliciously healthy block of complete protein when combined together. ^[4]

Today, the term "rice and beans" is used as a metonym for basic needs of food and phrases such as "the poor can't afford their rice and beans" are frequent. It is also used more generally for anything that is basic, fundamental, or simple in phrases like "just do the rice and beans and you'll succeed". The term is also used to desribe any pairing that works together well, such as "they're like rice and beans".