The Best Barbados Food
Enjoyable Barbadian Dishes and Secret Bajan Touches
Find the most delectable Barbados foods to savour on your visit to the island - We list popular foods in Barbados and mention where to find these Bajan foods in Barbados.
We also highlight which Barbados condiments used in each Barbadian dish make them delish Barbados seasonings! After all it is the quality of Barbados condiments used that sets a good dish apart from a GREAT! - See Our favourite Delish Barbados Seasonings and Delish Bajan Hot Sauce. We are also happy to share our best Bajan desserts. Feel free to visit our Barbados online store for wonderful online Barbados shopping. Select from a range of Bajan food items including the Delish ones we mention here. BUT first, a little information about food in Barbados.
About Food in Barbados
Mostly, one or two words describe the taste of Barbadian cuisine—deliciously hearty– Exotically flavourful … . Alright, it is difficult to sum up everything you will feel about this fare in two words. Barbados food summed up! ...It is not hot or extremely spicey cuisine.
The older generation especially my late Great Aunt Nellie (Nov 28th 1919-April 25th 2010) loves her chicken foot soup and cow heal soup. Other popular meats are pork, beef, and lamb. Seafood-wise Dorado/mahi mahi, Marlin, King Fish, Cod, Flying Fish, and crab, lobster and sea eggs, are local winners. The very tasty sea egg is currently facing endangerment. The government has imposed a sea egg season for catch following a three year band and a fine or imprisonment for any one in violation of diving for sea eggs and selling them out side of the season. It is because of this strick policy this delicacy went from endangered to seasonal fare.
Depending on the time of year look forward to Dunks, Bajan Cherries, Sea Grapes, Fat Ports, Hog Plums, Akeas (called Chennette in the other Caribbean islands), Pomegranates, Gooseberries, Tamarinds, Papaya, Grapefruit, Guavas, Golden apples, Avocado and Coconuts, to name a good few. Most local fruit make excellent jams , jellies and form the best Bajan sweets.
Simply Delicious, Must-Try Barbados FoodFish Cakes
Fishcakes are made with salt fish, Bajan seasonings and flour and then deep fried. Served alone, with a dip or placed in a ‘salt bread’ (this is called a bun . This sandwich is called a 'bread-and-two'. This treat is served in rustic - with a dash of hot Bajan pepper sauce or with sweetened ketchup and Bajan hot pepper sauce combined to make a dip and these are sure to be a hit. And when you place to fish cakes in an authentic Bajan salt bread you've got yourself a bun and two (bajan sandwhich). Of course this bun and two wouldn't be complete for eating without a fes dashes of Bajan hot sauce
Where to Find this Barbados food: The Barbados Oistins Fish Fry on the sout coast (all year round). The Baxter Road Fish Fries in Bridgetown. Some rum shops, and cocktail parties and wedding receptions.
This Bajan version of one of the world's best comfort food mac and cheese is a dish that is sooo delicious you'll forget about a diet. Macoronie pie is served as a side or eaten as a main course. The fish served is usually fried flying fish or Mahi Mahi or King fish. And some splashes of the good old Barbados pepper sauce on top.
Where to find this food in Barbados: Fish Fries, Bajan Buffets: The Beach House in Holetown, Fisherman's Pub in Speighstown, Oistins and other Fish Fries, Brown Sugar Restaurant between Carlisle Bay and Hastings, Christ Church.
Puddin and Sous
A true Bajan delicacy. Eaten any time of the week and mostly look forward to on Fridays and Saturdays. This Barbadian favourite is made with sweet potatoe and pork. Puddin is made with the intestines of the pig stuffed with seasoned sweet potatoes. The Sous is boiled pig head and feet. Today many people who make the puddin no longer steam it in the pig's intestines and no longer use the pigs blood for colouring during cooking but instead use browning. This Bajan dish is topped with pickle -a combination of finely chopped cucumber, parsley, scotch bonnet pepers with lime and salt.
Where to find this food in Barbados: Fridays and Saturdays; Fisherman's Pub, Speighstown St. Peter, On Saturdays: Lemon Arbour in St.John, The Sous Factory in St.John.
Cou-Cou and Flying Fish
Perhaps I should have mentioned this first, after all it is Barbados' national dish. Cou Cou derives from the islands African ancestry. It is made of cornmeal and okras, two very affordable ingredients. The corn meal is turned with the Okra slush with a cou cou stick ( this utensil looks like a mini cricket bat), until the mixture is thick and smoothe. The affordable nature of Cou Cou made this Bajan food common fare in Barbados’ early colonial history, being a regular meal for those slaves brought over from Africa to Barbados. The Flying Fish served with Cou Cou is seasoned with Barbados seasoning or 'Bajan seasoning' to give that delicious and unique Barbados flavour. The fish is then traditionally steamed and served rolled along side the Cou Cou. And as you may guess a few drops of Barbados hot sauce then goes on top.
Where to Find this Barbados food: Fridays or Saturdays: Fisherman's Pub Speighstown St.Peter.
Where rice is concerned in Barbados food peas popularly go with it. Rice is boild with slat meat, often pig tail to add flavour, the peas of choice regularly pigeon peas are added for a more-ish side dish. The stew is often chicken, beef or lamb stew, the meat boild tender, with vegetables, seasoned to taste with a Delish Bajan seasoning and served alongside rice or even with macornie pie.
Where to Find this Bajan food: Rice and Peas or Peas N Rice is served at any place offering a bajan buffet, Supercentre Super markets, Barbados fish fries, Fisherman's Pub in St.Peter, The Beach House, and at Bajan house holds on a Sunday for lunch.
Jug Jug
It's Christmas when Jug Jug makes its appearance in the traditional year-round Bajan buffet. And a well appreciated prsence it is during the Christmas Holidays. Salt beef, pork, turkey, chicken or ham or any combination along with pigeon peas are cooked and seasoned and minced to form a smooth flavourful side dish.
Where to fing this Bajan food: Around Christmas time at any restaurant serving a Bajan Buffet: Brown Sugar Restaurant, The Beach House, Edgewater Hotel.
Touches to Barbadian Cooking and Great Tasting Bajan Food
There are some ingredients or Barbados condiments which are added to make Barbadian food distinctively flavourful (giving it Bajan flare). Many of the ingredients in the dishes mentioned above are universally enjoyed. However there are some Bajan cooking 'by laws' that secretly make these dishes Bajan Style fare.
See marinating meats and quality Bajan seasonings
PLUS find out our favourite brand of Barbados seasonings ...just Delish!
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