caribbean
Explore 30 foods connected to U.S. Virgin Islands, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
Start with Antiguan Sugar Cake →
The local shortlist
6 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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The full directory
30 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
Antigua and Barbuda
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.
Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
Frozen cocktail invented circa 1970 at the Mountaintop bar on St. Thomas; made with dark rum, sugar, lime juice, banana liqueur, water, and peeled ripe bananas blended with ice; the original frozen banana daiquiri.
Anguilla
Anguillian Bushwacker
Created at the Ship's Store on St. Thomas in 1975, the Bushwacker is a frozen cocktail of rum and creamy coffee-and-chocolate liqueurs. BVI bars serve their own adopted versions.
British Virgin Islands
Guavaberry Wine
Traditional Christmas beverage made from guavaberry fruit and rum; the fruit is harvested around the holidays to make this festive drink; a BVI holiday tradition. BVI guavaberry wine is a fermented local fruit drink, not a distilled spirit.
British Virgin Islands
Pah-tehs
Savory fried pastries filled with seasoned ground beef, chicken, saltfish, conch, or vegetables; similar to empanadas; a popular street food and breakfast item in the British Virgin Islands
Bahamas
Minced conch folded into a peppery batter with onion and sweet pepper and dropped in oil as golf-ball fritters.
Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Dark broth soup with conch stewed in large hunks, seasoned with thyme and cloves; a St. Croix specialty particularly associated with Frederiksted; can be eaten alone or used to moisten rice.
Christiansted, Bahamas
Land crab picked and cooked into rice with its fat, thyme, onion and pepper so the grains turn orange.
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Benye
Crucian fried dough made with ripened bananas, coconut milk, flour, yeast, sugar, and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla); dense, mahogany-colored doughnut-like pastry; a traditional Christmas and holiday treat.
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Kallaloo
Hearty soup with West African roots made from leafy greens (traditionally wild papalolo, pusley, bata-bata, and bower bush on St. Croix), okra, seafood or salted meat, and served over a ball of fungi; a traditional New Year's dish believed to bring good luck.
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Small semi-circular pastries with flaky buttery crust and thick sweet fruit filling; traditional fillings include coconut, guava, pineapple, papaya, mango, guavaberry, gooseberry, tamarind, and soursop; officially designated the national dessert of the U.S. Virgin Islands by territorial legislation.
Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Rum produced on St. Croix since 1760 at Estate Diamond, now Cruzan Distillery in Frederiksted; managed by the Nelthropp family for eight generations; varieties include Cruzan 151, Cruzan 9 spiced rum, and Cruzan Rum Cream; claims to be the most honored rum distillery in the world.
Bermuda
BVI Dark 'n' Stormy
A highball cocktail made with Gosling's Black Seal Rum and ginger beer (traditionally Barritt's) over ice, garnished with lime; trademarked by Gosling Brothers; invented in Bermuda after World War I
U.S. Virgin Islands
Round yeast-free bread made with flour, water, butter, sugar, baking powder, milk, and often shredded coconut; cooked in a skillet over hot coals with coals on top, using the dum pukht technique from India.
British Virgin Islands
Fungi
The official territorial dish of the British Virgin Islands; fungi is a cornmeal-based dish similar to polenta or grits, cooked with okra until it reaches a thick, smooth consistency; served alongside pan-fried or stewed white fish (snapper, grouper) seasoned with thyme, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and Scotch bonnet pepper
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands version of a snow cone; heaping cup of crushed ice topped with generous pours of flavored syrup in banana, almond, tamarind, coconut, or passion fruit; a cooling treat in the tropical heat. Fraco is the Virgin Islands snow-cone tradition: shaved ice drenched in brightly flavored syrup and eaten from a cup.
Guadeloupe
Guanábana
A Panamanian tropical soursop fruit, eaten fresh or in juices and desserts
Aruba
Johnny cake; a traditional Aruban fried bread; made with flour, water, yeast, lard, and sugar; fried in oil; served with cheese or bacalao (salt cod); a popular snack and breakfast item; a feature of roadside snack-bars; a staple of Aruban street food
Jamaica
Antiguan Mauby
A Dominican drink of mauby bark, water, sugar, and spices, fermented slightly and served cold. A bitter-sweet, earthy, refreshing Caribbean beverage.
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Indigenous Crucian soup combining salt meat, fish, fresh tomatoes, and local herbs; nicknamed 'two fungi' because cornmeal fungi is both sprinkled on top and added to the mixture as a thickener.
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
World's first vodka made from breadfruit and Caribbean rainwater; conceived on St. Croix and perfected in 2017; handcrafted at Sion Farm Distillery in Christiansted; gluten-free with no added sugar; produced at a zero-waste facility.
British Virgin Islands
BVI Painkiller
The BVI cocktail, invented at Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the 1970s; made with premium dark rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, orange juice (secret proportions), and topped with fresh grated Grenadian nutmeg
U.S. Virgin Islands
Danish-influenced dessert made with guava fruit boiled with sugar and tapioca to a gelled firmness; served with sweet cream, though Cruzans prefer canned milk flavored with sugar and vanilla; traditionally served on Transfer Day, March 31, commemorating the 1917 transfer from Denmark.
Jamaica
Kidney beans cooked down with salt beef, yam, pumpkin, coco and spinners into a thick soup that eats as a full meal.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Gundy
Danish-influenced dish made with salted herring or saltfish, boiled potato, onion, green pepper, hot pepper, black olives, salad oil, vinegar, diced beets, grated carrots, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs; ground together, rolled into balls, and served cold; a traditional Holy Week dish.
Jamaica
Dried hibiscus calyces steeped with ginger, pimento and cloves, sweetened and often spiked with rum — drunk at Christmas.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Bush Tea
Preferred morning drink of the Virgin Islands as an alternative to coffee; main ingredient is lemongrass (fever grass), with basil, mint, bay leaves, ginger, cinnamon, or soursop leaves; used medicinally for colds, flu, and stomachaches.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Tamarind Stew
Sweet and tangy confection made from tamarind pulp cooked down with sugar into a thick, spoonable stew; scooped onto ice cream, yogurt, or eaten alone; a popular Crucian treat sold by local vendors and included in Cruzan Foodie gift boxes.
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Layered Crucian cake with several layers of fruit preserves; an authentic Crucian Vienna cake should have at least one layer of green lime and guavaberry preserve; brandy moistens the layers between fruit; a traditional holiday dessert on St. Croix.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Sweet Bread
Hand-kneaded spiced sweet bread made with butter and shortening, fragrant spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, dried orange peel), raisins, walnuts, and prunes; baked low and slow for a moist, richly colored loaf; a holiday tradition.