After the failure of Caribbean Tobacco in the 16th century, an alternative cash crop was needed and so African slavery was introduced to cultivate sugarcane on plantations. This was the inception of the triangular slave trade. However, Europeans not only filled ships with West African slaves but with yam, dasheen, eddoes, bananas, plantain, and ackee.
The heritage of food such as yam, dasheen, eddoes, bananas, plantains and the ackee tree all originated from African culture.
The ackee, for example, which is extremely popular in Jamaica, was and is well liked by the peoples in and around the Dahomey area in West Africa where it is eaten with meat.In Jamaica, it is likewise eaten with salt fish.
Bene (sesame seeds) from which we make “bene balls” is another example of a common African food finding its place in Caribbean cuisine.
The Africans, of course, did not necessarily bring these foodstuffs to the Caribbean, but they were fed them.The Guinea corn in Barbados is another example of a staple African food from which we have derived our affinity for cornmeal foods.
Coo-coo is cooked with ochre commonly in the Caribbean. Meals such as oil down are also African based. Africans however, use much less coconut milk in their cooking and more palm oil. The substitution is understandable of course, because of the widespread availability of coconuts on West Indian islands.
Again, in West Africa, black-eyed peas are popular, as well as pounded foods. These meals are easily found anywhere in the Caribbean islands. Foods such as Accra (fried salt fish and flour) are eaten on mornings as a breakfast food still today throughout the Caribbean. This is an African inheritance. Another such delicacy is ‘payme’ or ‘paime’, a batter of cornmeal or sweet potatoes. Payme is the Caribbean version of the Ghanian food called ‘kenke.’
It is also referred to as pastel in Trinidad, Conkee in St.Kitts or ducana in Antigua.
The Caribbean Melting Pot 