Caribbean cuisine is the world's most diverse fusion food. Each island has its own specialties shaped by Indigenous, African, European, Indian and Chinese influences.
Jamaica
— Jerk chicken or pork, slow-smoked over pimento wood with Scotch bonnet pepper and allspice. Ackee and saltfish (national dish). Beef patties. Curry goat. Wash it down with Red Stripe lager or Wray & Nephew rum.
Cuba
— Ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce), lechón asado (whole roast pork), moros y cristianos (black beans and rice), tostones (twice-fried plantain), café cubano. Cocktails: mojito, daiquiri, cuba libre.
Puerto Rico
— Mofongo (mashed plantain with garlic and pork), arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), pernil (slow-roasted pork shoulder), tostones, alcapurrias. Coquito at Christmas.
Dominican Republic
— La bandera (rice, beans, meat — daily lunch), sancocho (7-meat stew), mangú (mashed plantain breakfast), pollo guisado, chimichurri burger.
Haiti
— Diri ak djon-djon (rice with black mushrooms), griot (twice-cooked pork), pikliz (spicy cabbage relish), legim vegetable stew, tassot dried meat.
Trinidad and Tobago
— Doubles (curried chickpeas in fried bread — street food morning ritual), bake and shark, callaloo soup, pelau, roti, curry crab. Carnival food on every corner.
Barbados
— Cou-cou and flying fish (national dish), macaroni pie, pudding and souse (Saturday tradition), fish cakes with hot sauce. Mount Gay rum is the world's oldest distillery.
Bahamas
— Conch (fritters, salad, cracked), peas and rice, fried snapper, johnny cake. Goombay punch and Kalik beer.
French Caribbean (Guadeloupe, Martinique, St-Martin, St-Barths)
— Accras de morue (saltfish fritters), boudin créole, colombo de poulet (Indian-inspired curry), poisson grillé, ti-punch (rhum agricole + lime + sugar).
Dutch Caribbean (Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten)
— Keshi yena (cheese stew), stoba (meat stew), pastechi (fried pastries), funchi (cornmeal), Karni stoba goat stew, Dushi-flavored Curaçao liqueur.
Eastern Caribbean (Saint Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent)
— Roti, callaloo soup, oildown (Grenada national dish: breadfruit stew with salt meat in coconut milk), nutmeg ice cream.
Caymans/Turks & Caicos
— Conch chowder, turtle stew (regulated), heavy cake (sweet potato dessert), Caybrew beer.
Anguilla, St. Barts, St. Martin
— Gourmet hub of the Caribbean. French bistros next to Caribbean snack shacks, Asian fusion at Maho Bay, Italian on Shoal Bay.
Rum
— every island makes its own. Sample: Havana Club (Cuba), Appleton (Jamaica), Mount Gay (Barbados), Brugal (DR), Bacardi (Puerto Rico), Clément agricole (Martinique), Diplomático (Venezuela). Start with sipping rums aged 12+ years.
Fruits
— try at least once: mango, soursop (guanábana), guava, sapodilla, June plum, star apple (caimito), breadfruit, ackee, passion fruit, mamey sapote.
Drinks
— sorrel (hibiscus) at Christmas, mauby (tree bark drink) in Trinidad, sea moss for energy, coconut water straight from the husk, sugarcane juice with lime.