So you want to spend your vacation in a tropical paradise in the Bahamas. You found your flights, chose your accommodation and planned your activities. But what will you eat when you are? Despite the fact that many hotels and restaurants offer typical dishes of modern Western cuisine, no experience of the trip is not carried out without tasting the local cuisine. What can you expect in the Bahamas?
The Bahamas is an archipelago of more than 700 islands. Because of the abundance of water, traditional Bahamian dishes mainly treat products that can be collected from the ocean. Seafood is a staple in the Bahamas. The national dish is a conch (pronounced “konk”), a large tropical variety of marine snail. The flesh is thick and very pale. There are many ways to cook and maintain the shell, including steaming, stewing or deep frying. Fresh, raw shells, clogged up open and sprinkled with spices and lime juice, is also a delightful treat.
Bahamian cuisine includes shellfish such as crabs and rock lobster. Rock lobsters are also known as prickly lobsters or crayfish and are usually served in fried, minced or salad. Crab species, such as the Florida stone crab, are eaten in many cultures, although crab dishes in the Bahamas are usually burnt.
Other common seafood found in the Bahamas is, of course, fish. There are many ways to cook fish, but the favorite traditional Bahamian dish is boiled fish served with grains. Large fish, such as bass and bone fish, can also be fried, fried, baked or grilled.
After abundant seafood, chicken, pork and goat are also popular meat dishes. Some tourist destinations offer chicken as an alternative to seafood to satisfy guests with seafood allergies. Roasted iguana meat was once popular; however, because of an expired species, iguanas safely leave the menu.
Soups are a major part of Caribbean cuisine, and the Bahamas are no exception. Many cultures love soup, creating endless combinations of ingredients. The most popular soups in the Bahamas include soup, chopped peas and ham soup, fish soup, pepper stew and pea soup with dumplings and salted beef. For strictly Caribbean soup, the bold flavors of soups, soup of meat, water, onions, celery, lime juice and pepper, are classics.
Tropical fruits are a key element of the Bahamian cuisine: whether they are on their own or as a tasty ingredient in the assortment of dishes. Pineapples, mangoes, guavas, passion fruit, sapodilla and papaya are all grown in the Bahamas. Papaya is one of the most versatile fruits used in desserts, chutneys and tropical drinks. Papayas contains papain, an enzyme that breaks down hard meat fibers and is then used as a butcher. It is also a key component in Goombay & # 39; marmalade, Bahamian seasoning from papaya, pineapple and green ginger.
Dessert in the Bahamas is a very fruity business, almost all traditional desserts containing tropical fruits. Fresh fruits are deliciously sweet on their own, but can also be baked into pies, breadcrumbs, or any other baked goods. Duff is a traditional Bahamian dessert created by folded fruit, especially guava, in dough, and then simmering.
As you would expect from any tropical island, the Bahamas also offers an impressive range of beverages. Switcha is one of the most famous drinks and is made from natural limes or lemon with added sugar and water. Coconut water often serves as a light refreshment and can be mixed with sweet milk and gin to make juice for the palate. Bahamian cuisine offers a variety of other cocktails, including drum mum Bamama mom, Gumbay Smash, Yellow Bird and Panther. Beer is also a popular drink, served chilled in order to rinse off the heat.
Each local canteen will have its own choice in Bahamian cuisine. The dishes are seasonal and vary throughout the year. This is part of the fun — every meal — a new adventure in the Bahamas!
