On other opportunities I’ve written about these croquettes, which people usually call — half seriously, half joking — “mystery” croquettes since we don’t know what’s in them. Their components seem to be a State secret.
A few days ago, I was at my sister’s house tasting some delicious croquettes made by neice and finished off by frying, the neighbor came over and seeing me, she said, “You know I have a friend who likes them like that, hot off the stove, not like those but the ones they sell at the fish market. While she was tasting it, one exploded and burned her lips and the roof of her mouth. Now I have to go with her to the clinic to be seen there.”
Returning home, I met Mari and commented on this incident, and she told me of a woman who lives in her building, who also burned her chest frying them. Everything started to explode and she didn’t have time to protect herself while trying to turn off the stove.
I imagine that these accidents, among other causes, could be because the main component in them is wheat flour. If they aren’t refrigerated and stored corectly, the ferment easily and this makes them explode when they are cooked at high temperatures. To my way of thinking it’s a lack of quality control, especially in the area’s so-called “Cuban peso” products destined for consumption by the population.
It’s unfortunate that this article (I have to call it something), so often requested by so many people for snacks for their children in schools, or for a frugal lunch, because of its low prices, can’t be made with the required quality. And this is here where they brag so much about “quality that shows respect for the people.”
December 19 2011
