Joanna James
With culinary influences hailing from Africa, India, Europe, and the Americas, the Caribbean’s diverse array of spice-infused tropical dishes wins over the most seasoned foodies! Here are some unmissable island delicacies.
The Bahamas might be coveted for its vibrant reefs, blue-green lagoons, exquisite resorts, and colonial-era architecture, but its food culture is not to be overlooked! Combining juicy tropical flavour notes with briny seafood and tongue-sweating spices, you’ll taste a delicious medley of European, African, and indigenous cultures. If there’s one thing you can’t miss, it’s the salty-sweet pink sea snail known as a conch, which is similar to calamari in texture and is fabulous when batter-fried into fritters. Beaten until tender, “cracked” conch is often served with peas and rice or a side of fries, a popular fast-food item to savour in this slice of paradise.
While the archipelago is most legendary for its luscious seafood and starchy homegrown vegetable pairings, Jamaica’s jerk chicken has topped the charts for the most popular Caribbean dishes. Coated in an irresistible blend of allspice, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, and ginger, this phenomenal grilled chicken dish expertly toes the lines between fiery, smoky, umami, and sweet.
Antigua, with its limestone arcs, glass-clear bays, Victorian-era buildings, artisan markets, and rainforest ziplining, brims with breathtaking allure. For an authentic Antiguan staple, treat your tastebuds to polenta-like fungee made from okra and cornmeal paired with piquant pepperpot stew made from beef, aubergine, okra, potatoes, and squash.
An essential table-topper in Barbados, this finger-licking national dish features steamed, fried, pickled, or roasted flying fish seasoned with Bajan spices and creamy, custard-textured cou cou. If you’re looking for reputable Caribbean flights for convenient transfers between these gorgeous islands, enabling you to immerse yourself in their authentic culture and cuisine, venture no further than the likes of InterCaribbean Airwenter link description hereays.
The ABC Islands, known for their quaint plantation estates, multi-coloured heritage townhouses, thriving arts scene, and pristine seascapes, are also regionally celebrated for their decadent cheese pie. Suppose you love cheeseburgers, meatballs, and lasagna. In that case, you’ll likely fall for Keshi Yena, which is a luxuriant medley of Gouda cheese stuffed with spiced minced beef, olives, raisins, peppers, and onions. This perfectly baked cheese casserole is often paired with stomach-warming giambo stew, a Cajun-style soup made with pureed okra, salted meat, and a variety of seafood, from red snapper to shrimp and oysters.
A famed comfort food in Dominica, Trinidad, and Tobago, this heartening stew of leafy greens, peppers, okra, coconut milk, and crabmeat is perfect as a post-island-hopping pick-me-up. Trinidadians have it as a Sunday brunch staple, along with macaroni pie and chicken, while Tobagonians typically serve it over rice and meat.
Featuring a cuisine rich in spices, chutneys, sauces, and meaty stock, Trinidad and Tobago’s flavourful dishes are heavily influenced by East Indian tradition. If you’re craving a hearty one-pot rice dish after a day of hiking, beachcombing, and waterfall chasing, this combination of meat browned in sugar, rich stock, coconut milk, spices, pigeon peas, and peppers is ideal for refuelling.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
