Two years in the French West Indies. Partie 2

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ally above all cereals; it is at least six times m o r e in demand than maize. Diri-doux, rice boiled with sugar, is sold in prodigious quantities daily,—-especially at the markets, where little heaps of it, rolled in pieces of banana or cachibou leaves, are retailed at a cent each. Diriaulaitt, a veritable rice - pudding, is also very popular ; but it would weary the reader to mention one-tenth of the Creole preparations into which rice enters. VI. E V E R Y B O D Y eats akras ;—they sell at a cent apiece. The akra is a small fritter or pancake, which may be made of fifty different things,— among others codfish, titiri, beans, brains, choux-caraïbes, little black peas (poix-ziê-nouè, "black-eyed p e a s " ) , or of crawfish (akracribîchè). When made of carrots, bananas, chicken, palmcabbage, etc., and sweetened, they are called marinades. On first acquaintance they seem rather greasy for so hot a climate ; but one learns, on becoming accustomed to tropical conditions, that a certain amount of oily or greasy food is both healthy and needful. First among popular vegetables are beans. R e d beans are preferred ; but boiled white beans, served cold with vinegar and plenty of oil, form a favorite salad. Next in order of preferment come the choux-caraïbes, patates, zignames, camanioc, and cousscouche : all immense roots,— the true potatoes of the tropics. T h e camanioc is finer than the choux-caraïbe, boils whiter and softer : in appearance it resembles the manioc root very closely, but has no toxic element. T h e cousscouche is the best of all : the finest Irish potato boiled into sparkling flour is not so good. Most of these roots can be cooked into a sort of mush, called migan : such as migan-choux, made with the choux-caraïbe ; migan-zignames, made with yams ; migan-cousscouche, etc.,—in which case crabs o r shrimps


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