Barbados
Rice and Peas
Rice cooked in coconut milk with kidney beans or gungo peas, thyme, escallion and a whole scotch bonnet, served with every Sunday dinner.
caribbean
Cayman Islands
Explore 47 foods connected to Cayman Islands, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
47 foods12 leading categories1 Essentials guides
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The local shortlist
Cayman Islands Essentials
5 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Cayman Islands.
47 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Jamaica
Roast Breadfruit
Whole breadfruit roasted directly on coals or a fire until the skin is black, then peeled and sliced as a starch alongside ackee or fish.
Jamaica
Rum Punch
Rum, lime, sugar syrup, fruit juice and grenadine mixed to the old rhyme — one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak.
Jamaica
Rundown
Run dun
Coconut milk boiled down until the oil separates and it 'runs down' into a curd, then cooked with salted mackerel or fresh fish, onion and pepper. Cayman Fish Rundown cooks coconut milk down with fish and ground provisions; the Jamaican canonical also carries its mackerel preparation.
Jamaica
Scotch Bonnet
Small crumpled chilli, red or yellow, extremely hot but distinctly fruity, used whole in pots and pulled out before serving.
Cayman Islands
Seven Fathoms Rum
A distinctive premium rum produced by Cayman Spirits Co., uniquely aged underwater at a depth of seven fathoms (42 feet) off the Cayman coast; the ocean movement agitates the aging barrels, enhancing flavour infusion from American white oak casks; made from organic sugarcane from Grand Cayman's East End; a Cayman craft spirit.
Jamaica
Sorrel
Dried hibiscus calyces steeped with ginger, pimento and cloves, sweetened and often spiked with rum — drunk at Christmas.
Cayman Islands
Stewed Conch
Stew conch
Conch browned in a dark roux of flour, tomato paste and onion and simmered until the sauce goes almost black.
Cayman Islands
Swanky
The official national drink of the Cayman Islands (gazetted in 2024); made with brown sugar and Seville orange (bitter orange) which has a distinctive bitter and sour taste; often made with brown sugar, water, and local limes instead; a traditional Caymanian drink embodying resourcefulness.
Cayman Islands
Tortuga Rum Cake
World- rum cake baked in the Caribbean with walnuts, hand-glazed with special 5-year-old oak barrel aged Tortuga Gold Rum, then vacuum-sealed; the #1 export of the Cayman Islands; founded in 1987 using a four-generation family recipe; a Cayman product.
Cayman Islands
Whelk Stew
Whelks (marine snails, Cittarium pica) stewed in a flavourful broth; harvested seasonally (November 1 - April 30); whelks are a traditional Caymanian seafood often prepared similarly to conch Cayman whelk stew is a named local preparation that simmers tenderized whelk with vegetables and island seasonings.