Connecting To Caribbean Cuisine

 Caribbean cuisine is fast becoming a staple and important part of the American table. Thanks to a heavy influx of island based immigrants, dishes made with oxtails and Scotch bonnet peppers are becoming everyday.There is a whole range to choose from thanks to the regions many different islands and conutries. 

Food writer and podcast host Korsha Wilson wrote about this interesting and flavorful cuisine in today's New York Times  Wednesday Food section. She writes that forty-six percent of Black immigrants or roughly around two million people are coming to the US , from the Caribbean.This is comprised of thrirteen countries stretching from South America to the Bahamas, with an area larger than Texas and Alaska combined. despite tis' size and diversity the area, especially the cuisine, has always been talked about in broad terms,. The chef  GUyanese bornTavel Bristol-Joseph knows this and is trying to dispel any stale tropes about the cooking. There are other first generation chefs who share his idealogy. They have backgrounds in fine dining kitchens and are now getting specific about each island's unique assemblages of culinary influences. This is evolving further reflecting at first the indegenous Taino cuisine and later the African slave trade and European dominance.

Caribbean cuisine, despite this long history hadn't really impacted American until the Seventies and Eighties One of the first was Lowell F. Hawthorne who brought about the Golden Krust fast food chain of Jamaican cuisine aong with the chef Norma Shirley who brought Jamaican cooking to New York City.Pastry chef, Paula Velez who also co started Bakers Against racism, experienced this. She wanted to embrace her Dominican heritage nmore fully so she blends ingredients from Santo Domingo with classical French techniques. She has carrot cake with a passion fruit glaze and plantain sticky buns.Oakland < California chef Nelson German highlights his native Dominican menu with the African influences . He had wanted to return to his roots after working in restaurants that featured Euroamerican foods. Some Caribbean chefs may not strictly adhere to all the traditional Caribbean recipes. They cna adapt to local produce and work with the seasons. That's what makes the cuisine special - the way it can adapt.

Caribbean cuisine is the cuisine to look out for. It's varied in it's flavors and influences. It's this mix that makes it so tasty and fun to try.