Puerto Rico exists in the in-between.

The Caribbean island is a U.S. territory whose people are U.S. citizens. But yet, they cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections.

And when calamities like so many devastating hurricanes of late hit, Puerto Rico can seem even more isolated and alone.

Illyanna Maisonet aims to bridge that void with her thoughtful book, “Diasporican” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

Born in Sacramento to Puerto Ricans who moved stateside, she became the first Puerto Rican food columnist for a major newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle.

The cookbook includes more than 90 recipes, many of which she learned from her mother and grandmother, such as “Rabbit Fricassee with Chayote,” “Puerto Rican Laab,” “Pernil” (crispy-skin pork shoulder studded with garlic cloves), and “Ron del Barrilito Rum Cake.”

Through this feast, she shows how Puerto Rican cuisine shares commonalities with that of Hawaii, Guam, and the Philiippines, and take influences from Caribbean Taino, Spanish, and African cultures.

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