Island Flavors in South Florida: A Guide to Caribbean Food Culture

One of the best ways to understand South Florida is to eat your way through it. Caribbean families from Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad, the Bahamas and beyond brought their recipes with them, and today you can find island flavors in strip-mall takeouts, family kitchens and church fundraisers across the region. Here is a guide to the dishes worth knowing and the stories behind them.

Jamaican Favorites

Jamaican food is everywhere in South Florida, and a few dishes are worth trying first.

Jerk is the island's most famous flavor. Chicken or pork is marinated in a spicy blend built on scotch bonnet peppers and pimento, which is what Jamaicans call allspice, along with thyme, scallion and other seasonings. Traditionally it is cooked slowly over a fire, which gives it a smoky edge.

Patties are golden, flaky pastries filled with spiced beef, chicken or vegetables. They are an easy grab-and-go lunch, and many people eat them tucked inside a piece of coco bread.

Oxtail is slow-braised until the meat falls off the bone, usually with butter beans in a rich brown gravy. Curry goat is another Sunday favorite. Both are often served with rice and peas, which is rice cooked with kidney beans and coconut milk. And Jamaica's national dish, ackee and saltfish, pairs the soft, buttery ackee fruit with salted cod, often eaten for breakfast with fried dumplings or boiled green bananas.

Haitian Classics

Haitian food is bold, layered and full of flavor, and South Florida's large Haitian community keeps it close to home.

Griot is pork that is marinated in citrus and seasoning, then fried until crisp on the outside and tender inside. It almost always comes with pikliz, a fiery pickled slaw of cabbage, carrots and hot peppers that cuts through the richness.

Diri ak djon djon is rice cooked with dried black mushrooms that turn it a deep gray-black and give it an earthy taste. Fried plantains, called bannann peze, are a common side. Soup joumou, a hearty pumpkin soup, is traditionally eaten on January 1, Haiti's Independence Day, and carries deep meaning as a symbol of freedom.

Flavors From Across the Islands

South Florida's Caribbean table goes far beyond two countries. A few more to know:

• Cuban: ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce), lechón asado (roast pork), black beans and rice, and the pressed Cuban sandwich.
• Trinidadian: doubles (curried chickpeas between two pieces of soft fried bread) and roti wrapped around curried meat or vegetables, reflecting Trinidad's Indian heritage.
• Bahamian: conch fritters and fresh conch salad with lime, peppers and onion.
• Puerto Rican: mofongo, mashed fried plantains with garlic, often filled with meat or seafood.
• Dominican: mangú, mashed green plantains, often served for breakfast with eggs, cheese and salami.

Breadfruit and the Taste of Home

Some foods mean more than flavor. Breadfruit, a large green fruit that grows on tall trees throughout the Caribbean, was brought to the islands from the Pacific in the late 1700s and became a staple. It can be roasted over an open flame, boiled, or sliced and fried until golden. For many island families, it tastes like childhood.

That was true for Jonathan Anthony Burkett. He was raised by his grandparents in Westmoreland, Jamaica, before moving to Florida. When his grandmother visited from Jamaica in June 1998, she and the family brought a lot of breadfruit especially for him, and she fried breadfruit for him every morning of her visit. In his memoir Neglected But Undefeated, that visit stands out as a time when he felt surrounded by family love again.

If you have a family dish that carries that kind of meaning, cook it, write down the recipe and share it. Food is one of the most powerful ways culture survives a move across the water.

How to Explore Caribbean Food in South Florida

You do not need a fancy restaurant to eat well. Some of the best Caribbean food comes from small takeout counters, bakeries and home cooks. Ask friends and coworkers from the islands where their families shop and eat. Visit Caribbean markets, where you can find scotch bonnets, breadfruit, plantains, dried djon djon and spice blends to cook at home. Keep an eye out for cultural festivals and community events, which usually feature food vendors from many islands.

Be adventurous, but go at your own pace with the heat. Scotch bonnet peppers are very hot, and many cooks are happy to tell you which dishes are mild.

A Table That Brings People Together

Caribbean food in South Florida is more than a cuisine. It is a way for families to stay connected to home, for neighbors to share their cultures and for newcomers to feel welcome. Every plate carries a little history.

The same islands that shaped South Florida's food also shaped its music. Jonathan Anthony Burkett, born in Miami and raised in Jamaica, makes inspirational hip hop and soul rooted in that mix. Explore his songs on the Music page.

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