st lucia food ackee

St Lucia Food

St Lucia local food is not fancy, but it is tasty and filling. The most popular st lucia street food you will find are BBQ chicken and fish, fried or roasted “bakes” (similar to Johnny cakes, a flat bread made from wheat flour). A great gluten free alternative is cassava bread made from the tapioca root. Indian – inspired rotis (wraps filled with curried potatoes and either meat, fish or vegetables is standard fare.

Most St Lucians eat “local meals” for lunch, tasty and generous helpings of rice or macaroni and cheese, beans or lentils, vegetables, ground provisions (sweet potato, dasheen, yam, breadfruit etc.), fried plantains and fish or meat. These tend to be available only around noon, after which they sell out.

Another one of our favorite st lucia foods is the local “stew” or one pot also called “bouillon.” In earlier days, this stew was prepared on a clay coal pot. For vegetarians and vegans or people with dietary restrictions such as dairy or gluten free, street food is not so easy to find.

Local St Lucia Cuisine and eating out

The dining experience in St Lucia is very varied, from budget meals of less than US$ 10 to some very high end gourmet dining for over $80. The higher end St Lucia restaurants tends to be oriented more international, but also have St Lucia cuisine.

Fresh local juice is available many places, but tends to be very sweet. The St Lucia beer is a Lager called “Piton beer” brewed locally by Heineken (Windward Islands Brewery). St Lucia Distillers, which has won several international awards, offers tours and tastings at their location in the north near Marigot Bay.

The St Lucia national dish is green figs and salt fish (cooked green bananas with salted cod, seasoning peppers, chives, mayonnaise – the salted cod is a remnant of British colonialism). Other typical St Lucian dishes include: Breadfruit balls, fried plantain, Christophene Grattin, calallou soup, pumpkin soup green mango salad, accra (fried fish cakes), lambi (conch) and fresh local fish (Tuna, King fish, Snapper or Mahi).

Growing, Buying and Preparing St Lucia Food

Farming tends to be small-scale, low-tech, costly, risky and therefore not very efficient. Nevertheless, the island offers many locally grown fruits and vegetables which you can get at the local farmers market as well as the main supermarkets.

You can prepare healthy, fresh and delicious meals as long as you shop smart, grow your own, and minimize waste. You won’t have the selection of different items that you may be used to, and some items are quite expensive. You can prepare many Asian dishes with what grows on the island, such as coconut, ginger, turmeric, and many other tropical fruits and vegetables.

St Lucia Produce

Common vegetables grown locally are pumpkin (squash), green beans, spinach, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, okkra and lettuce. Breadfruit, sweet potatoes, yams, dasheen, bananas, plantains, squash, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, kale, malabar spinach, chinese cabbage, chives. What st lucians call pumpkin is actually a squash (and very tasty!). A more exotic vegetables is the “christophene” more commonly known as chayote elsewhere. Interesting also is the lesser known “breadnut” a  relative of the starchy breadfruit.

Coconuts, papayas, bananas and plantains grow pretty much year round. Pineapples and melons are starting to be grown commercially almost year round. Citrus (oranges, sour oranges, mandarines, tangerines, grapefruit, limes and lemons) have a fairly long season.

Local (seasonal) fruits include: Mangoes, Guavas, Wax apples, Love apples, a few different types of “plums” passion fruit, sugar apple, soursop, starfruit (Karambola), tamarind, avocados and acerola (cherries (high in Vitamin C, locals call them barbadian cherries).

“Balenbouche is indeed a world within itself exuding a tranquil presence of warmth, hospitality and harmony.”
(Tropical Traveler)

info@balenbouche.com
+ 1 (758) 455-1244
P.O. Box VF 707, LC12101, St Lucia

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