Caribbean Fruit & Vegetable Information Guide.

The Caribbean boasts a huge variety of delicious fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices. Take a look at some of the produce available in various Caribbean islands.

This is for information only and NOT for sale!

5 fingers 1

STAR APPLE – a purple-skinned fruit which must be picked and rippened off the tree. The white flesh is rather tasteless and the pips are arranged in star formation.

ackee_picture

ACKEE – grows on trees and is found all over Jamaica. It’s very poisonous when unripe, when ripe, the fruit splits to show three large black seeds. Yellowish flesh, when cooked resembles scrambled eggs.

aubergine-eggplant-supported-with-canes

AUBERGINE – usually known as egg plant, garden egg or melongene.

Bananas Grenada 1

Plantain

BLOGGOE TREE

PLANTAIN – like a large banana, but must be cooked.

Bluggoe Grenada

BLUGGOE – Part of the banana family. Similar to Plantain and must be cooked. Angular shaped outer skin.

Breadfruit Tree Grenada

BREADFRUIT – a large rough skinned vegetable which grows on trees and can weigh up to 4 lb. It is one of the staple foods of the islands.

Callaloo_001

CALLALOO – the leaves of the edoe, a green vegetable not unlike spinach.

CASSAVA

CASSAVA – a thin root containing prussic acid which must be grated, boiled or roasted to extract the poison. It then becomes a flour when ground and makes cassava bread and other various dishes including farine.

Ceris Fruit Grenada 2

Ceris

christophene

CHOCHO/CHRISTOPHENE – sometimes spelt christophine, a pear-shaped member of the melon family with pale green skin and flesh which tastes something like marrow.

Cocoa Bean Tree 2

COCOA BEAN – Dried cocoa beans are fermented and dried to produce chocolate

COCONUT 1

COCONUT – used unripe (green) and ripe (brown). The white meat of the ripe coconut is used grated, toasted or flaked and the milk made into cream. Green coconuts cintain jelly and water.

COFFEE PLANT

Coffee Beans

damsel

DASHEEN LEAFS (CALLALOO)

Dasheen Leaf

Freahly Picked okra Grenada

Okra

Green banana Tree Grenada (2)

Green Banana

Green Fig Banana Grenada

Green Fig (Plantain)

Grenville Nutmeg Factory 12

Mace

LAKATAN (2)

Lakatan (Plantain)

MANGO TREE 2

MANGO – grows on large trees, a fruit with greenish-yellow skin, very sweet tasting apricot-coloured pulp and a large stone. Smaller types are stringy but larger varieties. Julies and Bombays are smooth and delicate. Unripe, they can be used for chutney.

NONI TREE

NONI – Sour tasting fruit. Can be made into drinks.

NUTMEG Grenada 2

NUTMEG – the stone of the nutmeg fruit. Used in drinks, cakes, sweets and desserts.

Nutmegs Grenada

NUTMEG – the stone of the nutmeg fruit. Used in drinks, cakes, sweets and desserts.

ORANGES

Oranges

Papaya Grenada

PAPAYA/PAWPAW – varies in size and flavour. Skin is greenish or yellow when very ripe, flesh apricot-coloured and delicate, centre filled with peppery black seeds. The pulp contains pepsin and the skin and seeds are useful as meat tenderisers. When unripe, it can be used as a vegetable.

PASSIONFRUIT

Pigeon Peas Grenada (3)

Pigeon Peas

POMERAC 2

POMERAC – Tastes similar to an apple. Turns a pink/red colour when ripe.

pumpkin

PUMPKIN – often called by the American name, squash.

Sapadilla Tree Grenada

SAPODILLA/NASBERRY – fruit about the size of a large plum, brown skinned with sweet, yellowish flesh and several large flat black seeds

Seasoning Pepper

Similar to Scotch Bonnet Pepper, but not as hot. Used in every day meals to season and add flavour.

SORREL

SORREL – the fruit sepals can be used to make a drinks. Sorrel is available in red and white sepals.

Soursop Fruit Grenada

SOURSOP – a large green skinned fruit covered in soft spines. The rather acid white flesh has many black shiny seeds in the centre. Sieved, it makes a creamy drink or ice cream.