The Caribbean Pantry Cookbook: Condiments and Seasonings from the Land of Spice and Sun

The Caribbean evokes thoughts of vibrant flavors and tropical abundance. It is a realm of gustatory extravagance: soothing rum drinks and mouth-searing hot sauces; fragrant marinades and fiery spice rubs; perfumed preserves and dulcet jams. The flavors are bold to match the intensity of the tropical sun.

Capture those flavors and use them to perk up everyday meals with The Caribean Pantry Cookbook, a collection of 70 recipes for spice rubs and mixes, marinades, mild and hot sauces, oils and vinegars, jams, jellies, chutneys, pickles, relishes, sweets, snacks, and drinks. The book also includes a selection of recipes that use items from the pantry.

There are few places in the worl where you can find such a diverse aassortment of condiments and seasonings as in the Caribbean; spicy snacks to nibble while watching a dramatic sunset, tangy table sauces designed to perk up wilted appetites, festive rum drinks to sip while swaying your hips to the rhythmic pulse of steel drums.

The richness of the Caribbean pantry has been shaped by the region's unique agriculture and climate. The markets in Pointe a Pitre and Port of Spain dazzle with a profusion of tropical vegetables, exotic fruits, and intensely flavored whole spices. But the driving force of the region's cuisine is its ethnic diversity. Caribbean cooking is a patchwork quilt of colors, textures, and flavors, woven from the cuisines of Europe, Africa, North and South America, and even Asia.

The Caribbean Pantry Cookbook includes recipes for Jerk Seasoning, Mojito, Banana Chutney, Jamaican Gingerbread, Passion Fruit Rum, and other island favorites. Mail-order sources are included for hard-to-find ingredients.

With The Caribbean Pantry Cookbook, you can bring the joyous flavors of the Caribbean to your table all year long, and give food gifts redolent of holiday pleasures.

Mouth-searing hot sauces, fragrant marinades and fiery spice rubs, tropical fruit preserves, jams, and cooling rum drinks: The Caribbean Pantry Cookbook: Condiments, Seasonings, and Preserves from the Land of Spice and Suncaptures the vibrant flavors and tropical abundance of this diverse region. Its 70 recipes and 20 full-color photographs will help add island excitement to everyday meals. Steven Raichlen, author of Miami Spice,has traveled widely throughout the region and collected his favorite recipes for condiments and seasoning mixes.

There are few places in the world where you can find such eclectic assortment of condiments and seasonings as in the Caribbean, where the bold flavors match the intensity of the tropical sun. Many ethnic groups have contributed to the region's culinary melting pot, combining elements of European, North African, and even Asian cuisines with the region's characteristic fruits, vegetables, and spices.

The Caribbean Pantryincludes recipes for pantry items as well as for dishes in which to use them. With a well-stocked pantry, it's easy to chase away the mid-winter blues by putting Orange Pepper Jelly on an English muffin, sipping Passion Fruit Punch by the fire, enlivening chicken breasts with St. Barts Creole Sauce, or a filet of grouper with Chili Lime Sauce. Use Mojo (Cuban Garlic-Cumin Sauce) to marinate shell steak, or create Bajan Roast Game Hens with Seasoning, the classic seasoning mix of Barbados. The recipes in The Caribbean Pantryare simple to make and most ingredients are widely available (mail-order sources are included for hard-to-find items).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 138) and index.

Steven Raichlen, America's "master griller" (Esquire), is host of PBS's popular series Barbecue University at the Greenbrier.Bon Apptitnamed him Cooking Teacher of the Year (2003). Four of his five Barbecue! Biblebooks are Main Selections of The Good Cook club. In addition, he is author of the award-winning Miami Spice: The New Florida Cuisineand other cookbooks. He lives and grills in Coconut Grove, Florida, and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.Martin Jacobs, an award-winning photographer who specializes in food photography, has photographed many cookbooks. He co-authored Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian Cooking, which won IACP and James Beard Awards in 1991.

Introduction

A Note About Preserving

RUBS, SPICE MIXES, AND MARINADES

MILD SAUCES AND HOT SAUCES

JAMES, JELLIES, CHUTNEYS, PICKLES, AND PRESERVED FRUITS

SNACKS AND SWEETS

DRINKS AND DRINK MIXES

Acknowledgments

Conversion Chart

Mail-Order Sources

Bibliography

IndeX