country Essentials · 11 foods
Reunion Essentials
A considered first route through Reunion: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.
Explore all Reunion foods →THE
ESSENTIALS
The complete shortlist
11 foods to know.
Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.
Reunion
Reunionese Chicken Cari
Carri Poulet
Réunion cari is the island’s turmeric-scented Creole cooking method, with protein names kept as recipe aliases on one canonical item.
Reunion
Sausage Rougail
Rougail Saucisses
Rougail saucisse pairs smoked sausage with a spicy tomato sauce and rice in one of Réunion’s defining everyday meals.
Reunion
Goat Massale
Cabri Massalé
Cabri massalé is tender goat simmered with Réunion’s aromatic massalé blend, a named Creole curry worth seeking out.
Reunion
Chili Fritters
Bonbon Piment
Bonbon piment is Réunion’s small, crisp bean-and-chilli fritter, sold warm at markets and roadside snack stalls.
Guadeloupe
Samosa
समोसा
Samosa is the shared canonical for Réunion’s triangular, spiced pastry forms, with local names represented without a duplicate donor item.
Reunion
Steamed Meat Dumpling
Bouchon
Bouchon is Réunion’s steamed, meat-filled dumpling, a Chinese-influenced snack commonly eaten with soy sauce or in a sandwich.
Reunion
Vanilla Duck
Canard à la Vanille
Vanilla duck combines tender duck with the island’s fragrant Bourbon vanilla in a named sweet-savoury Réunion dish.
Mayotte
Bourbon Vanilla
Vanille de Bourbon
Bourbon vanilla is a Réunion-produced vanilla form, represented as a named product in the cleaned regional vanilla family.
Reunion
Réunionese Infused Rum
Rhum Arrangé
Rhum arrangé is Réunion’s fruit, spice, or vanilla-infused rum, with recipes varying from household to household.
Reunion
Reunionese Achard
Achard de Légumes
Réunion achard is a named pickled-vegetable form: crunchy cabbage and other vegetables stained with turmeric and sharpened by vinegar.
Reunion
Sweet Potato Cake
Gâteau Patate
Gâteau patate is Réunion’s named sweet-potato cake, a dense tea-time bake kept as a distinct local form.