Barbados

Cou-cou 

Cou-cou is a Bajan staple, usually eaten with fish and is heavily influenced by African ancestry as it was a regular meal for slaves who were brought over from Africa to Barbados in the 17th century.

National Dish of Barbados:  Cou-cou and stewed flying fish with plantains

Cou-cou is considered the “polenta” of the Caribbean. It is a spongy pudding-like slab made of cornmeal grain and fresh okra. Besides cou-cou in the national dish, another popular food influenced by African ancestry is saltfish/white fish cakes.

Fish Cakes

Saltfish cakes

In colonial days, poultry (meat and fish) was often imported as they were a cheap source of protein that could be stored for several months. Fish cakes therefore, were seen as a way of using up leftovers that may have otherwise been thrown away. In Isabella Beeton’s 19th century Book of Household Management, she describes the recipe of fishcakes as “leftover fish” and “cold potatoes”. Fish cakes are popular at local rum shops, pubs and social gatherings throughout Barbados.

Other popular foods such as salt bread, cutters, macaroni pie, pudding, and souse were all influenced by territories not indigenous to Barbados.