Home > NUTRITION > Cuisines of the world > Caribbean cuisine >

A veggie of the day

Mushroom

Cultivated mushrooms with a white cap and stem. Primarily grown in Europe and English speaking countries.

Hawai Mix 400 g

Hawai Mix 400 g. A quick and healthy ready-made dish. Rice with green peas, corn and red peppers. A vegetarian dish.

Razor blade sharp…

There is a measure of the sharpness of pepper.

Caribbean cuisine

Caribbean cuisine is well known not only for its variety of seafood dishes, but also for its bounty of exotic fruit, accessible only on these islands. Because of them cooks from this region create such wonderful, colourful and surprising tasty dishes.

The roots of the Caribbean cuisineThe cuisine of the inhabitants of the Caribbean islands is incredibly rich and versified. It mainly comes from history of these islands and also from the influence of many nations coming from various continents, with diverse culinary traditions.

Caribbean cuisines are incredibly rich and versified.

For a long time the Caribbean islands were the colonies of the Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch and French countries. What is nowadays known as Caribbean cuisine came as a result of a fusion between cuisines of the nations coming to this region, not only from Europe but also from Africa, as well as the local inhabitants of the Caribbean islands.

Sauces

The word „sauce” comes from Latin „salsus”, which means salty or spicy. In the past sauces were used for preserving food, and nowadays their main reason is to diversify and improve the fragrance or flavour of dishes. The inhabitants of the Caribbean islands add sauces first as marinate (meat and fish marinate is the necessary stage of preparing every meal in the Caribbean islands), then the sauce is poured on the food before serving it. Dips – thick sauces- are very popular. They are cream, mayonnaise or yoghurt are their base. Aromatic chutneys are also well known. They are made of seasonal fruit and vegetables with spices, mustard and vinegar. Caribbean sauces contain all kinds of spices that sometimes are used in quite unusual mixtures. What’s common for sauces in the Caribbean cuisine is a combination of sweet fruit flavours with the bite of seasoning, onions and also the use of coconut milk, rum as well as some more spicy seasoning.

One of the most common caribbean cuisine includes fish and sea food.

A vegetable mixture The basic vegetables in this region are the ones traditionally grown: tomatoes, garlic and onion. There may be a very few dishes that do not contain these ingredients, even if their use would be considered absurd, e.g. for the dish of bananas and mango with onion.

In Puerto Rico tomatoes and rice are also a popular dish. It is served with chicken meat, seasoned with onions, garlic and chilli. Tomatoes are also an ingredient of dishes made of edible ketmia.

Beans are the baseThe basic vegetables in the Caribbean islands are beans. They are appreciated not only for their tasty qualities, but also for health reasons, since beans contain a lot of protein. Besides that it is easy to store them. The Caribbean climate is very good for growing beans; therefore many kinds of beans are a base of the dishes here. It is here where beans have been brought to Europe from, and then they spread to other continents.

Fish and seafood – both for the rich and poor Caribbean is an island, it’s no surprise that one of the basic ingredients used in kitchens all over this region are the fish and seafood. They are easily accessible for everyone.

Common Caribbean vegetables includes tomotoes, garlic and onion

Fish and seafood in many countries are considered to be dainty food, affordable for only the wealthy, here in the Caribbean are present on tables across the country. One may find many sea creatures present in dishes: flying fish, squids, mussels, cods, redfish, crabs, prawns and many other sea fruit.

Rum and cocktailsThe Caribbean islands are well known all over the world for their cocktails. Rum is at their base - whether Curacao or bitter Angostura. The most famous cocktails originating from the Caribbean are:

- Cuba Libre

- Daiquiri

- Havana Special

- Mojito

- Pina Colada

The Caribbean islands are the homeland of rum. Almost every island has its own recipe for this alcohol. Cuba and Puerto Rico produce light and colour free rum. Rum from Haiti is characterized by the vanilla aroma, in Jamaica it is a heavy and strong drink. It is a base for many liquors and exotic cocktails. Rum is widely used also in sweet making; it is often an ingredient of creams and cakes.

Calorie charts for products and dishes – calorie charts for you

Are you weight conscious? Do you count the calorie intake? Check the calories and nutritious value in various products. You will find out how many calories there are in over 1,000 dishes, and their ingredients.