Cuisine of Guadelope

Guadeloupe's cuisine mirrors its many cultures. The local Créole specialties combine the finesse of French cuisine, the spice of African cookery with the exoticism of East Indian and Southeast Asian recipes. Fresh seafood appears on most menus. Other specialties are shellfish, smoked fish, stuffed land crabs, stewed conch, and curry dishes.

Guadeloupe is considered one of the true culinary capitals of the Caribbean, with some 200 restaurants recommended by the Tourist Office. Some are in hotels, some in lovely settings by the sea, and some on the front porches of the cooks' homes. Local rum drinks often precede a meal and imported French wines often accompany it.

Dining in the French Caribbean is always a memorable event. An exciting variety of restaurants take advantage of gorgeous settings to complement their culinary delights. Cooking in France is an art form and the French Caribbean continues this delicious tradition. Visitors discover a wide range, from classical and nouvelle French cuisine to spicy Créole and local specialties.

Le déjeuner, or lunch, is often the main meal of the day and usually served from noon to 2 p.m. Here is a glossary for Guadelopean cuisine.

Accras cod fritters with sweet herbs.
Bananas make a difference between the bananas cooked as vegetables and the fruit bananas.
Bélélé tasty speciality containing tripe, fruit à pain (bread tree fruit), small green bananas and dombrés.
Blaff dish of fish or cooked shellfish with spiced water, kind of court-bouillon.
Blanc manger sweet containing coconut, gelatine and milk.
Calalou crab soup, gombos, Madeira and ciguine.
Chatrou octopus.
Christophine under the aspect of a pale embossed and yellow pear, very appreciated vegetable which is eaten in a salad or gratin.Chiquetaille cod with a vinegar sauce.
Chou coco coconut heart in salad
Colombo curry of chicken, goat or pork, with coriandre sauce, cumin, black pepper, mustard, curcuma, gingembre and pepper (from India). "National" dish of Guadeloupe.
Cassave or manioc basic food of the Caribbean.
Fruit à pain Vegetable of the size of a melon.
Lambis large shells.
Ouassous crayfish of river.
Maracudja fruit of passion.
Féroces d'avocats avocado, roasted cod, manioc flour and pepper.
Planteur white rum, grenadine syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, fruit juice (orange, guava, pineapple)
Ti Punch 1/5 of cane sugar syrup, 4/5 of white rum, a slice of lemon.

Source: www.caribbean-direct.com<