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
Sint Maarten
Explore 97 foods connected to Sint Maarten, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
97 foods12 leading categories1 Essentials guides
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The local shortlist
Sint Maarten Essentials
5 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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The full directory
Traditional foods from Sint Maarten.
97 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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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.
Guyana
Sada Roti
Plain unleavened flatbread cooked on a tawa and clapped between the hands to soften, eaten with chokas at breakfast.
Guadeloupe
Salt Cod Fritters
Accras de Morue
Fried bites of salted cod mixed with spices and herbs; crispy on the outside, light and fluffy inside; the essential Guadeloupean appetizer; served with chien sauce (Creole condiment); found everywhere from beach bars to family kitchens; the accras that are the perfect Creole bar snack.
Jamaica
Scotch Bonnet
Small crumpled chilli, red or yellow, extremely hot but distinctly fruity, used whole in pots and pulled out before serving.
Saint Martin
Sint Maarten Callaloo Soup
Callaloo Soup
The national dish of French Saint-Martin and on the whole island; a thick green soup made from callaloo leaves (spinach-like vegetable), pork cubes, okra, hot peppers, black pepper, thyme, and chicken stock
Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten Conch Soup
Conch Soup
A hearty soup with fresh conch, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, celery, and dumplings in a flavorful broth; a traditional Sint Maarten soup
Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten Guava Tart
Guava Tart
Sweet tart made with guava filling in flaky pastry crust; handcrafted by local elders on Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin
Saint Martin
Sint Maarten Guavaberry Tart
Guavaberry Tart
Special seasonal tart made with guavaberry jam, cinnamon, almond extract, and shortcrust pastry; closely linked to the holiday season on Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin
Saint Martin
Sint Maarten Lolo Grilled Fish
Lolo Fish
Fresh fish (snapper, mahi-mahi, wahoo) grilled over charcoal at lolos, seasoned with Creole spices Lolo kitchens grill fish over a hot fire, brushing it with local seasoning before serving.
Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten Pastechi
Pastechi
Crescent-shaped deep-fried pastry with sweet dough, filled with cheese, beef, chicken, tuna, or vegetables; similar to empanadas but with wheat flour crust; a popular street food and breakfast item on Sint Maarten.
Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten Whelk Soup
Whelk Soup
Traditional soup made with whelks (smaller sea snails than conch), stewed in coconut milk with vegetables, callaloo greens, and seasonings; a Sint Maarten soup Sint Maarten's whelk soup uses coconut and callaloo for a distinct island preparation.
Netherlands
Skinless Sausage
Frikandel
Skinless deep-fried minced-meat sausage, served plain or as frikandel speciaal with mayo, curry ketchup, and onions.
Jamaica
Sorrel
Dried hibiscus calyces steeped with ginger, pimento and cloves, sweetened and often spiked with rum — drunk at Christmas.
Trinidad and Tobago
Sorrel
Hibiscus calyces steeped with clove, cinnamon, ginger and orange peel, sweetened, and often spiked with rum at Christmas.
Trinidad and Tobago
Souse
Pig's trotters or chicken feet boiled, then pickled cold in lime juice, cucumber, onion, pepper and shadon beni.
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.
Aruba
Stuffed Cheese
Keshi Yena
A whole Edam or Gouda rind filled with spiced meat, olives, capers, raisins, onions, and peppers, then baked or steamed until the cheese melts.
Martinique
Sweet Potato Pudding
Grated sweet potato baked slowly with coconut milk, brown sugar, nutmeg and raisins into a dense dark pudding with a custardy top.
Bahamas
Switcha
Native key limes squeezed into water with sugar and served over ice — the islands' everyday lemonade.
Gouda, Netherlands
Syrup Waffle
Stroopwafel
Thin waffle cookies sandwiched with caramel syrup, invented in Gouda in the late 18th century, a national icon.
Jamaica
Ting
Carbonated grapefruit soft drink made with real juice since 1976, sharply bitter and sold in a stubby green bottle.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad Black Pudding
Black pudding
Pig's blood mixed with rice, hot pepper, chives and thyme, stuffed into casing and boiled until firm.
Venezuela
Venezuelan Arepa
Arepa
Disc of precooked white maize flour and water, griddled until a crust forms, then split open and packed with a filling — eaten at any meal, every day.
Venezuela
Venezuelan Empanada
Empanada
Half-moon of maize dough — not wheat — filled with cheese, shredded beef, black beans or shark, and deep-fried until the shell blisters.