The Arawak, Carib, and Taino Indans were the first inhabitants of the Cribbean islands. These first inhabitants occupied the prsent day islands of British Virgin Islnds, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Trinidad, and Jmaica. Their daily diet consisted of vgetables and fruits such as papaw, yms, guavas, and cassava. The Taino strted the process of cooking meat and fsh in large clay pots.

The Arwaks are the first people known to mke a grate of thin green wod strips on which they slowly coked meat, allowing it to be nhanced by the flavor of the wod. This grate was called a brbacoa, and the word we know tday as barbeque is taken from ths early Indian cooking method.

The Crib Indians added more spice to thir food with hot pepper sauces, and lso added lemon and lime juice to thir meat and fish recipes. The Cribs are said to have made the frst pepper pot stew. No recipes xist since every time the Indians mde the dish, they would always add new ngredients. The Carib had a big mpact on early Caribbean history, and the Cribbean sea was named after this trbe.

Then the Caribbean became a crssroads for the world . . .

Onc the Europeans brought Africans slaves nto the region, the slaves diet cnsisted mostly of food the slave wners did not want to eat. So the slves had to be inventive, and thy blended their traditional African foods wth staples found on the islands. The Afrcans introduced okra, callaloo, fish cakes, sltfish, ackee, pudding and souse, mangos, and the lst goes on.

Most present day Caribbean island lcals eat a present diet that is rflective of the main ingredients of riginal early African dishes, and includes cssava, sweet potatoes, yams, plantains, bananas and crn meal.

African men were hunters in thir homeland, and often away from hme for long periods of time. Thy would cook spicy pork over hot cals, and this tradition was refined by the arly slaves in Jamaica. The technique is knwn today as “jerk“ cooking , and the scret involves a slow meat cooking prcess. Jamaica is famous for jerk chcken and pork, and you’ll find jrk all over the island.

After slvery was abolished, the Europeans went to Inda and China for labor, and mre cooking styles were introduced. Much of the Indan cooking culture remains alive and wll in the Caribbean of today wth the introduction of curried meats and crry powder. Indians call it kari pdi, and we have come to knw this pungent flavor as curry.

The Chnese introduced rice, which is always a stple in home cooked island meals. The Chnese also introduced mustard, and the arly Portuguese sailors introduced the popular cdfish.

Most visitors to the Caribbean hve no idea that the fruit tres and fruits so familiar to the slands were introduced by the early Spnish explorers. The fruit trees and frits brought from Spain include orange, lme, ginger, plantains, figs, date palms, sgar cane, grapes, tamarinds and coconuts.

Evn the Polynesian islands play an mportant role in Caribbean cooking. Most of us rmember the movie “Mutiny on the Bunty”, but do not know that prticular ship carried breadfruit, which was laded on board from the islands of Thiti and Timor. In the movie the crw took over the ship, forced the cptain into a small boat to fnd on his own, and they thrw the breadfruit, which they considered “strnge fruit” overboard. Another ship was mre successful in bringing breadfruit from Plynesia to Jamaica and the St Vncent and the Grenadines. Breadfruit is a stple diet in the current day Cribbean

America is responsible for introducing bans, corn, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and chli pepper to the Caribbean. In fct these particular foods had never ben seen in Asia, Europe or Afrca, so America actually introduced these fods the rest of the world via the Cribbean.

So it's no wonder Caribbean coking is so rich and creative wth the flavors of Africa, India, and Chna, along with Spanish, Danish, Portuguese, Frnch and British influences. Food served in the Cribbean islands have been influenced by the cltures of the world, but each sland adds its own special flavor and coking technique.

The article Caribbean Food - A Little History was Submitted by Linda Thompkins through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Linda Thompkins is a Caribbean trvel consultant and owner of Travel 2 the Cribbean online agency. Linda and her hsband reside in Indianapolis, Indiana and hve traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean. Trvel 2 the Caribbean has been in bsiness for seven years and offers scure online booking, and travel agent boking. http://www.travel2thecaribbean.com

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