Haitian cuisine

Haitian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices from Haiti.

It originates from a blend of several culinary styles that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely the French, African, Taíno natives, and Spanish influence.

Haitian cuisine, comparable to that of creole or criollo (Spanish for creole) cooking and similar to the rest of the Latin Caribbean, (the French and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Antilles), but differs in several ways from its regional counterparts.

While the cuisine is unpretentious and simple, the flavors are bold and spicy that demonstrate a primary influence of African culinary aesthetic, paired with a very French sophistication with notable derivatives coming from native Taíno and Spanish techniques.

Though similar to other cooking styles in the region, it carries a uniqueness native only to the country and an appeal to many visitors to the island. Peppers and herbs are often used for a strengthening flavor. Dishes tend to be seasoned liberally.

Levantine influences have made its way into the mainstream culture, due to an Arab migration over the years, establishing many businesses. Years of adaptation have led to these cuisines to merge into Haitian cuisine.

Haiti was one of many Caribbean islands inhabited by the Taíno natives, speakers of an Arawakan language called Taíno. The barbecue (or BBQ) originated in Haiti. The word "barbecue" derives from the word barabicu, found in the language of the Taíno people of Caribbean and the Timucua of Florida, and entered European languages in the form barbacoa. Specifically, the Oxford English Dictionary translates the word as a "framework of sticks set upon posts". Gonzalo Fernández De Oviedo y Valdés, a Spanish explorer, was the first to use the word "barbecoa" in print in Spain in 1526 in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española (2nd Edition) of the Real Academia Española. After Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, the Spaniards had seemed to have found native Haitians roasting animal meat over a grill consisting of a wooden framework resting on sticks and a fire made underneath, that flames and smoke would rise and envelop the animal meat, giving it a certain flavor. Strangely enough, the same framework was used as a means of protection against the wild that may attack during middle of the night while at sleep. The barbecue not only survived in the Haitian cuisine, but was introduced to many different parts of the world and has numerous regional variations.

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