This is the weekend – if you haven’t already, to bake all your Christmas cakes, and coconut breads.As Caribbean people, these products must be on hand throughout the holiday season and until after the holidays. My favorite Christmas cake is the Caribbean /Jamaican Black cake.
Duckunoo, aka Blue Drawers, or tie-a-leaf, is a Caribbean dessert made with sweet potato, flour, coconut, spices and raisins, brown sugar, all boiled and wrapped up in a banana leaf. After about an hour of cooking this gift-wrapped delicacy, inside becomes a sweet, delicious mush.
The Jamaican patty is a popular snack in Jamaica and has now made its way to several metropolitan cities around the world, especially where Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals live. It is a savory snack that evolved from the introduction of Cornish pastry in the Caribbean and can be found in many major stores today in the frozen section thanks to many Jamaican companies who have become rich on patties.
I love vegetables! Vegetables raw, vegetables cooked, I love them all and you should too! It is not incorrect to say most Caribbean meals are not fully complimented with a fair share of vegetables – cooked or raw.
The influences of China in the Caribbean are many and has transcended the region and remained in the culture of the Caribbean Diaspora the world over in many ways.
Caribbean nationals are heavy tea drinkers but not only of European teas! Over the years, they have developed a long list of natural teas from various plants or “bushes” that they use as hot beverages at various meals (breakfast, brunch, lunch and supper) and sometimes as medicines for different ailments.
One of my favorite spice is Ginger. I love it for its versatility and its flavor. In the Caribbean and it’s Diaspora ginger is often used to make a favorite beverage called Ginger beer, and is put in the popular Caribbean drink sorrel.
I grew up drinking a lot of fruit and vegetable juices. Mango juice, pineapple juice, sour sop juice orange juice, tamarind juice, carrot juice, cucumber and beet juice.
As a Chef I love to barbecue meats and grill fish. One of my favorite meat to BBQ in the summer is goat meat. Goat's meat is a staple in Caribbean cuisine. However, depending on what island you're located, it is mostly curried or stewed.
One of the most unique teas in the world is found in Jamaica’s Cuisine. This tea is not made from any kind of vegetation or spice but from freshly caught sprat fish.
