Characteristic products
Fish and seafood are an integral part of Guadeloupe's cuisine. Among the most popular species are cod, snapper (a large, very common fish), balaou (a long fish eaten fried), pisquette (a small, fried fish eaten whole) and shark, often stewed for a long time with tomato and spices à l'étouffée(touffé).
Lambi is an enormous mollusc, prized for both its delicate flesh and its magnificent shell. With its firm texture, finer than that of squid, its meat is highly prized. Lobster is the star of the West Indies. It was long considered a poor man's dish by fishermen, as it was abundant in coves and lagoons, before the Western craze transformed it into a luxury delicacy, although it remains more affordable in the West Indies than in mainland France. Cicada de mer is a crustacean with a flat shell and very fine flesh, while cirique is a small crab. The ouassou, a large freshwater shrimp, lives in rivers and is eaten at Easter. Clams are picked directly from the sand. Finally, chatrou is a type of small octopus.
To accompany these numerous seafood products, Guadeloupeans use a multitude of vegetables, such as giraumon (pumpkin), manioc, okra (which looks like a green pepper, but is appreciated for its gelatinous flesh that thickens sauces), yam, sweet potato and breadfruit, whose floury flesh after cooking almost resembles a slightly dense loaf of bread. You can even make French fries with them! Christophine is a pear-like vegetable with a taste similar to that of potatoes, often prepared au gratin.
All these ingredients are seasoned with lots of spices. Of course, it's impossible not to mention the colombo blend of turmeric, cumin, coriander, cloves, black pepper, fenugreek (with its slightly bitter seeds), mustard and ginger. Prepared as a powder or paste (massalé), it may also contain cardamom, fennel or aniseed. In Guadeloupe, cooking is sometimes fiery, thanks in particular to the West Indian Bondamanjak pepper, which resembles a tiny bell bell pepper, and the bird pepper, which is barely a few centimetres long. Both varieties are particularly hot. There's also a vegetarian chili that tastes like a chili pepper but lacks the spiciness. Tamarind is a condiment derived from a tree with pods filled with a sweet-and-sour pulp that can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes. Finally, the sweetest of all spices, vanilla, comes from an orchid whose vines climb up the branches. In Guadeloupe, the pompona and planifolia varieties are grown.
The basics of Guadeloupean cuisine
A West Indian meal starts with acras, the inevitable cod fritters, sometimes with shrimp or crab, or even giraumon during Lent. They are spiced to varying degrees, depending on the cook. Another appetizer is the crêpes de poisson des Saintes, thin pancakes filled with a fish cream, then rolled and breaded. And let's not forget the pâtés salés, small flaky turnovers stuffed with finely spiced sausage meat. Dombré is a type of flour dumpling cooked with dried vegetables, often kidney beans. The ouassous dombré is a more refined version, filled with freshwater shrimp. Alternatively, you can opt for bébélé, a hearty soup from Marie-Galante made with tripe, dombrés, green bananas and breadfruit. Another soup, calalou, contains okra, spinach and other vegetables with crab or pork. Féroce is a purée of avocado, cod, cassava flour, green onion and chili pepper.
An emblematic recipe, the finely spiced black Creole boudin is a blood-based specialty, while the white boudin is made with fish, lambi or vegetables. You also can't miss the poulet boucané, a smoked chicken cooked in a three-quarter closed oven topped with a chimney. The marinated meat is placed just above the hearth and cooks gently with the smoke, giving it an inimitable taste. Finally, colombo - cabri, chicken, pork, shark - is probably Guadeloupe's best-known sauce dish, simmering for a long time in a mixture of onion, spices and stock. For the festive season, a number of special dishes make their way to the table, including Christmas ham, savory pâtés, Creole black pudding, red currant syrup, Christmas yam, pigeon peas...
There are also simpler dishes, including snacks such as bokit, a brioche bun that is deep-fried and then garnished with crudités, cod or grilled chicken. And don't forget agoulou, a soft, toasted bread filled with minced meat and vegetables. Poyo & morue is a morning dish of cod served with green banana. Alternatively, enjoy a blaff of fish or seafood cooked in a court-bouillon. Matété is a crab fricassee popular at Easter, while chiquetaille de morue is crumbled cod served with vinaigrette.
Desserts and tropical fruits
When it comes to desserts and pastries, don't miss Tourments d'Amour, a Saint-Georges speciality filled with coconut, banana or guava jam and served warm, or the coconut flan (or blancmange). Handcrafted, the sorbets here are milk-based, usually coconut-flavored, with a pronounced taste of cinnamon or vanilla. The snowball or sinobol is a cup of crushed ice drizzled with a dash of syrup (grenadine, mint or orgeat). Reserved for the morning, kassave, a cassava flour patty, is baked on a griddle and usually garnished with coconut jam. A speciality of Marie-Galante, the caca-bœuf, which does indeed have an ambiguous shape, is a rolled brioche flavoured with cinnamon and topped with coconut jam.
Guadeloupe has an extraordinary variety of succulent tropical fruits. Of course, there are the classics: pineapple, banana (as a side dish for plantain, or as a dessert for fressinette, banana fig or banana apple), avocado, mango, papaya, grapefruit, guava, passion fruit (maracuja) and coconut. There are also lesser-known species, such as the yellow-green to orange star fruit, which looks like a star when sliced; the apricot, with its sweet, fragrant orange flesh; the soursop, a large fruit with very sweet, whitish flesh; and the Cytherean plum, which looks like a small oblong mango. Its sweet, tangy, fibrous flesh can be eaten plain and makes an excellent juice, rich in vitamin C.
Guadeloupe coffee is ranked among the best in the West Indies. For a long time, it was used to improve lower-quality coffees. Its production has been revived thanks to a cooperative (Copcaf) of some fifty small growers located on Basse-Terre, between Capesterre-Belle-eau and Pointe-Noire, on an area of around 100 ha, where the climate and geological conditions are very favorable. 30 tonnes of AOC coffee are produced each year. Another drink is chodo, a purely Guadeloupean eggnog flavored with nutmeg and lime, which is served with a coconut cake called Mont Blanc, especially at weddings, christenings and other celebrations.
Rum Paradise
In the West Indies, rum and rum tasting have a cult following. Two types of rum coexist in the trade: agricultural rums, produced in the French West Indies (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante) and industrial rums, manufactured worldwide. Martinique rums, unlike Guadeloupe rums, have an AOC. Rum as we know it today is made from a decoction of sugarcane alcohol. Cane molasses was shipped to the North American colonies as early as the 18th century, but the development of the railroads led to the industrial production of rum from the 19th century onwards. Although the number of distilleries on the island has fallen sharply since the early 20th century, a number remain, notably in Basse-Terre. Distilleries can be visited all year round, and offer sales and tastings, but please note that the production plants only operate during the harvest period (February to June).
Agricultural rum is made by directly distilling vesou (sugarcane juice) and transforming its sugar into alcohol, which ferments for 36 to 48 hours until it is vinified (5-6°). One tonne of sugar cane yields around 100 liters of rhum agricole. Industrial rum is made from molasses - the by-product of sugar refining - fermented with yeast. This rapid fermentation yields an alcoholic juice (5-6°), which is then column-distilled to 65-75° alcohol. As legislation does not allow sales above 65°, distilled water is added to bring the alcohol down to 50°.
There are various types of agricultural rum, such as white rum, the basis of ti-punch, which can be served chilled. Old rum is made from white rum aged in oak barrels for at least 3 years. Some can reach 40 years of age, rivaling the finest spirits. Amber rum remains in oak casks for around 12 to 18 months, giving it a golden hue. It is generally 50° proof. Ideal for cocktails and pastries. Industrial rums include traditional young rum, with 40% alcohol and a fairly strong aroma, and highly aromatic "grand arôme" rum, produced by the long fermentation (8 to 10 days) of a mixture of molasses and vinasse in wooden vats.
