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Caribbean Food

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The Caribbean’s status as the crossroads of the world has made sure that its cuisine is as eclectic as it is delicious, although the reputation of the food you might find whilst holidaying on the islands has only recently improved. Much of the local cuisine is unexpectedly heavy, made up of stews and starchy vegetables as well as the locally caught fish that you might expect on a tropical island.

The first inhabitants of the islands, the Arawak, Carib and Taino Indians, ate native fruits and vegetables such as the paw paw, yams and guava. Each group then added something to the cuisine – the Taino began cooking fish and meat in clay pots while the Arawaks created the earliest form of barbeque and Caribs began adding spices and peppers to their foods, even making the first pepper pot stews.

When Europeans came to the Caribbean they brought with them African slaves who introduced new recipes and styles of cooking to the islands – fish cakes, ackee, okra and spicy meats slow cooked over a flame (now known as jerk). In addition the Spanish introduced many aspects of their own cuisine when passing through including plantains, ginger and oranges. Later breadfruit was introduced by Polynesians and corn, beans and chilli by Americans.

The sugarcane which was also introduced by Spanish explorers is now a staple of the Caribbean diets and in most homes you will find that desserts are incorporated in to most meals with cakes, pies and dumplings as important as a hot main meal.

When slavery was abolished on the islands, slave owners had to find help from overseas and so Indian and Chinese workers arrived bringing with them rice and new spices, introducing among other things curried goat – a now famous Caribbean dish.

Although there have been Caribbean links with Britain for hundreds of years it was only after world war two that a significant number of immigrants made their way in to the country, bringing with them the style of cooking which is now so popular in cities around the UK and particularly in London where many establishments serve up popular dishes such as jerk chicken, rice and peas and ackee and saltfish.


Laura Heaps, MyVillage 25th October




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