This is a repost of the "Know Your Spices" article from popular Simply Trini Cooking website-Spices are an important trading commodity for many countries, such as India, Philippines, China, Grenada, Mexico, Uganda etc. Spices can be traced to the ancient world. In the bible spices were given as gifts. When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon and tested his wisdom she rewarded him with a royal gift of spices of Arabia. The wise men from the East traveled with a gift of spices for the baby Jesus. And, Joseph was sold by his brother to a spice merchant.

Also, the want of spices encouraged the opening of the sea route by Vasco da Gama around Africa. The spices also brought conflict and wars between countries even up to the nineteenth century. Islands were ruined because of the fight to monopolize the trade of spices.

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with the nation of Haiti. Hispaniola defines the northern rim of the Caribbean Sea along with Cuba, which lies just to the west, and Puerto Rico, Hispaniola's eastern neighbor. The Dominican Republic occupies the western half of the island.

The thousands of islands that form the Bahamas celebrate their Independence Day on July 10. A truly diverse culture, the Bahamas is home to people of native Caribbean, European and African heritage.

 

Musa acuminata, the plantain (pronounced /ˈplæntən/) is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana (which is sometimes called the dessert banana).

The population of North America was first introduced to the banana plantain, and in the United States and Europe “banana” generally refers to that variety. The word “banana” is often used (some would say incorrectly, although there is no formal botanical distinction between bananas and plantains) to describe other plantain varieties, and names may reflect local uses or characteristics of varieties: cooking plantain, banana plantain, beer banana, bocadillo plantain (the little one), etc. All members of the genus Musa are indigenous to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania, including the (redundant term) Malay Archipelago (modern Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines) and northern Australia.^[1]

Plantains tend to be firmer and lower in sugar content than dessert bananas. Bananas are most often eaten raw, while plantains usually require cooking or other processing, and are used either when green or under-ripe (and therefore starchy) or overripe (and therefore sweet). Plantains are a staple food in the tropical regions of the world, treated in much the same way as potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling or frying. Regions with Plantain crops include the Southern United States, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Central America, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Southern Brazil, the Canary Islands, the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, Madeira, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Okinawa, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Pacific Islands, and northern Australia. Farmers grow plantains as far north as Northern California and as far south as KwaZulu-Natal.

Plantains are in the genus Musa, and are mostly sterile triploid hybrids between the species Musa acuminata (A genome), and Musa balbisiana (B genome). Musa species are likely native to India and Southern Asia. It is assumed that the Portuguese Franciscan friars were responsible for the introduction of plantains from Africa to the Caribbean islands and other parts of the Americas.^{- (Wikepedia)}

Soup Joumou is a traditional soup very popular and native to Haiti however other variations of it can be found throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a vivid soup made from pumpkins. The squash slices are simmered in a saucepan along with pieces of beef and vegetables such as potato, parsley, carrots, and onions. The end result is pureed, usually in a food processor with a variable amount of water. The puree is returned to the saucepan where salt and seasoning along with garlic and other herbs and spices are added. Thin pasta such as vermicelli and macaroni is sometimes put in. A little milk and butter is mixed in as well. The condiments included give the soup its characteristic taste of being mildly spicy. It is always served hot and usually accompanied with rice and bread. Sliced bread is a frequent side-dish and that makes the soup a sort of dip as well. Soup Joumou is traditionally consumed every New Years’ on January 1 as a historical tribute to Haiti’s independence in 1804 where newly freed slaves consumed pumpkin soup, a meal forbidden them by their French masters. -(Wikepedia)