by Jaimela King

Created on: February 05, 2009   Last Updated: February 13, 2009

The Caribbean is a delightful mix of several islands and while they share many similarities in their history and culture, each island has distinctively different cultures, food and practices. While many islands may have similar foods, there are some variations in taste, style of preparation and name of the food. Here is a sample of some of the Caribbean foods I have eaten and/or prepared, and which are more commonly found in the English speaking Caribbean.

Flying Fish

You can't go to Barbados without sampling their national fish called the flying fish. This fish is specific to Barbados and is an Island delicacy. The fish is served either fried or steamed, seasoned with local seasonings and served with another Caribbean dish called cou-cou made mainly from cornmeal.

Black Pudding

While I never made black pudding I have watched it being made not a pretty sight. My suggestion is that if you want to enjoy it, have someone else make it and don't look. I say this because it is essentially a blood sausage. It is made with the cow intestines, seasoned rice and fresh cow blood. I am not sure about today, but in some Caribbean countries, it was not unusual to find street vendors selling these tasty treats, and they are indeed delicious. These are very popular in Guyana not an Island but in the Caribbean nevertheless.

Ackee and Saltfish

These are two separate Caribbean dishes but I will deal with them together here since the combination of Ackee and Saltfish is a very popular dish in Jamaica. If you visit any resort in Jamaica, you are bound to have this dish for breakfast at least once. Ackee trees are all over the island, producing a fruit which is pear shaped, with a red to yellow-orange color. The skin splits open revealing black seeds and creamy yellowish flesh. The inner flesh is the only edible part of the Ackee. It is rich in protein, Vitamin A, Essential Fatty acids and protein.

Every part of the Ackee is discarded except the flesh which looks like scrambled eggs when cooked. The salt fish, usually fried salted cod, is common to the Caribbean as a whole as it was imported as a food for slaves. The salt fish is soaked in water or boiled to get rid of the salt, flaked, seasoned and fried, and is one of my favorite foods and you can don't have to be in jamaica to try an Ackee and Saltfish recipe.

Jerk

The first time I tried Jerk, was on a visit to Jamaica many years ago. It was not as commercialized as it is now and I had the privilege of actually seeing it made in the old

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