Recipe Sharing: Global Flavors: Bahamian Food

My ethnic background is Bahamaian-American. My mother was American, and my father was from The Bahamas. I sort of have a tradition of sharing a little something about my Bahamian roots in every community that I join. What I would like to share with this group is Bahamian food. Matador Network published an excellent article titled “Traditional Bahamian food and dishes from the Bahamas”. The 8 foods are listed below.

🏝️1. Johnny cake

Johnny cake is considered the unofficial bread of the Bahamas, with roots tracing back to Indigenous and early colonial cooking. Despite the name, it’s not a cake at all but a dense, slightly sweet bread baked in a skillet. Many Bahamians enjoy it with butter, cheese, or alongside savory dishes like stews and souse.

🏝️2. Conch salad

Conch salad is a national treasure made with raw conch “cooked” in citrus, similar to ceviche. It became popular as fishermen prepared it fresh right on their boats. Locals often debate who makes the best version — spicy, tropical, or classic.

🏝️3. Chicken souse

Chicken souse is a light, tangy broth seasoned with lime, allspice, and peppers, traditionally served as a weekend comfort food. Historically, souse was made with whatever meat was available, making it a thrifty but flavorful dish. It’s also a beloved Bahamian “hangover cure.”

🏝️4. Guava duff

Guava duff is a steamed Bahamian dessert featuring rolled dough filled with guava and drenched in a warm rum butter sauce. Its origins reflect British steamed puddings adapted with Caribbean fruit. Many families guard their duff recipes like treasure.

🏝️5. Rum cake

Rum cake became popular in the Bahamas thanks to the islands’ long history of rum production dating back to the 1700s. The cake is soaked in rum syrup, making it incredibly moist and long-lasting — perfect for gifting. Some bakeries even ship them worldwide as a taste of the islands.  

NOTE:  There is Non‑alcoholic rum is a zero‑proof spirit designed to mimic the flavor of rum — the molasses, caramel, spice, and oak — without the alcohol content.  You can make rum cake without rum.

• Can You Make Rum Cake Without Rum? Delicious Alternatives! | Meemaw's Recipes 
• Non-Alcoholic Rum Cake | Ann Clark 

🏝️6. Pigeon peas and rice

Pigeon peas and rice are a staple Sunday dish, flavored with tomatoes, thyme, salted pork, and coconut milk. The dish reflects West African culinary influences brought to the Caribbean. It’s so iconic that many Bahamians judge a cook’s skill by their peas and rice.

NOTE:  This recipe varies by cook.  Some omit the salt pork.  Some use chicken broth instead of coconut milk.  Some use bay leaf instead of thyme.  Some use tomato sauce or paste instead of tomatoes.

🏝️7. Goombay Smash

The Goombay Smash was created in the 1960s by Miss Emily at her bar in Green Turtle Cay. This fruity rum cocktail is named after “Goombay,” a Bahamian music style featuring goatskin drums. Visitors still travel to the original bar to taste the authentic version.

NOTE: A non-alcoholic Goombay Smash (often called a Virgin Goombay) is a fruity, tropical mocktail that captures the essence of the Bahamas. It typically blends pineapple, orange, and apricot flavors with a hint of coconut. [1, 2, 3]

The Recipe

This single-serving recipe perfectly balances sweet and citrusy flavors to mimic the iconic island classic:

• Pineapple Juice: 3 oz
• Orange Juice: 1.5 oz
• Cream of Coconut: 0.5 oz (use canned, unsweetened coconut cream or coconut milk)
• Apricot Nectar or Jam: 0.5 oz (acts as a stand-in for the traditional apricot brandy)
• Fresh Lime Juice: 0.25 oz
• Angostura or Orange Bitters: 2 dashes
• Garnish: Pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry [1]

Instructions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mason jar with ice.
2. Pour in the pineapple juice, orange juice, coconut cream, apricot nectar, lime juice, and bitters.
3. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds until the mixture is chilled and frothy.
4. Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice.
5. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cherry! [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Pro-Tips & Shortcuts

• To nail the coconut flavor without real cream: You can use 0.5 oz of a non-alcoholic coconut syrup (like Monin).
• Want it frozen? Throw all the ingredients into a blender with a cup of ice and pulse until you have a slushie consistency.
• Want a shortcut mix? Brands like Margarita Man sell ready-made Goombay Smash concentrate that you can simply mix with water and blend for a virgin slushie. [1, 2]

SOURCE

🌴🍹🍉⛱️🥥

🏝️8. Conch fritters

Conch fritters are deep-fried balls of chopped conch mixed with peppers, onions, and spices — a favorite festival food. They became popular as a way to use tougher conch meat by tenderizing it in batter. Every cook has their own secret seasoning blend.

Out of these 8 foods, the 3 foods that I remember our family eating regularly when I was growing up were conch salad, conch fritters, and pigeon peas and rice. These dishes are very easy to make. However, depending on where you live, the ingredients may not be available. You may live in a place where you can just go to the local fish market to buy conch. 

If not, just Google “where can you get fresh conch”, and you will find online stores. The same thing for pigeon peas. You might be able to get them at your local grocery store. If not, you can buy canned or dried pigeon peas. The other 5 Bahamian dishes on the list are just as tasty. But the three I mentioned have special memories. Here are links to the recipes. Hope you get a chance to try them.

Conch Salad

Conch Fritters

Pigeon Peas and Rice

NOTE: Some people vary the conch salad recipe by adding diced mango or pineapple. * * *  

Fruits and Veggies : Exotic Fruits Are Wonderful Natural Delights

Tropical fruit must have been abundant in the Garden of Eden. Don't you think? At least, that's how I imagine it anyway. Do you like exotic fruit? My first visit to The Bahamas opened up a whole new world for me. There were so many delicious fruits of paradise that I had never heard of or tasted.

That was more than 30 years ago. These days, the wonderful thing about grocery shopping in America is that you can find foods from almost anywhere in the world. These foods were not always available and so plentiful. It's not my imagination. Even Chef Jacques Pepin mentioned during one of his TV episodes that when he first arrived in the United States to begin his career as a chef, there were many ingredients that he could not readily find at the local grocery store. You had to go to a special market or a gourmet shop. Not so, these days. Thanks to the Internet, it's easy to research and learn more about tropical fruit or “exotic fruit” or “super fruit” or “wonder fruit”, and why they are so good for you. Uh huh. Right. As if people need to twist your arm to get you to eat them. :)

Check these out!

- Acerola, also known as the Barbados cherry, is native to the West Indies, and also to Southern Mexico, and Southern and Central America. They claim this fruit has numerous health benefits, but healthy or not, the taste of this tropical fruit is irresistible.

- Cherimoya tastes like bubblegum. People have even given this fruit nicknames like “ice cream fruit” or “custard apple”, so-called because it has a creamy, sherbet-like texture. But beware of the seeds, as they can be poisonous.

- Dead man’s fingers originated from China. They really do look like fingers and their color is bluish-black. The taste is similar to watermelon.

- Kiwano or the horned melon has many names. It is native to Africa and is called African cucumber. But it is also known as English tomato. (???) On the outside it is yellow and orange, but the flesh inside is lime green. It's been part of African cuisine since ancient times.

- Mangosteen grows in Southeast Asia and is considered a “wonder fruit”. One might think because of the name that it is similar to a mango, but actually it is more like a peach. Research indicates that the mangosteen contains more xanthones than any other fruit. They call it the "X-Factor".

These are just a sampling of fruits. The intent is to whet your appetite and peak your curiosity. There is also dragon fruit, starfruit, Buddha’s hand (citron), cloudberries, durian, moringa, abiu, and more! 

• Additional Information:
  15 Unusual Fruits to Try From Around the World
• Exotic Fruits From A to Z

***  Related articles

• Mangosteen
• African Baobab Tree
• Top 10 vegetables to grow in your garden | Mother Nature Network

* * *

Image credit: Kiwano fruit (Public Domain)
© Photographer: Andreas Fischer | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Content previously published at Literacy Base on Aug 3, 2016.

Read.Cash (Spanish)

Foodie Nuggets: WARNING: Delicacies Can Be Dangerous!

Many people are blessed to travel the world and get introduced to new foods they have never tasted or even heard of. Here is some advice you should never ignore. In some countries, certain foods may be considered “delicacies” but … “Prepare them wrong and you can die!” 

Some foods don't even require preparation because they are eaten raw. My first time seeing this fruit was when I visited The Bahamas to meet my husband's parents. I tasted it. It was delicious. So it was a shock to see that star fruit was on this list of "dangerous foods". Who knew?

♦♦  Superfoods Cookbooks

Top 15 Most Dangerous Foods in the World (Read this before eating) - https://t.co/kdauKXAaiZ ~ "Some of the most dangerous foods on the planet are delicacies in some countries. Prepare them wrong and you can die! Try these foods at your own risk!" #exotic #foodanddrink pic.twitter.com/veqADGZj6e

— EverydayExoticSpices (@EverydaySpices) March 12, 2019

Source: Virily

Taste of the Islands - TV Cooking Show on PBS

Finally! Singing the Hallelujah chorus. AGAIN!

This time all the rejoicing is because of a food TV show.

We relocated to Austin, Texas in 1998 and my mate's first observation about living in this land-locked part of the state was that the city was missing a good Bahamian restaurant or at least someplace that serves dishes that look like island food!

Once we got cable TV hooked up and got settled in, his next complaint was that the #food channels didn't have a good cooking show to teach people how to prepare common island meals.

In 2015, his prayer was finally answered.  Although the series did not last for very long.  But it was fun while it lasted!

Our public television station (PBS) airs a show called “Taste the Islands”. Chef Irie (real name Hugh Sinclair) lives in South Florida but is from Jamaica.

My mate is from The Bahamas.

Close enough!





 
We're both very happy.
For now.  :)

* * * * * * PBS – Celebrating Food & Cooking

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Taste of the Islands first published at Persona Paper, Jul 20, 2015.