ORGANIZATIONS
American Academy of Family Physicians. 11400 Tomahawk
Creek Parkway, Leawood, KS 66207. Telephone: (800)
274-2237. Website: http://www.aafp.org.
American College of Nutrition. 300 South Duncan Ave.,
Suite 225, Clearwater, FL 33755. Telephone: (727) 446-
- Website: http://www.amcollnutr.org.
American Diabetes Association. 1701 N. Beauregard St.,
Alexandria, VA 22311. Telephone: (800) 342-2383.
Website: http://www.diabetes.org.
American Dietetic Association. 120 South Riverside Plaza,
Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606-6995. Telephone: (800)
877-1600. Website: http://www.eatright.org.
American Society for Nutrition. 9650 Rockville Pike,
Bethesda, MD 20814. Telephone: (301) 634-7050.
Website: http://www.nutrition.org.
United States Department of Agriculture; Food, Nutrition,
and Consumer Services. 3101 Park Center Drive,
Alexandria, VA 22302. Telephone: (703) 305-2281.
Website: http://www.fns.usda.gov.
Ken R. WellsCaribbean Islander diet
Origins
Travel advertisements for the Caribbean Islands
portray long stretches of sun-drenched beaches and
swaying palm trees, with people dancing to jazz,
calypso, reggae, or meringue music. Indeed, the
beauty, warmth, and lush landscapes had Christopher
Columbus in awe in 1492 when he came upon these
tropical islands, stretching approximately 2,600 miles
between Florida and Venezuela.
European Settlement
The Arawaks and Caribs, the first natives of the
islands, were not treated kindly, however, as the Spanish,
French, Dutch, and British conquered the islands at dif-
ferent periods, all but wiping out the native populations.
Today, only a few aboriginals remain in the Caribbean.
The European settlers soon realized that sugar-
cane was a profitable crop that could be exported to
the European market. However, there was a shortage
of European farmers, and slaves were brought from
Africa to work on the sugar plantations. The slave
trade started in 1698. European settlers fought to
keep their territories and hoped for great wealth,
while actively pursuing the sugar and slave trades.
Two things changed the situation on the islands.
In 1756, missionaries from Germany (Moravian Prot-
estants), came to the islands, though the landowners
were opposed to their presence, fearing that any edu-
cation of the slaves could lead to a revolution. At
about the same time a German scientist by the name
of Margraf discovered that sugar could be produced
from beets, and many European countries began to
produce their own sugar.
In 1772, after many revolts and uprisings, the Euro-
peans began to free their slaves. The sugar plantationsPopular dishes of selected Caribbean islandsIsland Special dishes
Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis Fish soup, pepper pot soup (any
available fish, meat, chicken, and
vegetables cooked in fermented
cassava juice); saltfish with avocado
and eggplant
Barbados Flying fish; jug-jug (mashed stew of
pigeon peas, usually served at
Christmas)
Black pudding (a type of sausage
made by combining cooked rice mixed
with fresh pig’s blood, seasoned with
salt, pepper, and other condiments,
and placed in thoroughly cleaned
pieces of pig’s intestine, and then tied
on both ends and boiled in seasoned
water)
Belize Rice and chicken, tamales, conch
fritters, refried beans and iswa
(fresh corn tortillas)
Dominica Tannia (coco, a starch tuber soup);
mountain chicken (frog’s legs)
Grenada Callaloo (soup with green vegetables)
Lambi souse (conch marinated in lime
juice, hot pepper, onion); oil-down
(a highly seasoned dish of coconut
milk and salted fish)
Guyana Mellagee (one-pot stew of pickled
meat/fish and coconut milk with
tubers and vegetables); rice treat
(rice with shrimp, vegetables, and
pineapple)
Jamaica Saltfish and ackee (a fruit commonly
used as a vegetable, boiled and then
sautéed in oil); escoveitched fish (fried
fish marinated in vinegar spices,
seasoning); roasted breadfruit; asham
or brown George (parched dried corn
that is finely beaten in a mortar, sifted,
and mixed with sugar)
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Stewed shark
British Virgin Islands Fish chowder, conch salad, saltfish
and rice
Trinidad and Tobago Pelau (rice with meat, fish, peas,
vegetables); pakoras; kachouri; palouri
(fried vegetable fritters)
Guadeloupe and Martinique Mechoui (spit-roasted sheep); pate en
pot (finely chopped sheep and lamb
parts cooked into a thick, highly
seasoned stew)(Illustration by GGS Information Services/Thomson Gale.)Caribbean Islander diet