Authentic Caribbean cuisine is truly an excellent representation of all the cultural influences the Caribbean Islands have experienced since Christopher Columbus' landing in the late 1400's. Possessing a fine mixture of French Island and African recipes, Caribbean cuisine is widely enjoyed and prepared by people of all nationalities, in many areas of the United States, as well as all over the world.
Caribbean culture and its food were forever changed when the European traders introduced African slaves into the region. Much like the slaves in the United States, they had to make due with what they had, so ate mostly the scrap leftovers of the slave owners. The African slaves blended the knowledge of spices and vegetables they had brought from their homeland and incorporated them with the precious fruits and vegetables of the Caribbean Islands, as well as other staples to that could be found in the area. This was the birth of the more contemporary Caribbean Cuisine, and created many one-of-a-kind dishes since many of the produce on the islands at the time were too fragile to make it through the exportation process. Fruits most often found in Caribbean cuisine included yams, yucca, mangos and papaya fruits. Among the produce that were too fragile to be exported were the tamarind fruit and plantains, which is a fruit grown on a tree that is similar to the banana.
Although spicy, Caribbean food is one of the healthier options existing among culinary traditions from different regions. As mentioned earlier, the lush Caribbean islands are chock full of vegetables and fruits for healthy living. In addition to that, America introduced beans, corn, Chile peppers, potatoes and tomatoes to the islands, which served to broaden their palate.
When slavery was abolished on the islands, slave owners were forced to look else where for help. Bringing in labor from India and China, different types of dishes using rice or curry were introduced and blended into mainstream Caribbean cuisine. This is how the Caribbean favorite curry goat was born.
The Caribbean islands are situated in a prime location for one of their specialties, seafood. Salted codfish is just one of the specialties on the Caribbean islands. It is usually served in a salad or stew, or at breakfast in scrambled eggs. Lobster, sea turtle, shrimp, crab, and sea urchins are also specialties on the islands. They are used to make exotic, spicy Caribbean dishes such as Antillean crab pilaf and curried coconut shrimp.
Desserts are also an integral part of the Caribbean culinary experience. Caribbean natives incorporate dessert into almost every meal. Sugar cane is one of the area's chief products, so there are always an abundance of cakes, pies, and dumplings available. At Caribbean restaurants you may notice the emphasis they put on their desserts. In their culture, dessert is just as important as the main course.
Caribbean cuisine incorporates flavors from all of the different cultures that have ever graced the shores of the islands, from Africa to China to India. The flavoring in Caribbean cuisine is intense and rich, strikingly similar African and Creole food.