Caribbean Food

[CPKfan]

What is the food in the caribbean like? I love to eat - and I'd like to hear what specialty foods I should look out for if I ever take a trip to the islands.

I was on a cruise once and they had salmon prepared "caribbean style" with some kind of amazing sauce, almost like a teryaki - but really good.

I had coconut shrimp too, yum!

I've heard of "jerk" style chicken or beer...what is that exactly?

I love to hear food trip reports!

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[mama mia]

When it comes to food, I tend to be more experimental on vacation then at home! I've had jerk chicken before, its good. It's a spicy glaze, although the degree of spicy-ness will vary by restuarant. I've even made it at home on the BBQ, although I'd much rather enjoy it under some palm trees!

In the Bahamas I had this great dish of chicken with tropical salsa - it had red onion, avacodo, and pineapple. It was so yummy!

In St. Thomas I bought a Tortuga Rum cake that was delicious, but I could only eat a little at a time it was so strong!

One of the fun things about the Caribbean is that you can invariably buy some goodies to bring home - so you can enjoy jerk sauce, Caribbean hot sauce, and tropical jams & jellies all year long!

[Up4Travel]

When in the Bahamas, try their "Conch Salad", served just about everywhere. Taste/Texture is similar to scungelli. Very tasty.....

Laura Sterling
Community Manager

"Montauk on my Mind"

[DebbieH103]

My favorite Caribbean food is lobster! I love all the shellfish--mussels, clams, crab (saw a HUGE one running on the sidewalk in Jamaica yesterday, prawns, shrimp...

Regarding Jerk, it is basically spicey BBQ. They use a bunch of spices and make it into a sauce. Scotch Bonne is one of them. In Jamaica, they also make meat pies, oxtails, curried goat, bammies, ackee and saltfish, rice and peas (red beans and rice), but we don't go much for those dishes. The soups are to die for.

HOST DebbieH103
Jamaica Message Board and Community Host
http://members.aol.com/DebbieH103/pr...l/debbiewb.htm

[threeswow]

Each island is different which it what makes it so great. Trinidad & Tobago is best known for Curry, Roti and many other Indian foods. Jamaica is known for its Ackee and Salt fish as well as it's Jerk seasoning. The seasoning is made from different peppers like the Scotch Bonnett and is a paste that people put on mostly pork and chicken. I make it a lot at home and jerk wings are great to eat when watching football. The conch souse is great in the Bahamas. If you go to Nassau you have to go the Johnny Canoe (restaurant)located at the Nassau Beach Hotel.

Where ever you go, go with an open mind and enjoy!

[babalouie]

In the Cayman Islands there is stew conch with their great national product,Cayman Sea Salt

[judyzoo]

If you go to Nassau you have to go the Johnny Canoe (restaurant)located at the Nassau Beach Hotel.

And if you go there, try their guava duff. Very sweet, but DH and I think it's delicious.

[getlostonpurpose]

Plantains, plantains, bananas, mangos, plantains

We've been traveling the northern caribbean for a few months now and it's really the fruits and vegetables that seem to impact the cuisine the most. We're in Jamaica right now and it's mango season so the trees are all full of them. On this island, jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk fish, ackee and saltfish, curried chicken or goat, bammys are major stables of the cuisine. In the Dominican Republic plantains and rice and beans were HUGE.
My wife is a chef and she's working on a page for our website that will highlight the major cuisines of the places we go for the next few years. It should be up relatively soon. Look for the "everybody eats" page.

[hagnedy09]

I use a similar recipe, I made 14 Black/Rum cakes yesterday. People always want me to make cakes for them , I was told my cakes are really good so thats why they keep coming back.

[Dolphin]

My favorite Caribbean Food, will be off course something from Trinidad , But then again I love them all, so here goes.
Curry Chicken and Roti with chickpeas and potatoes
Coo-Coo with Stew Fish and Callaloo, that's to die for.
Rice Pelau off course.
Oxtails with Rice and Peas
Steamed fish with Breadfruit Oil down with coconut milk.
I'm getting hungry just writing this.
The reason being that they all taste good and I'm used to it. I grew up eating all that good food.

[CaribbeanTraveler]

The food found in Trinidad and Tobago is very varied. This is due to the fact that it is the most Cosmopolitan of all the islands. African, Indian, Asian, North and South American delicacies are found in abundance.

Be sure to get some Doubles and also Bake and Shark from Maracas Bay.

[FoodStore2Go]

If you go to Nassau you have to go the Johnny Canoe (restaurant)located at the Nassau Beach Hotel.

Johnny Canoe and the Nassau Beach Hotel have since closed. Go to the Fish Fry in Nassau - great variety of restaurants in one neighbourhood with lots of local dishes.

[DanceBoy]

I like the crab asopao, I still remember the taste and crispiness in that dish.

[easternwanderer]

Its all about the fruit - pineapples, mangoes, bananas, you have to try them all. Even better when they are in a cocktail on the beach!

As for jerk chicken, it is chicken in a spicy, thick, dark brown sauce, I have made it beofre (not authentic Caribbean at all) from Jamie Olivers 30 Minute Meals cook book, and it was great.

[Johana]

Might be a bit late - but you have to try Trinidad if you love food.