The Arawak, Carib, and Taino Indians were the first inhabitants of
the Caribbean islands. These first inhabitants occupied the present day
islands of British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti,
Trinidad, and Jamaica. Their daily diet consisted of vegetables and
fruits such as papaw, yams, guavas, and cassava. The Taino started the
process of cooking meat and fish in large clay pots.
The Arawaks
are the first people known to make a grate of thin green wood strips on
which they slowly cooked meat, allowing it to be enhanced by the flavor
of the wood. This grate was called a barbacoa, and the word we know
today as barbeque is taken from this early Indian cooking method.
The
Carib Indians added more spice to their food with hot pepper sauces,
and also added lemon and lime juice to their meat and fish recipes. The
Caribs are said to have made the first pepper pot stew. No recipes exist
since every time the Indians made the dish, they would always add new
ingredients. The Carib had a big impact on early Caribbean history, and
the Caribbean sea was named after this tribe.
Then the Caribbean
became a crossroads for the world . . .
Once the Europeans brought
Africans slaves into the region, the slaves diet consisted mostly of
food the slave owners did not want to eat. So the slaves had to be
inventive, and they blended their traditional African foods with staples
found on the islands. The Africans introduced okra, callaloo, fish
cakes, saltfish, ackee, pudding and souse, mangos, and the list goes on.
Most
present day Caribbean island locals eat a present diet that is
reflective of the main ingredients of original early African dishes, and
includes cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, plantains, bananas and corn
meal.
African men were hunters in their homeland, and often away
from home for long periods of time. They would cook spicy pork over hot
coals, and this tradition was refined by the early slaves in Jamaica.
The technique is known today as "jerk" cooking , and the secret involves
a slow meat cooking process. Jamaica is famous for jerk chicken and
pork, and you'll find jerk all over the island.
After slavery was
abolished, the Europeans went to India and China for labor, and more
cooking styles were introduced. Much of the Indian cooking culture
remains alive and well in the Caribbean of today with the introduction
of curried meats and curry powder. Indians call it kari podi, and we
have come to know this pungent flavor as curry.
The Chinese
introduced rice, which is always a staple in home cooked island meals.
The Chinese also introduced mustard, and the early Portuguese sailors
introduced the popular codfish.
Most visitors to the Caribbean
have no idea that the fruit trees and fruits so familiar to the islands
were introduced by the early Spanish explorers. The fruit trees and
fruits brought from Spain include orange, lime, ginger, plantains, figs,
date palms, sugar cane, grapes, tamarinds and coconuts.
Even the
Polynesian islands play an important role in Caribbean cooking. Most of
us remember the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty", but do not know that
particular ship carried breadfruit, which was loaded on board from the
islands of Tahiti and Timor. In the movie the crew took over the ship,
forced the captain into a small boat to fend on his own, and they threw
the breadfruit, which they considered "strange fruit" overboard.
Another ship was more successful in bringing breadfruit from Polynesia
to Jamaica and the St Vincent and the Grenadines. Breadfruit is a staple
diet in the current day Caribbean
America is responsible for
introducing beans, corn, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and chili pepper to
the Caribbean. In fact these particular foods had never been seen in
Asia, Europe or Africa, so America actually introduced these foods the
rest of the world via the Caribbean.
So it's no wonder Caribbean
cooking is so rich and creative with the flavors of Africa, India, and
China, along with Spanish, Danish, Portuguese, French and British
influences. Food served in the Caribbean islands have been influenced by
the cultures of the world, but each island adds its own special flavor
and cooking technique.
Linda Thompkins is a Caribbean travel consultant and owner of
Travel 2 the Caribbean online agency. Linda and her husband reside in
Indianapolis, Indiana and have traveled extensively throughout the
Caribbean.
Travel 2 the Caribbean has been in business for seven
years and offers secure online booking, and travel agent booking.
[http://www.travel2thecaribbean.com]
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