Barbados Food... Spicey And Flavourful
Sampling Barbados food is a must while vacationing on the island...One of the main features of Barbadian food is of course the influence of the African, European, Asian and Indian cultures on its preparation and flavour.
You will also be delighted to know that the preparation of food in Barbados uses a variety of techniques. Including the Wok, the grill and the wood stone oven to enhance the flavour and bring that unique Barbadian taste to your dining experience.
Another advantage of preparing Barbados food is the abundance of fresh fish including the very popular flying fish in the waters surrounding the island.
There are also a number of foods that are peculiar to Barbados like Flying Fish and Cou Cou, Black Pudding and Souse, Fish Cakes and rice and peas.
You’ll also find a wide selection of restaurants and cafes catering to the preparation of Caribbean food and more specifically the food of Barbados.
In this section we have put together a guide to some of the island’s most popular delicacies, and point you to some of the best Barbados food preparation books and recipes.
I hope it helps you to better understand and appreciate the unique taste and flavour of Barbados food...
You may have heard reference to Cou Cou and Flying fish in some of the folklore and island songs... well this Barbados food is the national dish.
Usually served on Fridays or Saturdays this unique dish is made from corn meal, cook with chopped okras. It is then served with steam or fried flying fish with a spicy sauce cook with herbs, tomatoes, garlic, onions and butter.
Here is a recipe for the traditional Barbadian Cou Cou
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 12 okras
- 8 cups water
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. margarine
When the mixture becomes stiff and smooth and breaks away from the saucepan cleanly at the bottom, it is finished. Put into a dish immediately and spread liberally with margarine.
A local delicacy is black and white pudding made with sweet potato and herbs served along with soused pigs head and trotters. There are many people throughout the island that make and sell pudding and souse every Saturday, starting work at 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning in order to be ready for the lunchtime rush.
Here is a recipe for the traditional Barbadian Black pudding and Souse
- Intestines of a pig
- Salt
- Half limejuice and half water
- 2lbs. sweet potato
- Thyme
- Red pepper
- Sweet marjoram
- 4tbs. margarine
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 2 minced shallotts
- dash of clove powder
- 1 pig’s head
- 11/2 cups water
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup limejuice
- 1 onion, chipped
- 2 cucumbers, chipped
- Red peppers, sliced
- Parsley
Black Pudding
Fill the skins (do not pack tightly) with mixture, tie at each end and cook slowly on a rack over boiling water until potato is cooked and skins are firm. Before serving, cut in lengths and fry in oil.
Souse
Then cut off the meat in slices and drop it into a large bowl of pickle made from salt water, limejuice, chipped cucumber, a few red peppers sliced. Let it sit for several hours. Garnish with parsley
Another popular Bajan dish is fish cakes, which are made with salted cod imported from the maritime provinces of Canada.
The importation of salted fish and meat goes back
to the colonial days when these foods, which could be stored for
months, were seen as a cheap source of protein.
Fish cakes are made with salted cod, flour, herbs and pepper and are served in rustic rum shops and elegant cocktail parties alike.
As health conscious as everyone is
trying to be, a dish of freshly fried hot fish cakes passed around at a
gathering with some pepper sauce or sauce marie rose, goes like smoke
in the wind.
Here is a recipe for the traditional Barbadian Fish Cakes
- ½ lb salt fish (cod fish)
- 4 cups flour
- 2tsps. Baking powder
- Water to mix
- 1 large hot pepper (chopped)
- 4 sprigs scallion (chopped)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 tsps. Thyme
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying
Boil salt fish until flesh begins to come away from bone. Drain water
away and let fish cool. In large bowl, sift flour and baking powder.
Separate fish from bones and flakes.
Add water to flour mixture, adding finely chopped seasonings as you go,
until batter is of a dropping consistency. Add flaked fish to batter
and stir well. Heat oil over medium flame until haze forms.
Using a
tablespoon, drop batter into oil. Fry batter until golden brown and
crisp at edges. To remove excess oil, place on kitchen towel for a few
minutes before serving.
I know you maybe wondering corn meal, sweet potato; flour… what is the main staple in Barbados food? Truth is the island has more than one staple these include breadfruit, yams, sweet potato, rice, cassava and eddo...
For example, you’ll find that most Barbados foods like soups are based on additions such as pigeon peas, kidney beans, split peas or white beans.
These pluses are extremely nourishing and are often used as a complete meal rather than as a prelude to a meal.