Montserrat

🇯🇲Jamaica

Ackee and Saltfish

Boiled ackee — the soft yellow arils of the national fruit — sautéed with flaked salt cod, onion, tomato, scotch bonnet and thyme until it resembles scrambled egg.

🇰🇳Saint Kitts and Nevis

Anguillian Coconut Dumplings

Coconut Dumplings

Sweet dumplings made with flour, grated coconut, sugar, spices, coconut milk, and raisins, poached in water and served with condensed milk; a traditional Anguillan dessert

🇲🇫Saint Martin

Anguillian Coconut Tart

Coconut Tart

A pastry filled with grated coconut, sugar, and spices; a local bakery specialty in Anguilla, often served with vanilla ice cream; a classic island dessert. Across the islands this coconut-filled tart is baked as a bakery sweet, with local notes ranging from Anguillian spice to Sint Maarten and Cayman fillings.

🇦🇬Antigua and Barbuda

Antiguan Sugar Cake

Sugar Cake

Chewy confection of grated coconut cooked down with sugar, often tinted pink and flavoured with ginger or nutmeg; a classic Antiguan sweet treat; the mixture is often divided into two batches, one coloured pink and the other left white, poured one over the other to form a pink and white cake; found at markets and schoolyards; the sugar cake of Antigua.

🇦🇬Antigua and Barbuda

Antiguan Sweet Dumpling

Ducana

Sweet dumpling of grated sweet potato and coconut, spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon, tied in a banana leaf and steamed; an Antiguan side dish and snack; often paired with saltfish; reflects the islands' skillful use of humble local ingredients; appearance similar to a tamale

🇦🇬Antigua and Barbuda

Antiguan Tamarind Balls

Tamarind Balls

Sticky sweet-and-sour balls of tamarind pulp rolled with sugar, sometimes with a pinch of hot pepper; a bite-sized Antiguan snack with a tangy kick; coated in granulated sugar; chewy, peppery, sweet, and sour; found at markets and schoolyards; the tamarind balls of Antigua.

🇧🇧Barbados

Bajan Fish Cakes

Fish cakes

Salt cod flaked into a seasoned batter with herbs and hot pepper, dropped by the spoonful into hot oil and sold hot by the bag.

🇧🇧Barbados

Bajan Pepper Sauce

Scotch bonnets blended with mustard, turmeric, onion and vinegar into a thick yellow sauce that sits on every table on the island.

🇧🇧Barbados

Bajan Souse

Souse

Boiled pork cuts cooled and steeped in a pickle of lime juice, cucumber, onion, parsley and scotch bonnet, served cold and dripping.

🇧🇧Barbados

Bajan Sweet Bread

Sweet bread

A dense coconut loaf with cherries and raisins, brushed with sugar water so the top glazes, sold by the slab in bakeries.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Callaloo

Amaranth leaves steamed down with onion, tomato, thyme and scotch bonnet, eaten at breakfast with dumplings or as a side.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Coconut Drops

A Jamaican sweet of grated coconut simmered in brown sugar and ginger, dropped onto banana leaves or wax paper to set, a rustic, chewy candy.

🇧🇸Bahamas

Conch Fritters

Minced conch folded into a peppery batter with onion and sweet pepper and dropped in oil as golf-ball fritters.

🇧🇧Barbados

Cou-Cou

Cornmeal cooked with sliced okra and okra water, beaten hard with a wooden cou-cou stick until glossy and smooth, then shaped in a buttered bowl.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Curry Goat

Goat on the bone browned with Jamaican curry powder, scotch bonnet, pimento and thyme, then stewed until the meat falls off and the sauce thickens.

🇬🇾Guyana

Dhalpuri Roti

Dhalpuri

Flatbread stuffed with a dry, seasoned ground split-pea filling before rolling, so the pea layer is sealed inside.

🇩🇲Dominica

Dominican Cassava Bread

Cassava Bread

Traditional bread made from cassava; a staple of the Kalinago, the island's Indigenous people; the use of root crops like cassava formed the base of what would become national staples; dishes like cassava bread and farine were common; the cassava bread of Dominica; a link to the island's Indigenous heritage; a rustic, gluten-free flatbread.

🇩🇲Dominica

Dominican Souse

Souse

A clear, savory broth typically made from pig trotters (feet); seasoned heavily with lime, cucumber, pepper, and herbs; a pickled meat dish, usually pork or chicken, flavored with lime juice, onions, and hot peppers; generally eaten as a snack or appetizer; traditionally consumed on Saturdays; the souse of Dominica; a tangy, gelatinous treat; a weekend staple.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Fried Dumpling

Johnny cake

Round of flour dough fried until it puffs and browns, split and filled with saltfish, callaloo or fried plantain for breakfast.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Goat Water

Anguillian Goat Water

Montserrat's national dish: a thin, deeply seasoned goat stew simmered with onion, tomato, herbs, and spices, traditionally cooked over a wood fire and served with breadfruit or other provisions.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Gooseberry Stew

Made from simmered gooseberries with sugar and spices, offering a distinctive tart-sweet balance; a traditional Montserrat dessert; particularly popular at St. Patrick's Festival Montserrat gooseberry stew is a tart fruit preserve or stew prepared as a named island specialty.

🇦🇮Anguilla

Jamaican Festival

Festival

Sweetened cornmeal and flour dough rolled into a finger shape and deep-fried until golden — the fixed accompaniment to jerk and fried fish.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Jamaican Ginger Beer

Ginger beer

Fresh ginger grated and steeped with lime and sugar until it turns fiercely hot, then strained and chilled.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Jerk Chicken

Chicken marinated for a day in pimento, scotch bonnet, thyme and escallion, then smoked slowly over pimento wood on a grate laid across a split oil drum.

🇯🇲Jamaican Coast, Jamaica

Jerk Pork

Pork shoulder cured in the same pimento and scotch bonnet paste and smoked over pimento wood until the outside blackens and the fat renders.

🇹🇹Trinidad and Tobago

Macaroni Pie

Macaroni baked with cheese, evaporated milk and egg into a firm block that can be cut into squares.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Mannish Water

Goat head, tripe and feet boiled with green banana, yam, spinners, pimento and a splash of white rum, served at weddings and celebrations.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Mauby

Antiguan Mauby

A Dominican drink of mauby bark, water, sugar, and spices, fermented slightly and served cold. A bitter-sweet, earthy, refreshing Caribbean beverage.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Bakes

Bakes

Smaller fried bread dumplings, similar to Johnny cakes but smaller in size; often served with saltfish; a staple accompaniment in Montserrat cuisine; a traditional Caribbean fried bread.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Bush Rum

Bush Rum

A blend of overproof rum with many specific leaves, barks and roots used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes; each local bar in Montserrat has its own distinctive version; be careful - it's very strong; a traditional Montserrat medicinal drink

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Johnny Cakes

Johnny Cakes

Rounded fried staples similar in size and shape to dumplings; called 'muffins' in Montserrat; deep-fried or baked fluffy, golden-brown bread rounds; a saltfish breakfast or fish fry is almost considered worthless without these accompaniments; sometimes swapped out for bakes which are smaller but just as delicious; a staple of Montserrat cuisine.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Lard Bread

Lard Bread

Bread made with rich lard; has a distinct texture and taste that sets it apart from ordinary bread; available from local bakeries in Montserrat; a traditional island baked good; particularly popular at St. Patrick's Festival.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Lobster Cakes

Lobster Cakes

Fried patties made with Caribbean spiny lobster meat; a popular seafood dish at local Montserrat restaurants; a premium preparation of the island's prized lobster catch.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Pepper Pot

Pepper Pot

A slow-cooked stew from Montserrat made with meat (traditionally goat, but also beef, pork, or chicken) and vegetables in a flavourful broth seasoned with Caribbean spices; a cultural dish served at family gatherings and special events; distinct from the Guyanese pepperpot which uses cassareep.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Potato Pudding

Potato Pudding

A traditional dessert served at Martin's Takeaway during festival season in Montserrat; made with sweet potato and spices; a Caribbean-style pudding; a festive Montserrat treat.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Pumpkin Fritters

Pumpkin Fritters

Crisp and light fritters made with pumpkin; served at St. Patrick's Day Festival breakfast in Montserrat; a traditional island snack; a festive Montserrat treat.