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Food can be a big expense in the Caribbean, especially if you stick with familiar dishes that you recognize from home (because much of what you eat has to be imported). But one of the great pleasures of traveling is experimenting by trying locally produced foodstuff. One great advantage of sampling local cuisine is that it's almost always the cheapest choice. Another is that your sense of adventure will be rewarded by delicious food and drink.
Although you aren't allowed to bring fresh fruit and vegetables from the islands through Customs, you can bring spices and alcoholic beverages used in many recipes. Islanders are warm and generous people, so if you love a particular recipe, the chef generally will be quite flattered and glad to pass on the secrets if you ask.
Ackee and salt fish (Jamaica)
The first time you see ackee and salt fish, the national dish of Jamaica and a Jamaican favorite for breakfast, you may mistake it for scrambled eggs. Ackee is actually a fruit, but Jamaicans tend to use it like a vegetable. When prepared, it resembles scrambled eggs and tastes a lot like them, too, with a hint of nuttiness. It's not commonly shipped to other parts of the world, because the fruit must be eaten when it turns ripe. If you eat ackee at the wrong time, its seeds are poisonous.
Salt fish is cod cured in salt and it gives the dish just the right flavor. Air Jamaica occasionally serves ackee and salt fish on its flights. The best salt fish and ackee is prepared by a Jamaican chef at Jake's. You'll sometimes see this dish on the morning buffet at all-inclusive resorts, but you may need to request it a day ahead. Restaurants on Grand Cayman also serve it fairly regularly.
Callaloo and fungi (U.S. Virgin Islands)
In the South, you'd call this down-home cooking "greens and grits," but the names are certainly more fun in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Callaloo will remind you of spinach, but island cooks add crabs and hot pepper sauce to spice up the popular dish. Fungi (far from mushrooms) is a cornmeal concoction that falls somewhere in between the consistency of cornbread and grits. It's one of those things you just have to try — you'll either love it or hate it.
Caribbean lobster (Anegada, British Virgin Islands)
The small coral atoll of Anegada is known for the spiny Caribbean lobsters caught in its waters. You'll find lobster on every menu of every restaurant on the island. Check out the Cow Wreck Beach Bar and Grill. If you want to try a Caribbean cholesterol jamboree diet with lobster and butter at every meal, the British Virgin Islands are the place to do it.
Conch fritters (Grand Cayman)
Pronounced conk, this edible mollusk resides in a beautiful shell with a pink interior that lines the yards of many houses on Grand Cayman. Chefs either pound out the meat to tenderize it, or they often serve it chopped up, made into tasty fritters. Conch has become so popular that it suffers from overcollection. Therefore, on some islands, conch fritters and chowder, along with marinated and stewed conch, are no longer as common.
Flying fish (Barbados)
These small, silvery fish, which look like they have wings when they leap out of the sea, are the national fish of Barbados and the main ingredient in several Bajan specialties. For a change of pace, try flying fish for breakfast.
Grouper sandwich (anywhere in the Caribbean)
You'll see grouper listed on almost every Caribbean menu that carries a catch-of-the-day selection. Grouper inhabit shallow-to-midrange reefs. The meat is a white, sweet, mild-tasting fish. Fried in a proper batter, this fish is the main ingredient of many a lunch sandwich in the Caribbean.
Jerk chicken (Jamaica)
Spicy jerk chicken is, perhaps, the most widely known Caribbean dish. It originated in Jamaica and is a method of barbecuing by using well-seasoned meat. It originated with the Maroons, escaped slaves who lived in the mountains. They would roast pork seasoned with scotch bonnet pepper, pimento seeds, thyme, and nutmeg over sizzling hot coals covered with the branches of pimento or allspice wood. Although pork was the meat the originators used, chicken has become more popular.
Besides jerk pork, grill men operating pits around Jamaica have added chicken, sausage, and fish to their repertoire. While Port Antonio's Boston Beach is best known, skip it. Only a few pits remain open, and the quality has suffered for lack of competition. Instead, get a good taste at the Pork Pit in Montego Bay, the Ocho Rios Village Jerk Centre, or the stalls by the beach in Negril.
Keshi Yena (Aruba)
The Dutch treat of Keshi Yena tastes better than it sounds. You take a wheel of Gouda cheese, pack the hollowed-out center with a spicy meat mixture of either chicken or beef, and then bake the whole concoction. This dish is especially popular at Christmastime. You can find it at restaurants that serve traditional Aruban fare, including Brisas del Mar.
Rice and beans/peas (Puerto Rico and Jamaica)
The Spanish influence on Puerto Rico is evident in the simple local fare. You can get a steamy plate of rice with either black or red beans for a few dollars. We like to order it with a side of sweet plantains, which are a cousin to the banana, but you can't eat them raw. (Try plantains baked or fried with a little brown sugar.)
In Jamaica, you'll often find a variation of this cheap but good dish. There, chefs cook rice and peas (red kidney beans) with coconut milk, a ham bone or bacon, and spices. Rice and peas come as a side dish to almost every traditional Jamaican meal.
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