CARIBBEAN CUISINE

Caribbean Cuisine

For most couples, dining is an important part of their trip. It's a chance to further delve into a culture, to learn more about the bounty of the land and the sea.

A richly diverse region, the Caribbean is filled with a full menu of offerings that reflect the many cultures that settled this area. From East Indian rotis served throughout Trinidad and Tobago, to Dutch keshi yena served on Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten, the islands are a cornucopia of cultures and cuisines.

One thing island cuisines have in common is attention to flavor. Dishes are rich with tastes and are often spicy. Some dishes trace their origin back to when the Arawak Indians first barbecued meats. Later, distinctive seasonings were developed by Africans, who came to the islands as slaves.

A century later, Chinese and East Indian influences made their way to the Caribbean, when indentured laborers who replaced slaves after emancipation also brought their own culinary talents. Today curried dishes grace nearly every menu, using local meats such as goat, chicken, and seafood.

Breakfast

• Ackee and saltfish, the national dish of Jamaica. Ackee is a small fruit that is harvested only when it bursts and reveals its black seeds; before that time the fruit is poisonous. Once cooked, it resembles and tastes much like scrambled eggs.
• Johnnycakes and boiled fish are morning dishes in the Bahamas.

Soups

• Pepperpot, a spicy stew in Jamaica.
• Asopao, a chicken and rice soup in Puerto Rico.
• Stoba di cabrito (goat stew) in Curaçao.

Entrées

• Fried fish
• Stewed lamb with pan bati (pancake) on Dutch islands.
• Keshi yena, a hollowed wheel of Edam cheese filled with meat and baked to combine flavors served on Dutch islands.
• Conch (pronounced Konk), a shellfish served chopped, battered and fried in conch fritters.
• Grouper, a large fish caught in the waters just offshore; appears on every menu.
• Flying fish. This fish, often fried, is a favorite in Barbados.
• Pattie, a turnover filled with spicy meat that's a favorite lunch snack with locals in Jamaica.
• Jerk is a style of cooking, made with pork, chicken, or fish. The dish is marinated with a fiery mixture of spices, including Scotch bonnet peppers, pimento or allspice, nutmeg, scallion, and thyme. This is a favorite in Jamaica.
• Empanadillas, little meat turnovers, in Puerto Rico.
• Roti, a burrito-like fast food that traces its roots to India; served in Trinidad and Tobago. Look for "buss up shot" at most diners; this is a roti that's torn up like a "busted up shirt" and is eaten with a fork rather than by hand.
• Escovitch, a style of cooking using vinegar, onions and spices brought to Jamaica by the Spanish Jews. Often used when cooking fish.
• Ital food (eye-tal), is the food of the Rastafarians, a vegetarian cuisine that does not use any salt. Look for the red, green and gold Rasta colors on dining establishments as a clue to locating Ital eateries, often small restaurants in Jamaica.
• Stamp and Go. You could call them fast food or appetizers, but stamp and go is much more descriptive. Stamp out these little fish fritters in the kitchen, grab some for the road, and go.

Side Dishes

• Fried plantains, similar to bananas.
• Breadfruit. Similar in taste to a potato, and served in as many ways on most Caribbean islands.
• Peas (usually red beans or pigeon peas) and rice: the number one side dish in the Caribbean.
• Cou-cou (a cornmeal and okra dish) in Barbados.
• Jug-jug (made of Guinea corn and green peas) in Barbados.
• Christophine, a type of squash, served on most Caribbean islands.
• Dasheen, a root vegetable similar to a potato and served on most Caribbean islands.
• Mofongo, fried plantains mixed with fried pork rinds and seasoned with garlic, in Puerto Rico.
• Afungi, a pudding of cornmeal and okra, served on several islands, including Antigua & Barbuda.
• Fungi (pronounced foon-GEE), a tasty accompaniment that's somewhat like cornbread dressing, in the Virgin Islands.

Dessert

• Ducana, a pudding made from grated sweet potato and coconut, sugar, and spices, and boiled in a banana leaf, in Antigua.
• Flan, a wonderful custard, served primarily in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
• Tembleque, a custard made with coconut milk and sprinkled with cinnamon in Puerto Rico.
  Duckanoo. This delicious dessert, originally from Africa, is concocted with cornmeal, coconut, spices and brown sugar. The ingredients are tied up in a banana leaf (hence its other name, Tie-A-Leaf), and slowly cooked in boiling water.