Culture Caribbean Cuisine At a Glance
Culture Caribbean Cuisine: The Caribbean cuisine is one cuisine that compels for want of more, this is because it involves the mixture of dishes from different parts of the world.Â
What Is Caribbean Cuisine?
Caribbean Cuisine is the combination or merging of African, Amerindian, Cajun, Latin American, European, South Asian/Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern dishes. These fused traditions occurred when various countries came to the Caribbean Island and also added to the population of the region.
Ingredients that are mostly found in the Islands’ dishes include beans, cassava, cilantro, tomatoes, coconut, sweet potatoes, rice, chickpeas, plantains, bell peppers as well as locally available meats like poultry, pork, beef, and fish. We also have flavors and spices like onions, garlic, celery, scotch bonnet pepper, green onions, and herbs like Mexican mint, cilantro, marjoram, tarragon, and thyme–all termed as the green seasoning.
Location Of The Caribbean Island
The Caribbean people are made up of diverse groups of people with permeating and diverse cultures and it spreads over about the total of twenty-seven Islands, excluding the Islands ruled by the continental countries like central, south, and North America. The Caribbean Island is however located in the seas by the Equator.
About The Caribbean Cuisine
Since Christopher Columbus landed on the Caribbean Island in the late 1400s, the culture of this region has really been influenced by the incredible Caribbean cuisine that is available in this region. Caribbean cuisine is a combination of the French Island and African recipes. It is really exceptional as it is commonly prepared and usually enjoyed by every kind of people in the United States and the world at large.
However, the Caribbean culture which was mostly represented by its food was changed by the coming of the African slaves into the region. The slaves from the Caribbean often eat the remains of the masters. They just had to do whatever they can with what was available.
This brought forth the modern contemporary Caribbean cuisine. The African slaves made use of spices and vegetables they brought from home and combined them with the vegetables and fruits in the Caribbean Island and all other things they could find from within. This brought to existence lots of egregious dishes. Fruits that are mostly found in the Caribbean cuisine are yucca, papaya fruits, yams, and mangos.
The Caribbean cuisine is very spicy but very healthy. The lush Caribbean Island has much of fruits and vegetables which aids healthy living. Also, America introduced potatoes, tomatoes, beans, pepper to the Island to add to the many tastes of food.
At the time slavery was abolished, slave masters searched elsewhere for assistance. They hired labor from China and India. The Chinese and Indians also came with a different types of dishes. Curry and rice were however introduced and Incorporated into the usual Caribbean cuisine. This brought about the Caribbean tasty Curry goat.
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Furthermore, the location of the Caribbean Island is very strategic, as a result, this seafood adds to the specialties of the Caribbean cuisine. For instance, we have the salted codfish, which is usually served as breakfast in scrambled eggs or in a sauce, stew, or salad. Other specialties include a sea turtle, shrimps, crab, sea urchins, and lobsters which are used to make spicy and exotic Caribbean dishes like curried coconut shrimp and Antillean crab pilafs.
Also, one of the dominant Caribbean product is sugarcane which makes for the abundance of dumplings, cakes, and pies. We have also had desserts that natives of the Caribbean blend or include in nearly every dish.
In Caribbean restaurants, emphasis is made on the inclusion of dessert and they attach so much importance to dessert. Caribbean cuisine also includes flavors from different cultures that have visited the shores of the Island from India, China, and Africa. The flavors in the Caribbean cuisine are rich in content and mostly similar to Creole and African food.
Caribbean Cuisines By Their Location
- Anguillian cuisine
- Barbadian cuisine
- Belizean cuisine
- Cayman islands cuisine
- Costa Rican Cuisine
- Colombian cuisine
- Dominican republic cuisine
- Floribbean cuisine
- Guatemalan cuisine
- Haitian Cuisine
- Jamaican cuisine
- Mexican Yucatecan cuisine
- Nicaraguan cuisine
- Puerto Rican cuisine
- Surinamese cuisine
- Trinidad and Tobago cuisine
- Virgin Island cuisine
From the foregoing, there are other cuisines one can explore in the Caribbean Island to get that outstanding and exceptional taste.
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