island Delights

The Caribbean has given us so many delicious foods and drinks. From jerk to rum, we've experienced some of the best the islands have to offer. They are a mix of indigenous ingredients and European influence. It makes for a tasty cuisine of savory, spicy and sweet.

The dishes from the islands are the first fusion recipes. African, Creole, Cajun, and Amerindian have played an important role. The European influence is felt strongly as well. Spain, England, and France were the first major impacts, along with Portuguese and Irish. Surpsingly, but not surprisingly, there is also a Chinese, Javanese, Indonesian, Arab and South Indian input.Most of the islands share the same ingredients such as rice, beans cassava,a  kind of yam, along with cilantro or coriander. Bell peppers figure heavily into it, along with chickpeas, tomatoes,sweet potatoes and coconut. Some ingredients such as  ackee and saltfish, a type of fruit and salted cod are only cooked and eaten in Jamaica. Many bigger islands such as Jamaica have influence over the smaller ones or are so close such as Trinidad and Tobago that they influence each other. Some of them such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Domenican Republic have variations of the same dishes, slightly varying the amount of spicings.

What are the standout dishes of the islands? Puerto Rico and Cuba have the most known and the most popular.The Puerto Ricans make arroz con gandules y lechon - pork cooked with  yellow rice and pigeon peas.There's also pork belly or chicharrones which is crispy and salty like pork rinds. There's the crunchy  tostones, fried plantains, flavored with garlic powder and salt. Cubans have the delicious rice and beans, arroz y frijoles , cooked together. There's also the wildly delicious ropa viejo or old clothes.. This is shredded beef simmered in a tomato based criollo or garlic sauce. Arroz con pollo is another flavorful and famed dish along with the well known Cuban sandwich. This last is a tasty marriage of ham and pork loin with Swiss cheese and dill pickles on a cianbatta or hero bread. Mayo and mustard  round it out.Jamaican food is also striking. Jerk is made with a variety of different meats, from chicken to goat!.It's similar to our beef jerky here in the States. The Rastafarians have contributed vegetarian salt free cuisine to the island. This is called Ital and has such dishes as curried tofu chunks and vegetable stew.

The Caribbean has given the world a variety of tasty dishes. They are spicy and  sweet, savory and crunchy. Try them for an unusual spin on eating.