Culinaria the Caribbean: A Culinary Discovery [Hardcover]

Rosemary Parkinson (Author), Clem Johnson (Photographer), Ruprecht Stempell (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 24 vibrant chapters, each visiting a different island or group of islands from the 7000 dotting the waters between North and South America, Parkinson (Shake Dat Cocktail) offers a cookbook laden with recipes, travel tales, cultural histories and 1600 full-color illustrations. Noting that Caribbean cuisine has been largely overlooked, she sets out to remedy the matter with hundreds of dishes, many of which are decidedly exotic, with ingredients difficult for non-Caribbean chefs to find. The cassava flour required for Cassava Pie from Bermuda will be easier to locate than the Jamaican fruit, ackee, that figures in Ackee and Saltfish. Also from Jamaica are the more familiar jerk dishes. Other accessible dishes include Corn Fritters from Haiti and Stuffed Baked Red Snapper from Anguilla. Among recipes easier to read than prepare are How to Roast a Pig on a Spit as they do it in Puerto Rico, Round House Flying Fish Pat? from Barbados, Cascadura Matete, which calls for Trinidad's strange mudfish, and Iguana, a Curacao favorite. Along the way, Parkinson provides a brief history of Jamaica's Rastafarian movement, a nonjudgmental look at cockfighting on Guadeloupe and an illustrated essay on the importance of the spice trade to Grenada, which supplies 40% of the world's nutmeg and mace. Cooks with wanderlust will find the breadth of Parkinson's coverage and the many lush photographs entrancing. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 460 pages
• Publisher: Könemann; 1st Printing edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3895089028
• ISBN-13: 978-3895089022
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 10 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #467,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Caribbean & West Indian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful (Although Limited) Tour of the Caribbean!, February 5, 2001

By 

Mario A. Nunez (Hallandale, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Culinaria the Caribbean: A Culinary Discovery (Hardcover)

I am a CULINARIA series fan. I own this book, plus the other CULINARIA entries on Spain, France, USA,Germany and, most recently, Italy. I am of Cuban origin, grew up in Puerto Rico, and have visited almost all the Caribbean islands at one time or another (I think I am only missing Haiti and Antigua!). I was simply amazed by the whirlwind tour through the Caribbean that the editor(Ms. Parkinson) takes us; it is a veritable travelogue of the multitude of foods and cultures of the Caribbean islands.

However, I was sometimes puzzled by her choices. For example, she chose not to hightlight the Puerto Rican rum industry (enormous and world-renowned) while she focused on the peppermint candy production(?) on the island. Generally, her whole treatment of the food history, industry and recipes of the bigger islands (Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico) is...well, skimpy.

Although I understand that the food and cultures of the smaller islands are usually not served well by compilation books such as this one, I felt that the book need to delve deeper, be more comprehensive and fair to all the islands. After all, the Caribbean islands have more in common with each other than they are dissimilar.

However, I believe that the book is a wonderful travel guide through the beautiful island worlds of the deep blue and warmth of the Caribbean! Not the strongest addition to the CULINARIA series, but still worth the trouble of obtaining and enjoying!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent representation, February 8, 2002

By 

"carlsglen" (CA ,United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Culinaria the Caribbean: A Culinary Discovery (Hardcover)

I was first introduced to this book when visiting a friend's flat in London. It was their only coffee table book, now I know why. Being from the Caribbean myself (Barbados)and having travelled the Caribbean extensively, I found it to be a fair representation of the islands and their culinary delights. Not only in the simplicity of the recipes which I have been putting to the test but also the clarity in the photos, the culture highlights, it's a must for every Caribbean lover. I have bought a copy for my coffeee table and it's now become a favourite with all my friends.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Cookbook on the West Indies!!!, December 12, 2002

By 

"canadiantransplant" (Medford, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Culinaria the Caribbean: A Culinary Discovery (Hardcover)

Both my parents are from the West Indies (Barbados & St. Vincent) and I have seen a lot of cookbooks about the Caribbean. This was the first book that provided SO much detail and the pictures where so life-like. It transports you to the island with pictures rich in colour and recipes from every island. I loved this book so much that I got one for my mother!