Bahamian Cooking

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Bahamian cooking has such a wide appeal because our country is a melting pot of many people. A bite of Bahamian food will reveal our many influences, such as; African, Caribbean, European and North American.

The magic of Bahamian cooking is our ability to take all of these ‘flavours’ and create our own distinctive taste.

Any visitor to our country will feel at home while enjoying our food, because a familiar taste will be dancing on their tongues. This is the beauty of Bahamian cooking, it banishes homesickness. The taste is unique but there is something about it that reminds you of home. A perfect example is macaroni and cheese, we borrowed this dish from America, then we added onions, peppers and spices and a new delicacy was born.

Bahamian cooking gets its divine flavour from the magic of marinating the featured meat over night. This gives the spices time to get comfortable in their new home, thus allowing even the bones to have taste. One bite of the marinated meat and you can almost hear The Boys Choir of Vienna sing on your tongue. Another secret ingredient to Bahamian cooking is lemon juice and liberal amounts of it. For a brief glimpse into heaven add a hefty dosage of lemons to turkey wings and let it steep for six hours. The turkey meat will do a rain dance on your taste buds and you can never go back to life as you once knew it.

Due to our many influences and distinct personality Bahamian cooking is of another world yet strangely familiar. Therefore, it is easy to indulge and one must be ever vigilant to prevent over consumption. However, if you are not into the ‘stick figure’ look, Bahamian cooking is what the doctor prescribes. Dig in and enjoy your meal but please be careful not to bite your fingers. If you must bite them make sure they were marinated and chew each bite thirty two times.

J @ August 23, 2008