Adobo (Curing Technique)

Adobo is a food preservation and flavoring technique, native to Spain and Portugal, in which food is immersed in a stock or sauce typically made from paprika, oregano, salt, garlic and vinegar. The technique spread through Latin America and other former Spanish and Portuguese territories, and originated as a way to preserve meat, since paprika's capsaicin content has antimicrobial properties that help protect the food once it dissolves into the surrounding fat and penetrates the tissue. With the arrival of modern refrigeration, adobo shifted from a preservation necessity toward a flavoring method applied before cooking. Its exact recipe varies widely by region: Mexican adobo commonly includes chiles and tomatoes, Puerto Rican adobo is often used as a dry seasoning rub rather than a wet marinade, and Peruvian adobo involves slow cooking pork in clay pots. The Philippine adobo cooking method shares the same name but developed independently as an indigenous technique that predates Spanish colonial contact.