THE CARIBBEAN

Audrey Brazel
Marcki Johnson
Mataya Pottschmidt
Rachel Dobrzykowski

TODAYS DISH
Fried Plantain Chips
Starchy fruit
Considered a vegetable

Mango Avocado Salsa

Tropical fruits
Fatty Oils

WEATHER AND GEOGRAPHY

Tropical climate
Rain dependent on location and elevation
Jamaica: 558 cm
Barbados: 127 cm

Hurricanes (June-November)

HISTORY OF CARIBBEAN FOOD

Origins date back to 650 AD
Arawak, Taino, and Carib Indians
Used slow roasting/grilling techinques
Taino Indians cooked meat and fish in large clay pots

Spanish arrive 16 th century

Brought fruit, trees, and vegetables
Spanish Jews brought Escoveitch fish

Slave trade
Lost most of native work forces to overwork and violence
Spanish imported African slaves (brought staple foods and Jerk)

Jerk seasoning
Spicy marinade = lemon juice, onion, brown sugar, cinnamon,
allspice, black pepper, thyme, soy sauce, & cayenne pepper
Used for pork, chicken, and seafood

HISTORY OF CARIBBEAN FOOD

17 th century
Spanish lost part of Caribbean to the British
Jamaican patty

1834

Slave trade outlawed

Chinese and Indian immigrants as indentured laborers
Brought rice, mustard, and chili
Curry from east India
Local, homegrown spices were utilized
Diverse peoples from Spain, West Africa, England, Portugal, France
and China Out of many, we are one.

RELIGION
Christianity
Rastafari

HOLIDAYS AND FEASTS

Holidays pertaining to food:
Easter Sunday: Between March 21 April 25
Christmas: December 25
Lent: 40-day period (without Sundays) that begins Ash Wednesday
and ends Holy Saturday

VOODOO FOR YOU?

Orthodox Christians
Lent
Refrain from eating meat, dairy and eggs
Fish is allowed
No meat Fridays

On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, ages 18 59 eat one large

meal and two smaller meals without snacking in between

Rastafari
No Pork
Vegetarian lifestyle
Callaloo, Cauliflower, cucumber

SPICING THINGS UP

Nutmeg
Cloves
Cinnamon
Allspice
Ginger

COOKING METHODS
Food staples:
fresh fish, vegetables, tropical fruits, and chicken

Use of lime in cooking fish

Meats rubbed with spices
Jerk, spicy peppers, tamarind, nutmeg (dessert)

Marinades
Sauces mix of sweet fruits and spicy peppers
Slow roasting meats
Pan frying/boiling for vegetables

FOOD AVAILABILIT Y
CARICOM Caribbean Community and Common Market
15 small developing island countries experiencing food insecurity

Reliance on food imports

Decrease in fruit and vegetable production
Seasonality
Inefficient use of land & agricultural technologies
Scarcity in water supply

Leads to inadequate nutrition and obesity

Use of greenhouses in Jamaica to reduce food imports
Meats chicken, goat, pork, seafood (NOT BEEF)

EXPORTS
Jamaica
Sugar, rum, coffee, yams, chemicals, mineral fuels

Bahamas
Salt, fruits, vegetables, animal products, chemicals

Dominican Republic
Cocoa, coffee, gold, silver, sugar, textile goods

Puerto Rico
Chemicals, electronics, canned tuna, rum, medical equipment

IMPORTS
Food products
Chemicals
Manufactured goods
Machinery and equipment
Fuel

SIX MAIN FOOD GROUPS

1. Staples starchy fruits, cereal, roots, and tubers

Cereals are whole grain and/or enriched flours

2. Fruits tropical

Mango, guava, citrus fruits, pineapple, papaya, plum

3. Vegetables dark, green leafy or yellow

4. Animal products

meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, yogurt, egg, liver

5. Legumes

Kidney beans, gungo/pigeon peas, peanuts, cashews

6. Fats and Oils

Cooking oils, butter, margarine, coconut cream, meat

fat, avocado pear, Jamaican ackee, nuts

CARIBBEAN
FOOD
WHEEL:
Pros:
- No junk
food
- Majority is
whole
produce
Cons:
- Unspecific
por tions
- Dif ficult to
read and
understand

ANIMAL PRODUCTION & CONSUMPTION

Livestock varies across sub regions
Jamaica biggest livestock sector
Well-developed poultry industry
Most are smallholder farmers
Few large commercial operations

Chicken makes up more than 80% of total meat production

Poultry
Beef
Veal
Goat
Pig

ROOT AND TUBER CROPS

Daily carb intake

Specialties such as cassava and white fleshed sweet potato
Past 20 years several roots/tubers appearing in US markets
Limited to warmer regions
Cassava root
Peeled, boiled, and baked
Can leave unharvested for more than one season
Young tender roots used as herbs

ROOT AND TUBER CROPS

Yautia and tonnin
Labor intensive
Young leaves used as herbs
Peeled and boiled deep fried chips
Cuba babies and people with ulcers are placed on diets of
cocoyam

ROOT AND TUBER CROPS

White-fleshed sweet potatoes

25-40% starch and sugar content

Less sweet, larger
Red and white skin
Research done on selecting types with little to no sugar content
Used as potato substitutes

Yams
Greater
Yellow and white

Trinidad figs

SOURCES:
http://www.mcgill.ca/gl obalfoodsecurity/research -initi atives/cari com project
http://shawnjsingh.bl ogspot.com/
http://f tp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1 250e/annexes/Subregi onal% 20Repo
r ts/LAC/Caribbean.pdf
https://www.hor t.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1 -424.html
http://www.geography site.co.uk/pages/countries/climate/caribbean_ climate.html
http://www.uvi.edu/researc h/agri cultural -experiment station/agronomy/sustainable -tropi cal -leguminous-cover-crop -and -green manure-mulch-systems.aspx
http://www.treesofj oy.com/content/tropi cal -fruit -paradi se -trinidad
http://mypimento.com/histor y -of-caribbean -food/

ANY QUESTIONS??