Discovering Guadeloupe : Cuisine

Discovering Guadeloupe : Cuisine

Fruit and vegetables

Guadeloupe hosts an extraordinary variety of fruit and vegetables, otherwise available only in exotic supermarkets. In addition to pineapple and bananas (bearing evocative names such as “get dressed young man” , “gimme more” or “God save me some”), lime (basic ingredient of the island’s compulsory punch), passion fruit or maracuja (delicious in sorbets) and guavas and mangoes fill West Indian fruit stalls. Coconuts are also a must, just as typical local vegetables like maniocs, cristophines (a type of local turnip) or sweet potatoes.

Crayfish

This spiky crustacean with its long antennae is the king of Guadeloupe, even though if it were up to him, he would probable trade this title with anyone willing to take it…The crayfish is the bait the tourist is sure to get hooked on due to its quality and more than reasonable price - compared to Metropolitan wallets that is. Breeders compete in offering exceptional quality, and consequently the crayfish is on every menu, served with sauces of various taste and colour. Not so long ago, however, this charming reddish animal was considered “poor man’s bread”, and was eaten by fishermen only when fish were scarce and hard to find! It came to be considered the pearl of West Indian cuisine as its popularity grew to a craze in Metropolitan France. Local restaurants today offer incredible promotions on whole crayfish, and the offers sometimes even reach “all you can eat” levels. Not to miss!

Local specialties

• Accra : cod fritters with shrimps.

• Bélélé : tripes garnished with bread balls (Specialty of Marie-Galante.

• Blaff : fish or seafood boiled in a spicy broth.

• Boudin : black or white pudding, often extremely well-prepared, even in more modest establishments. In certain restaurants, this specialty is prepared of “lambi” a special type of sea snail, quite rare and delicious.

• Calalou : green soup made from prawns and herbs, vegetables with crab or pork.

• Chélou : dish prepared of beef variety meet, mutton and rice.

• Chiquetaille de morue : shredded and grilled cod, served with vinaigrette sauce.

• Christophine : vegetables served in salad or au gratin.

• Colombos : dish prepared from all kinds of meat, though most typically lamb, chicken or goat.

• Dombré : a Guadeloupe specialty. Flour balls cooked with dry vegetables.

• Féroce : a mixture of avocado, cod, manioc flour and peppers.

• Macadam : a Martinique specialty: a cod broth mixed with cooked rice.

• Matoutou : crab fricassee.

• Pâté en pot : thick soup of mutton variety and vegetables.

• Poulet boucané : smoked chicken prepared on a closed barbecue equipped with a chimney. The meat is placed on the top of the device, and is cooked slowly in smoke.

• Souskai : marinade of salt, garlic and lime.

• Ti-nain morue : a typical Creole dish of dry cod and banana, a breakfast specialty for certain locals. It’s extremely invigorating, and will definitely fill you with energy for the day.

• Touffé : braised meat.