STX/VI cuisine

Hey ,
I'd like to hear about the local flavor too!

Lauren

Hello Jerred and Lauren,

Herbs used in dishes aren't necessary only found here... thyme, various peppers from sweet to very hot, onions, rosemary, parsley are commonly used. Provisions include yam, dasheen, sweet potatoes, plantain, papaya. Seafood: salt fish, conch, whelks, lobster, crab, octopus and then all sorts of saltwater fish... Fruits (often used in drinks and deserts); passionfruit, papaya, mango, kenips, sugar apple, soursop, sea grapes, pomgranent, mesple, coconuts, plums, starfruit...

--Islander

Conch and Whelks are shellfish, kind of like mussels right? By "salt fish" do you mean salted cod?

Also, is there grazing land for beef, or is all the beef imported? How about lamb, mutton, goat, venison? Are these meats any more common than in the states?

Thanks for the info

Jerred

Hello Jerred,

Whelks and Conch are big mollusks. Yes on the salt fish/cod. Majority of the beef is imported... St. Croix has grazing land and is famous for Senapol cattle and in general has more agriculture then the sister islands. You can get fresh goat meat here from time to time from folks that raise goats. Venison is not common here.

--Islander

Jerred,

I take it that you will be moving here soon. Here's one thing you might do when you get here.

Go to one of the local restaurants, not one that caters to tourists but to people who live here. Pick one that's kind of run down looking. It might not look like much, but they often serve the best local food because the person in the kitchen is a middle aged or elderly West Indian women who's been cooking since she was a little girl. She learned from her mom, and her mom learned from her mom, and so on.

Give her some money and tell her you want to learn about local cooking. She will probably oblige. Take notes for a couple of hours. Maybe you could do this for free if you offer to help her out in the kitchen. Learn fro a pro.

The fresh local fish are mainly pot fish- yellow-tail snapper, trigger fish ( "Ole Wife"), parrotfish ("Gutu"). Most of these go by a local name- redfish, flatfish... Your job is to figure out which is which and not get fish poisoning in the process! 😉 If you know someone who fishes, or if you fish, you can also get tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo and other pelagic fish- sometimes swordfish and marlin.

EE made a point in passing that perhaps deserves some elaboration, since Ciguatera normally occurs between latitudes 35 degrees North and South, and many stateside anglers are unaware of the danger.

Ciguatera poisoning occurs throughout the Caribbean islands, Hawaii and other tropical locations worldwide. It is a non-bacterial disease caused by a neurotoxin (called Ciguatoxin) produced by a certain species of reef algae. Fish that eat reef algae will accumulate Ciguatoxin in their bodies and larger and older fish farther up the food chain will accumulate even greater concentrations. As a result, Ciguatera is most prominently associated with barracuda, amberjack, grouper and snapper varieties (along with moray eels and mahi mahi in some parts of the world). Free-swimming pelagic fish are generally safe to eat.

Once contracted, Ciguatera poisoning is rarely fatal but can be very severe and can last from a few days to weeks or months. There is no medical treatment for the condition.

Since Ciguatoxin is not bacterial, cleaning, cooking, freezing, smoking or marinating affected fish will not prevent Ciguatera poisoning. The only way to prevent the disease is not to eat affected fish. There is a commercially available test for Ciguatoxin at www.cigua.com, but it is fairly expensive.

Several years ago (I don't know exactly how many), the NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center reported that Ciguatera poisoning occurs in roughly 3% of the USVI population annually. I understand the risk is even higher in the BVI.

So anglers visiting the Caribbean should be careful and learn to identify the varieties of fish that are safe to eat.

Post Edited (07-11-04 12:25)