Floribbean
Encyclopedia
Floribbean cuisine is found in varying forms in Florida
restaurants and in the homes of many Floridians throughout the state. The essence of what makes a particular dish "Floribbean" is similar to many other aspects of Floridian culture: that it is heavily influenced by visitors and immigrants from all over the world, but especially from the Caribbean
(with notable influence from Haiti
, The Bahamas
, Barbados
, Jamaica
, and Trinidad and Tobago
. Australia
, and the American Deep South
. In the case of the Southern Florida region in particular, a subdivision called Latin-Floribbean or Hispano-Floribbean cuisine also takes Latin American cuisine traits from such countries as Cuba
, Puerto Rico
, Colombia
, Argentina
, Brazil
, and the Dominican Republic
, adding further influences into the mix. To distinguish the Latin Caribbean style from the non-Latin Caribbean style, some employ the terms Afro-Floribbean cuisine and Indo-Floribbean cuisine, as the majority of the Caribbean islands are of either African or Indian heritage, which in turn were colonized by British, French, and Dutch settlers.
Typical features of Floribbean cuisine include:
Floribbean cooking often uses less heat than the Caribbean dishes that inspire it, but there is extensive use of several peppers. This spiciness, however, is almost always moderated by a more gentle flavorings such as mango
, papaya
, rum
, almond, coconut, key lime
, or honey.
It is common in homes to see traditional Deep Southern food
s found in other states such as Texas
, Georgia
, Tennessee
, and Louisiana
(such as gumbo
, coleslaw
, black-eyed peas, or crab cake
s) served in the same meal as a more nuanced Floribbean dish. In most Floribbean restaurants, however, entire meals are carefully planned around a succession of delicate, complex flavors and so most dishes have been altered from their traditional forms.
This is one of the three regional versions of barbecue in Florida, found mainly in Central Florida, of which this is the first of two styles to be influenced by Caribbean and Australian cuisines. This version of Floridian barbecue basically mixes American Deep South barbecue
styles with Australian, Indo-Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean barbecue styles.
Below are some exampes:
blends Cuban, Puerto Rican, Argentinian, Brazilian, Jamaican, Bahamian,and American Deep South barbecue cuisines. This is another of the three regional barbecue styles in Florida, found mainly in Southern Florida, and the second of two influenced by Caribbean cuisines. This is also the only Floridian barbecue style that is also influenced by Latin American cuisine. One example of this style would be pechuga de pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken breast seasoned with citrus juice). The rodizio
is also very commonly utilized in this barbecue style.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
restaurants and in the homes of many Floridians throughout the state. The essence of what makes a particular dish "Floribbean" is similar to many other aspects of Floridian culture: that it is heavily influenced by visitors and immigrants from all over the world, but especially from the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
(with notable influence from Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and the American Deep South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. In the case of the Southern Florida region in particular, a subdivision called Latin-Floribbean or Hispano-Floribbean cuisine also takes Latin American cuisine traits from such countries as Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, adding further influences into the mix. To distinguish the Latin Caribbean style from the non-Latin Caribbean style, some employ the terms Afro-Floribbean cuisine and Indo-Floribbean cuisine, as the majority of the Caribbean islands are of either African or Indian heritage, which in turn were colonized by British, French, and Dutch settlers.
Overview
The migration of Asian workers, to replace the freed African slaves, have also played an important role in Floribbean cuisine. Asian and Mediterranean inspired foods and cooking habits have made Floribbean cuisine more healthy in the foods used and the cooking of those foods. It has led to an even more exotic spice pantry. Red curry, lemongrass, ginger, scallions and all, have become as commonly used today in Floribbean cookery as grits and grunts are in other parts of Florida.Typical features of Floribbean cuisine include:
- An emphasis on extremely fresh ingredients
- Complex medleys of spiceSpiceA spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s, especially powerful flavors that are softened by milder ones - An emphasis on seafoodSeafoodSeafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
and poultryPoultryPoultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"... - Generous use of fresh fruitFruitIn broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and juiceJuiceJuice is the liquid that is naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue.Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetable flesh without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree...
s, especially citrusCitrusCitrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
and sweet tropical fruits - Special care in presentation, especially when seeking a more natural effect rather than an ostentatious one
Floribbean cooking often uses less heat than the Caribbean dishes that inspire it, but there is extensive use of several peppers. This spiciness, however, is almost always moderated by a more gentle flavorings such as mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
, rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, almond, coconut, key lime
Key lime
The Key lime is a citrus species with a globose fruit, 2.5–5 cm in diameter , that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green commercially. It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind than that of the Persian lime...
, or honey.
It is common in homes to see traditional Deep Southern food
Cuisine of the Southern United States
The cuisine of the Southern United States is defined as the historical regional culinary form of states generally south of the Mason Dixon Line dividing Pennsylvania from Maryland and Delaware as well as along the Ohio River, and extending west to Southern Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.The most...
s found in other states such as Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
(such as gumbo
Gumbo
Gumbo is a stew or soup that originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century. It consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions...
, coleslaw
Coleslaw
Coleslaw, sometimes simply called slaw in some American dialects, is a salad consisting primarily of shredded raw cabbage. It may also include shredded carrots and other ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, apples, onions, green onions, peppers and various spices.-History:The term "coleslaw"...
, black-eyed peas, or crab cake
Crab cake
A crab cake is an American dish composed of crab meat and various other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, milk, mayonnaise, eggs, yellow onions, and seasonings. Occasionally other ingredients such as red or green peppers or pink radishes are added, at which point the cake is then sautéed, baked,...
s) served in the same meal as a more nuanced Floribbean dish. In most Floribbean restaurants, however, entire meals are carefully planned around a succession of delicate, complex flavors and so most dishes have been altered from their traditional forms.
Floribbean barbecue
Further information: Regional variations of barbecueRegional variations of barbecue
Barbecue varies by the type of meat used, the sauce, rub, or other flavorings used, when they are added, the role smoke plays, the equipment and fuel used, cooking temperature, and cooking time....
This is one of the three regional versions of barbecue in Florida, found mainly in Central Florida, of which this is the first of two styles to be influenced by Caribbean and Australian cuisines. This version of Floridian barbecue basically mixes American Deep South barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
styles with Australian, Indo-Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean barbecue styles.
Latin-Floribbean cuisine
This mixes Floribbean cuisine with Latin American cuisine. It has strong Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Brazilian influences.Below are some exampes:
- Arroz con PolloArroz con polloArroz con pollo is a traditional dish of Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Honduras and the Dominican Republic....
- White Rice and Black BeansRice and beansRice and beans is a very popular dish in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in communities of Latino, Caribbean or Sephardic...
- LechónLechonLechón is a pork dish in several regions of the world, most specifically Spain and its former colonial possessions throughout the world. The word lechón originated from the Spanish term leche ; thus lechón refers to a suckling pig that is roasted...
- Arroz con Gandules
- TostonesTostonesTostones or patacones are a popular side dish in many Latin American countries. The dish is made from sliced green plantains cut either length-wise or width-wise and are twice fried...
- Boiled YucaCassavaCassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
- PaellaPaellaPaella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish...
- Alcapurrias
Tropical barbacoa
A fusion of Floribbean barbecue and Latin-Floribbean cuisine, tropical barbacoaBarbacoa
Barbacoa is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, from which the term "barbecue" derives. In contemporary Mexico it generally refers to meats or a whole sheep slow-cooked over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with...
blends Cuban, Puerto Rican, Argentinian, Brazilian, Jamaican, Bahamian,and American Deep South barbecue cuisines. This is another of the three regional barbecue styles in Florida, found mainly in Southern Florida, and the second of two influenced by Caribbean cuisines. This is also the only Floridian barbecue style that is also influenced by Latin American cuisine. One example of this style would be pechuga de pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken breast seasoned with citrus juice). The rodizio
Rodizio
Rodízio and the waiters bring an offering of food to each customer at several times throughout the meal, until the customers signify that they have had enough. In churrascarias, servers come to the table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, most commonly local cuts...
is also very commonly utilized in this barbecue style.
See also
- Nine Nations of North AmericaNine Nations of North AmericaThe Nine Nations of North America is a book written in 1981 by Joel Garreau. In it, Garreau suggests that North America can be divided into nine regions, or "nations", which have distinctive economic and cultural features...