That combination of yautia and green banana with the sofrito and crab in alcapurrias is unmistakably earthy and robust, salty crispness balanced by delicate seafood.

Filling, starchy vegetables like plantains, name, malanga and yautia are not profitable crops, but they were staples long before the arrival of mainland restaurant chains in the 1950s.

In addition to huge quantities of the Cavendish, Top Banana dealt in green plantains, pineapples, cantaloupes, watermelons, limes, tomatoes, aloe vera and even exotic root vegetables like yautia.

Fritters such as alcapurrias de jueyes — a blend of green banana and yautia, stuffed with delicate crab — hark back to Loíza, a town on the northeastern coast with rich African ancestry.

My father cooked his with beef, corn and noodles; my mom with chicken breasts, lean pork and sweet plantains; my grandmother with beef, pork on the bone and yautia.