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CaribbeanForAllCaribbean Cuisine

Caribbean Cuisine

Caribbean cuisine is the world's most diverse fusion food — Indigenous roots (cassava, allspice, peppers), African techniques (slow stews, one-pot meals), European ingredients (rice, citrus, pork), Indian influence (curry, roti, chutney) and Chinese stir-frying, all bound by tropical produce and sea salt. Jerk is Jamaica's most famous export — chicken or pork rubbed with Scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, thyme and slow-smoked over pimento wood. Jerk chicken with rice and peas is the national dish. Rice and beans appears on every island under different names: arroz con frijoles (Cuba), arroz con habichuelas (Puerto Rico, DR), rice and peas (Jamaica), peas and rice (Bahamas), pelau (Trinidad), riz collé (Haiti), pois et riz (French Caribbean). Seafood is central: conch (Bahamas, Turks and Caicos), saltfish (Jamaica with ackee — national dish; Barbados with cou-cou), flying fish (Barbados), shrimp creole (Haiti), grouper, snapper, lobster (St. Bart's, Cuban), bacalao (Cuban, PR), callaloo soup (Trinidad). Iconic dishes: ropa vieja, lechón asado, moros y cristianos (Cuba); mofongo, lechón asado (Puerto Rico); diri ak djon-djon (Haiti); pollo guisado, sancocho (DR); doubles, bake and shark, pelau, callaloo (Trinidad); cou-cou, flying fish, pudding and souse (Barbados); keshi yena, stoba (Curaçao); roti (Trinidad, Guyana). Street food: pastechi (ABC), bake and shark (Trinidad), patties (Jamaica), fritay (Haiti), bake and saltfish (Bahamas), accra (French Caribbean), johnnycakes (everywhere). Drinks: rum is everywhere — Cuban (Havana Club), Jamaican (Appleton), Bajan (Mount Gay — world's oldest), Martinican (Clément, agricole), Puerto Rican (Bacardi, Don Q), Dominican (Brugal). Cocktails: daiquiri and mojito (Cuba), piña colada (Puerto Rico), rum punch (Barbados), Painkiller (BVI), Caribbean Negroni. Non-alcoholic: sorrel, mauby, sea moss, malta, coconut water, sugarcane juice, soursop juice. Fruits: mango, papaya, soursop, guava, custard apple, passion fruit, breadfruit, plantain, ackee, June plum, sapodilla, star apple.

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