Bahamian meals blends African, European and New World traditions to create an uncomplicated, tongue-tingling island delicacies. Throw in very good native seafood, tropical produce and rum-based treats derived from centuries of Caribbean and North Atlantic sugar manufacturing, and also you’ve bought the perfect sustenance for exploring this emerald-green subtropical archipelago.
You’ll discover a normal repertoire of dishes repeated all through the islands, with small, distinctive touches added by each roadside distributors and cooks working beachside eating places and high-end resorts. Freshness and unabashed taste are the hallmarks of excellent Bahamian cooking, and they are often present in each nook of the nation.
1. Cracked or chopped, conch is Bahamian delicacies
These muscular sea snails abound in Bahamian waters, offering the islands’ favourite supply of protein. Robust and toothsome of their pure state, they tackle new dimensions within the arms of expert cooks winkling them alive from their shells.
Conch salad, a tangy tangle of conch, onion, tomato, peppers, Scotch bonnet chili, lemon, lime and orange, is at all times diced and tossed to order. Cracked conch – tenderized, breaded and deep-fried strips, served with sizzling and tartar sauces – is equally beloved.
The place to attempt it: Unassuming little harborside joint Stuart’s Conch Stand, in Bailey City on North Bimini, does contemporary and fabulous conch salad.
2. Boring? “Boil fish” is something however
Extra thrilling than it sounds, Bahamian boil fish stands or falls on the standard of its seafood. Fortunately, the contemporary grouper and snapper which can be ubiquitous round these islands discover their means into this fish stew – usually served for breakfast and particularly common at holidays and household celebrations.
Flapping-fresh fish is seasoned with lime, salt and pepper, then added to a broth of onions, potato and celery, flavored with garlic, thyme, cloves and Scotch bonnets. As soon as cooked, the boil is served with cornmeal grits or golden pan-baked Johnny desserts.
The place to attempt it: In case you’re in luck, Queen Conch on dreamy, laidback Harbour Island can have this fish-lover’s deal with on the menu.
3. Lobster lovers are spoiled for contemporary catch
Lobster means luxurious, and few locations supply it as contemporary and improbable because the Bahamas. The spiny lobster is plentiful in Caribbean and North Atlantic waters, making your probabilities of shopping for it contemporary from fishing boats or discovering it on menus deliciously excessive. Usually served merely barbecued, subtly curried or sautéed with onions and peppers, it’s fished from August to March.
The place to attempt it: The 18th-century grandeur of Nassau’s Graycliff Lodge enhances this luxurious dish to perfection.
4. Begin your day with a steaming cup of souse
Unglamorous souse – a stew of hen wings or sheep tongue with onion, potato, carrots, celery and peppers, flavored with bay, garlic and cloves – is a real Bahamian staple. Nassau employees ready for his or her morning jitney usually seize a steaming cup of this nourishing goodness, with lime, chili and contemporary bread as customary accompaniments.
The place to attempt it: In case you enterprise so far as Andros, the largest and wildest of the Bahamas, Brigadier’s – on the seashore north of Andros City – does souse proper.
5. Guava duff is a Bahamian candy sensation
The aromatic, rose-centered guava native to the Bahamas is ceaselessly used to make this domestically liked cake. Ripe fruit is steamed in a shortening-greased dough to make an ethereal pudding, greatest served with a rum- or brandy-butter sauce. Whereas duff’s roots lie within the hearty puddings developed for the British local weather, tropical fruit and rum mark this model as an ideal Bahamian adaptation.
The place to attempt it: Arthur’s Bakery on Harbour Island is an effective wager for conventional Bahamian desserts, alongside croissants and key lime pie.
6. Hit the seashore with a Bahamian brew
So many seashores, bars and exquisite Bahamian sunsets cry out for a calming beer. Attempt a crisp Kalik lager from the Commonwealth Brewery on Nassau, or for one thing totally different, a refreshing low-alcohol grapefruit radler from Bahamian Brewery on Grand Bahama.
The place to attempt it: Margarita Villa Sandbar, east of Lucaya on Grand Bahama, is an ideal timber-sided seashore bar to get pleasure from a cool sundowner.
7. Slip into island life with the Bahamas’ favourite rum cocktails
Like many Caribbean and North Atlantic nations, the Bahamas has a means with rum-based drinks. Value attempting is the Bahama Mama – a glass of tropical pleasure comprising rum, coconut rum, fruit juices and grenadine, throughout ice. The Goombay Smash, invented in Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar on Inexperienced Turtle Cay within the Abacos, blends 4 totally different rums with orange and pineapple juices and chunks of contemporary fruit.
The place to attempt it: Unpretentious and off the crushed observe, you actually can’t beat the Blue Bee Bar for a lazy rum cocktail within the night.
8. Citrusy Switcha goes down like a night offshore breeze
Bahamian Switcher (or Switcha) is principally simply freshly made lime-based “lemonade.” Its level of distinction is the important thing limes – grown domestically, freshly squeezed and combined with cane sugar and water. Take your Switcha to the subsequent stage by including Pink Turtle vodka or pale rum from John Watling’s Distillery in Nassau.
The place to attempt it: Rum Runners in Port Lucaya Market, Grand Bahama, is a cheerful, bustling bar that may rustle up a Switcha with one thing further in it.
9. “Sky juice” fuels each Bahamian celebration
The uniquely Bahamian cocktail you’re most certainly to stumble throughout is the intriguingly named sky juice. Little doubt christened for its elevating results, it’s a candy, celebratory concoction of gin, inexperienced coconut water, condensed milk and a scrape of nutmeg.
The place to attempt it: Nowhere within the Bahamas slings extra sky juice in a extra celebratory setting than Nassau’s nightly Fish Fry on Arawak Cay.
Vegetarians and vegans
Whereas not an particularly carnivorous delicacies, Bahamian meals doesn’t concentrate on catering to plant-based diets. Staples resembling grits (cornmeal porridge), stewed greens, bread and contemporary tropical fruit and greens are, nevertheless, ubiquitous. Coleslaw, rice and peas and mac ‘n’ cheese are additionally by no means laborious to search out. Resorts and international-style eating places will, after all, at all times cater to vegans and vegetarians.
