Caribbean cuisine

What foods are found in Caribbean cuisine?

The Caribbean is an enormous melting pot of flavors. It blends local island ingredients with the ingredients and cooking techniques introduced by other cultures.

The flavors that define Creole cooking draw on the culinary traditions of Africa, Asia, India, and Europe. Most of these influences reached the Caribbean during colonization and the arrival of laborers from those regions.

This is a cuisine for bon vivants: dishes are hearty and boldly spiced. It is not refined cuisine but delicious, home-style fare, unpretentious and meant for sharing.

Islands where you can find Creole cuisine

This article cannot cover every nuance. Each island has its own culinary specialties – some overlap, but listing them all would be nearly impossible. Instead, here is a list of islands commonly associated with Caribbean cuisine:

Antigua and Barbuda
Puerto Rico
The Bahamas
Barbados
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Guadeloupe
Saint Barth
Martinique
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
Aruba
Curacao
Saint Martin
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent
Trinidad and Tobago
Saint Kitts

What makes Caribbean cuisine unique?

Caribbean cuisine is shaped by many cultures and flavors. While the Arawak, Carib, and Taino peoples laid its foundations, the British, French, Spanish, as well as African and Chinese communities later enriched it, creating a culinary tradition unlike any other.

The main ingredients in Caribbean cooking

To understand Caribbean cuisine, you first need to know the ingredients most commonly used across the islands.

Essential ingredients: rice, cilantro, plantains, beans, mango, pineapple, coconut, papaya, citrus fruits, avocados, tomatoes, peppers and a wide variety of root vegetables such as cassava, sweet potatoes, breadfruit and yuca.

Together, these ingredients create a flavor profile unlike that of any other cuisine.

Common spices include annatto, cumin, coriander, bird’s-eye chili, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, garlic, paprika, black pepper, oregano.

Caribbean dishes feature plenty of seafood, chicken, beef and pork, but seafood is the true star of Creole cooking. Fish such as snapper and cod are staples. Beans and other legumes also appear in many recipes and provide an additional source of protein.

A guide to Caribbean fish

Snapper: This tasty fish, known as “red snapper” on English-speaking islands, is often cooked with annatto (a distinctive orange-red seasoning) in court-bouillon, blaff, or simply grilled or baked.
King mackerel, marlin or shark: Often served grilled, in steak form, or smoked, their bold flavors are sure to impress.
Colas bâtard: Nicknamed the “Caribbean salmon” (though it looks nothing like salmon), this rainbow-colored fish is often braised and seasoned with ginger.
Lobster: Abundant in the region, lobster is prepared in countless ways.
Chatrou (octopus): You will usually see it served as a fricassee.
Conch: Giant sea snails commonly cooked in fricassees.
Clams: Often served au gratin or in salads.
Ouassou: giant freshwater shrimp

Guadeloupean cuisine

accras de morue sur un lit de verdure — Delicious codfish accras

The main dishes of Guadeloupean cuisine

No conversation about Guadeloupean food is complete without codfish accras, Creole blood sausage, and ti’ punch

A truly unique specialty: stuffed white land crabs
Colombo, an Indian-inspired curry, is often made with chicken (chicken colombo) but is also prepared with pork, goat, lamb, or even fish.
Caladou: a vegetable purée
Féroce: a spicy avocado mash with shredded salt cod and cassava flour
Bébélé: Of African origin, this thick soup combines breadfruit, tripe, local vegetables such as yam and malanga, and small bananas called poyos.
Matété: a traditional Pentecost dish similar to a Caribbean style paella
Bokit: a sandwich stuffed with marinated meats and local vegetables
Sauce chien: a wonderfully fragrant sauce that pairs with almost anything