Caribbean Cuisine Influences

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Europeans arrive

Following Columbus to the islands was a flood of people from all over Europe including parts of Scandinavia. They brought with them their familiar cuisines along with new fruits, vegetables, and meats. Many of these food items, along with recipe concepts previously unknown in the Caribbean, found a permanent home and many foods that are now considered synonymous with the Caribbean, such as breadfruit, limes, mangoes, rice, sugar cane, and coffee were, in fact, introduced to the islands by the Europeans.

The fortune-seeking Europeans soon started importing slaves from Africa to tend cash-producing crops like sugar cane. These slaves brought with them other crops new to the Caribbean islands, such as okra, callaloo, and ackee. Slaves incorporated these and other foods into a style of cooking that became basic throughout the Caribbean and it still exists today.

Enter China and India

Early in the 1800s Europe began rocking with agitation against the slave system. By 1850 both England and France took a position to end slavery in all of their colonies. Of course, emancipation in the Caribbean did little to improve the working conditions of the former slaves, even though they were now being paid for their labors. As a result, most of the ex-slaves opted to leave the fields and other previously forced labor positions.

This mass exodus caused many problems, especially on islands like Trinidad where large-scale sugar cane production had been started at about the same time that slavery ended. The desperate need for a new labor force was solved when plantation owners opted to import large numbers of indentured servants from China and India. Indenture is just a step removed from slavery, and these folks fared little better than the Africans. But the influence of both of these cultures on Caribbean cuisine was dramatic and has been long lasting. With very few exceptions, dishes enhanced with a versatile spice mixture that East Indians call kari podi (KAH-ree Podee) and the English call curry has become as much a Caribbean dish as it is Indian.

Oriental influence can be seen throughout the island chain where there is a great love of rice highlighted by a concern for cooking it properly. There is also a noticeable presence of Chinese vegetables in many of the islands' markets. From Cuba to Trinidad the blended influence of South American Aboriginal, European, African, East Indian, and Chinese cuisines can be seen. Along with the multi-cultural and indigenous influences, many of the islands have developed unique interpretations of the same dish. For instance, Jamaicans use coconut oil when preparing many of these dishes while on Haiti dairy butter and olive oil is preferred. Also, some dishes are hailed on certain islands and scorned on others.

Tourism and independence

During the past few decades a fifth and perhaps the most significant wave of influence is having a profound and positive effect on Caribbean cuisine. It was brought about by tourism.

For many years following its discovery it was difficult, at best, and most often impossible to get a meal formulated with indigenous ingredients, and prepared using local recipes. This is because, from the very beginning, European colonists look on the local foods with scorn and distrust, and took great efforts to import familiar foods from their homelands. When the modern age of Caribbean tourism began in the 20th century, hotel and inn operators took the same attitude. Along with other negatives, they felt that the type of tourist who came to the Caribbean was more obsessed with sun and sand than with food. To a great extent they were correct. Most pre-war travelers to the area were older retirees with lots of money and leisure time. When they wanted adventure and glamorous food they went to Europe. When they wanted rest and recuperation they went to the Caribbean. All of this changed after World War II. More airstrips were built on many islands while planes themselves got bigger and airfares became cheaper. As a result vacationers were getting younger, less affluent, and more adventurous. They were anxious to experience a way of life different from what they knew at home. Tourists began asking hotel operators why they served imported fruits instead of local fruits like mango or papaya, and filet of sole instead of spiny lobster or red snapper.

Caribbean Cooking - Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 .....continued

Author: Richard Blunt
Issue: Sept, 2001

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