Dreaming of a Caribbean Christmas
Though many associate Christmas with snow and cold, the holiday is very much a big deal in the islands of the Caribbean. Many of these traditions involve delicious food and libations. These foods are enjoyed all around the Caribbean and might even be known as something different or use more regionally found products, produce and liquor but essentially serve the same purpose: to feed and nourish families and friends during this time of thanks, reflection and well wishes for the new year.
Sorrel
For me, Christmas is not really Christmas without sorrel. Made from the now seemingly trendy hibiscus plant, sorrel is a Christmas staple throughout the Caribbean. Each island does it differently, using local spices and regional spirits, but Denny’s kitchen serves it up most similarly to how I enjoy it at my Christmas table.
Rum Cake/Black Cake
Along with sorrel, my Jamaican Christmas is not made without a slice of black cake. Also called rum cake, black cake receives its name for its two very evident characteristics: its dark color due to the use of dried fruits and browning, a Caribbean ingredient used for coloring/flavor, and it is LOADED with rum and fortified wine. The dried fruits (raisins, cherries, prunes) are soaked in rum and wine for months or even some years! Black cake is not only a Christmas tradition and must have but is usually found at all important Caribbean events like birthdays and weddings.
Pepperpot/Plait Bread
This delicious dish of ‘low and slow’ braised stew meat is an absolute holiday must for many Caribbean countries. Regarded as one of Guyana’s national dishes, pepperpot is seasoned with some of the very spices we associate with the Holiday season that are also indigenous to the Caribbean: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. A must-have alongside pepperpot is plait bread which is a simple yeast bread that is shaped like a hair braid. The bread is used to soak up all the delicious meat stew
Battle of the beverage: Ponche de creme/Coquito/Kremas
Depending on which island you rep, you might have your own winner in this battle of the beverage. If you're Trini, it might be Ponche de creme (or Ponche ‘ah’ creme), Puerto Rican or Dominican it’s Coquito, and Haitian it’s Kremas. But no matter the name, these are the cream holiday drinks that eggnog WISH it could be. Again spiced with traditional holiday/Caribbean spices, these drinks all have creamy bases and are boozy to boot.
Soup Joumou
Though this meal isn’t necessarily consumed during Christmas, nicknamed the New Year's soup, Soup Joumou is literally in every Haitian household pot at the end of the year. The soup holds a lot of meaning for Haiti, as it had the first and only successful slave revolution and became the first independent nation. Translated from the Creole for ‘pumpkin’, Soup Joumou is also packed with meat, potatoes, and noodles. This soup represents freedom and taking that freedom from the oppressor. With a history like that, what more can you ask for in order to start your new year right!
SHOP THE CHANGEMAKER COLLECTION
Celebrating the businesses behind the table.