Tropical Tastes, Exciting Flavors, Fresh Ingredients:
Latin Caribbean cuisine is an amazing blending of tropical tastes and multicultural influences. It is a celebration of aromatic, sweet and tart, piquant and mild citrus flavors. To understand and appreciate it, you must first understand the history behind the food.
Latin Caribbean cuisine is an amazing blending of tropical tastes and multicultural influences. It is a celebration of aromatic, sweet and tart, piquant and mild citrus flavors. To understand and appreciate it, you must first understand the history behind the food.
Latin Caribbean food is a mixture of cultural influences. Each island has a similar heritage.
Each island cuisine uniquely evolved with the borrowing and blending of foods and cooking styles. Consequently, you’ll find common products, produce and cooking styles throughout the islands.
If you are new to Latin Caribbean cooking, keep in mind that the food is always evolving due to the many cultural influences on the islands and the need to import products to sustain the population.
Before Columbus:
The Arawaks and Caribs, two native tribes, originally occupied the Spanish influenced islands of The Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. It is thought the Caribs began the tradition of spicing food with chili peppers. The Arawaks were among the first to use barbecue techniques by building grills with green sticks. They called it barbacot. The Spanish word barbacoa is a variation of barbacot as is the English word barbecue. Many native ingredients are still prepared today.
The Arawaks and Caribs, two native tribes, originally occupied the Spanish influenced islands of The Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. It is thought the Caribs began the tradition of spicing food with chili peppers. The Arawaks were among the first to use barbecue techniques by building grills with green sticks. They called it barbacot. The Spanish word barbacoa is a variation of barbacot as is the English word barbecue. Many native ingredients are still prepared today.
After Columbus:
Christopher Columbus arrived in the area in 1492 and introduced sugarcane and Spanish culinary techniques. It didn’t take long to discover that rum could be made from fermented cane juice. Bacardi Rum is a standard ingredient in many tropical drinks and dishes, such as Rum-Soaked Fruit Salad. Other Europeans followed Spain in colonizing the islands and brought with them their culinary trademarks.
Christopher Columbus arrived in the area in 1492 and introduced sugarcane and Spanish culinary techniques. It didn’t take long to discover that rum could be made from fermented cane juice. Bacardi Rum is a standard ingredient in many tropical drinks and dishes, such as Rum-Soaked Fruit Salad. Other Europeans followed Spain in colonizing the islands and brought with them their culinary trademarks.
Other Culinary Influences:
It is not uncommon to find Mexican and South American ingredients included in Latin Caribbean cooking. The close proximity encouraged trade between the native tribes.
Beginning in the early 1600s the slave trade brought foods from West Africa to the islands.
After the abolishment of slavery, laborers from India and China came to work in the fields and on plantations, adding two more very different culinary influences to the list, though not considerable on the Spanish influenced islands.
For hundreds of years, food has been a means through which people have expressed themselves. Latin Caribbean cuisine is a combination of local and imported ingredients and culinary methods that melds cultural traditions and heritage. As you can see and taste, it’s a sensational blend of striking colors, tropical tastes, and exciting flavors, sure to leave your taste buds craving more.
