Conkies, also known at sweet dumplings is a mixture of grated pumpkin, sweet potatoes and coconut, combined with cornmeal, raisins and spices to make a thick batter. The batter is portioned into banana leaves and steamed. In Barbados, Conkies is synonymous with Independence and is always made on this occasion. HAPPY 50TH BARBADOS!
One of the best ways to eat breadfruit is roasted directly over fire. The smoke penetrates the flesh and gives it the best flavour; eaten with a sprinkling of salt or a drizzle of melted butter, eat bite is delicious.
Stuffed roast breadfruit came about from simply being creative when "bush cooking" (cooking outdoors away from all the trappings of a kitchen). The top of the breadfruit is cut and the center where the stem is embedded, is hollowed, generously rubbed with butter and then stuffed with cooked meats or sometimes with seasoned fish. The cap is secured in place with skewers and then set over a fire to roast.
You may be wondering what is the big deal posting about a soda. Well let me tell you, this soda here - Red Ju-C is wickedly good and it goes well with so very many things. It is a Bajan tradition. On its own, cold with ice, it is refreshing. A ham cutter without Red Ju-C to chase it is found to be wanting. At Christmas, this is the # 1 soda (all year round too). You have to stock up on this soda early because it gets sold out. Remember I told you that it goes well with a lot of other things? It is a great combo with rum and vodka, Campari and other alcoholic beverages. Mix it with beer and you have your own brew of shandy. So good!
Rum shops have long been a part of Barbadian society. They started out as places to relax after work, have a drink or 2 or 3 or... play a game of cards or dominoes and to grab a quick bite such as fish cakes. Over the years the rum shops would stock small grocery items too. Today, rum shops are very much a part of the tourist experience in Barbados. They still sell rum but you can get beers and non-alcoholic beverages too, a wide variety to cooked snacks and homemade meals can be bought. Actually, some rum shops have grown in reputation for their food offerings.
Just like the snow cone vendors that come through the neighborhoods on the weekends, so too do ice cream trucks, traversing the avenues and roadways of Barbados. The signature tune emanating from the loud speaker in the van heralds the arrival of the ice cream van. It is a slice of life in the Caribbean that is truly a sweet delight.
You know when I see the many fruit trees that we have in this region that are now considered superfoods, such as pomegranate, I cannot help but laugh and feel blessed. Many of these things we grew up eating all our lives but it often takes outside influence for us to appreciate what we have. Here in Barbados, the variety to pomegranate we get has a skin that is mostly cream to yellow with hues of pink. The seeds (arils) are pink.
While Jug is made and served as a staple on the Bajan Christmas table, it really was a dish that was put together at the end of the holiday season. There would be bits of ham left back as well as other roast meats and salt meat was always on hand. All the meats were minced together and cooked with onions, fresh herbs and minced hot pepper along with coarsely mashed cooked pigeon peas, a couple of okra(s) and gone guinea corn flour to hold everything together. It is rather tasty and very filling.
Just as each state in the region has its signature bread roll and bread loaf, so it is with biscuits (crackers), sweet and salt. In Barbados, Sodabix is the best crackers, bar none. Even the other crackers in the line can't compare. Sodabix is in a league all of its own. Once you open a pack, it is a struggle not to finish it all in one go. Like most top quality biscuits, Sodabix is good on its own, and, it goes well with almost everything.
Pigtails and breadfruit is a combination that is served in a variety of ways in Barbados, and the region as a whole. In some places it is more about salt fish and breadfruit rather than the salted pigtails. Stewed is one of the many ways in which pigtails are cooked in Barbados, in addition to being roasted, barbecued, put into a soup, rice and peas or to season boiled ground provisions.
One of the must-have things during the Christmas holidays is a Ham Cutter. A cutter as I have explained in a previous post, is a sandwich made with the island's signature bread roll (salt bread), halved, with cheese, fried fish, fish cakes, ham, or chicken liver to make a signature cutter. A ham cutter is simply a freshly made salt bread, slices of ham, Bajan hot sauce, and lettuce. This sandwich is traditionally served with red Ju-C (a local soda).
This version of Barbadian Pumpkin Fritters is close to what the original recipe was - grated pumpkin with a hint of spice and just a little bit of flour to hold the mixture together. It is pan-fried. This is the kind of fritters you will find at home. Pumpkin fritters at large eating establishments have in eggs and a lot more flour as well as a leavening agent. Don't get me wrong, they are delicious but more of the other ingredients I find and a lot less pumpkin.
Fresh turmeric is grown locally and readily available in the markets in Barbados. Apart from being used for its anti-inflammatory properties in teas, potions etc., turmeric is used widely in Bajan cuisine. The island's hot pepper sauce gets its signature colour and flavour from fresh turmeric; it is also used to make yellow rice, season meats, soups and cooking spreads.
Black Belly Sheep is a variety that is indigenous to Barbados. The meat and flavour of the lamb is very tender and distinct. Highly prized and sought after, local lamb does not stay for long on the shelves or in the butcher shops. The most popular way lamb is prepared in Barbados is as a dark, brown stew with fresh herbs, carrots and potatoes. Baked lamb chops are very popular too and can be found at weekday lunch buffets across the islands. However, the lamb chops found at those buffets are usually imported from New Zealand and or Australia. Baked or roasted whole legs or shoulders are reserved for major holidays.
We live in a hot, tropical climate and it is a relief and a pleasure to have snow cone, crush ice, ice cream, popsicle and fresh, fruit juice-vendors traversing the road ways and avenues plying their trade. On Saturday afternoons I used to look forward to Mr. Jones the snow cone vendor (now retired) that would sound his horn heralding his entrance into the neighbourhood where I live. Like I kid, I'd excitedly run outside to greet him and get my cool ice treat.
On select corners and junctions in Barbados, there are vendors selling in-season fruits for on-the-go snacking. Dunks in a brine of salt and local lot peppers, cut sugar cane, genipes (ackees), cherries, gooseberries and fat pork are among the fruits that can be bought in little packages.
Hot Bajan Pepper Sauce is different as is the pepper sauce of each country in the region. Each delightful in their own right. I especially like the Bajan pepper sauce with fish cakes, ham, fried chicken and fried fish - so good. Not only is there heat, but it is the kind of heat that is savoury with the onions and other ingredients that make up the hot sauce. Bajan pepper sauce gets its signature colour and flavour from the use of fresh local turmeric.
I was introduced to fried chicken livers when I came to live in Barbados. Sure I had eaten chicken livers before but never this way. Seasoned and fried tender, these goodies get sandwiched between a cut salt bread with lashings of hot pepper sauce; these are known as liver cutters. They are mostly available from rum shops as part of the morning offerings and Friday evening liming food. They are also available at weekend roadside vending.
Barbados makes exceptional local ham. Perfection speaks for itself. The proof is in the eating.
Bakes (fried dough) is something each state in the region has in common, and though they may look similar, each one is different. The bakes featured in this series are the traditional ole-time Bajan bakes made with flour, sugar and water. I added a bit of cinnamon for flavour. No leavening agent is added to these bakes. There is a modern version of these Bajan Bakes as explained by the late renowned Bajan writer and academic, Austin Clarke. A pat of butter, milk and baking powder lighten these bakes.
Bajan Pudding as in Black Pudding is made with sweet potatoes. The origins of this pudding, like the Black Pudding of the region, lies with the British. Primarily for health reasons, Barbadians long abandoned the tradition of making the pudding with blood. However, many still stuff the spiced sweet potato filling into pig runners (intestines). To give the signature rich dark look to the pudding browning or burnt sugar is added.
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