Manjé Kréyol
From Traditional Haitian Cooking
To Modern Haitian Cuisine
Ansanm! Ansanm!
By
Carrine Lovelace
A recipe collection of traditional Haitian dishes adapted to modern day living with a brief historical overview of the origin of Haitian Cuisine and the impact colonization of the New World, as well as the rampant slave trades by various European powers, had on Haiti and it's people.
The Diverse Culinary Mix of Haitian Cuisine
The Unique Flavor of Haiti In the last twenty years, trendy “ethnic” fast food style restaurants have become so prevalent in the Western World and yet Haitian cuisine has managed to stay true to its roots and survive the modern day Americanization of many popular Island and Latin dishes.
What makes Haitian Cuisine so unique amongst the varied Caribbean and Latino fares so readily available from any Mom & Pop restaurant, on any street corner, in any city in North America?
Well, some of the mystery is due, in some great extent, to the varied nations who played key roles in shaping the island known as Hispaniola.
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, occupies the Western third of the island she shares with the Dominican Republic who occupies the remaining two thirds of Hispaniola.
You can still find influences of the native habitants of Hispaniola, the Arawak and Taino Amerindians, in traditional Haitian cooking.
The natives were hunter / gatherer tribes who cultivated fruits and vegetables such as guavas, pineapples, cassava, papayas, sweet potatoes, and corn.
When Columbus discovered a paradise island in 1492 and established a settlement he called La Isla Espanola, which later became Hispaniola, the Spaniards way of life, from their culture, their religion and of course their foods influenced Taino (who mostly habited the western side of the island) cooking tremendously by introducing exotic ingredients such as oranges, limes, mangoes, rice, and of course, sugarcane.
The sugarcane plantations established in Hispaniola were cultivated by native Indian slaves and later, once the indigenous Amerindians were virtually extinct due to disease by 1520, slaves were brought to the New World from Africa.
In 1697, the French came to Hispaniola and after many battles won and lost, the Spaniards ceded the Western side of the Island, which became known as Saint Domingue (not the present day Santo Domingo).
The French rule is perhaps the most lasting and recognizable influence on Haitian culture and cuisine. Many Haitian dishes, even as they retain the local ingredients cultivated by the indigenous Taino Amerindians and the exotic flavors introduced by the Spaniards and later still some of the ethnicity of the African Slaves, find their roots in French culinary techniques still being used today in classical French Cuisine.
It is this use of primitive essence and classic methods which elevates Haitian Cuisine above some of her counter parts; the sophistication Haitian dishes displays has endured the bastardization the Western World tends to make of ethnic dishes.
Under the French rule, Haiti prospered and became one of the richest islands in the Caribbean, nicknamed La Perle des Antilles or Pearl of the Caribbean due in large part to the sugar, lumber coffee, cotton, and cocoa trades.
From Traditional Haitian Cooking
To Modern Haitian Cuisine
Ansanm! Ansanm!
By
Carrine Lovelace
A recipe collection of traditional Haitian dishes adapted to modern day living with a brief historical overview of the origin of Haitian Cuisine and the impact colonization of the New World, as well as the rampant slave trades by various European powers, had on Haiti and it's people.
The Diverse Culinary Mix of Haitian Cuisine
The Unique Flavor of Haiti In the last twenty years, trendy “ethnic” fast food style restaurants have become so prevalent in the Western World and yet Haitian cuisine has managed to stay true to its roots and survive the modern day Americanization of many popular Island and Latin dishes.
What makes Haitian Cuisine so unique amongst the varied Caribbean and Latino fares so readily available from any Mom & Pop restaurant, on any street corner, in any city in North America?
Well, some of the mystery is due, in some great extent, to the varied nations who played key roles in shaping the island known as Hispaniola.
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, occupies the Western third of the island she shares with the Dominican Republic who occupies the remaining two thirds of Hispaniola.
You can still find influences of the native habitants of Hispaniola, the Arawak and Taino Amerindians, in traditional Haitian cooking.
The natives were hunter / gatherer tribes who cultivated fruits and vegetables such as guavas, pineapples, cassava, papayas, sweet potatoes, and corn.
When Columbus discovered a paradise island in 1492 and established a settlement he called La Isla Espanola, which later became Hispaniola, the Spaniards way of life, from their culture, their religion and of course their foods influenced Taino (who mostly habited the western side of the island) cooking tremendously by introducing exotic ingredients such as oranges, limes, mangoes, rice, and of course, sugarcane.
The sugarcane plantations established in Hispaniola were cultivated by native Indian slaves and later, once the indigenous Amerindians were virtually extinct due to disease by 1520, slaves were brought to the New World from Africa.
In 1697, the French came to Hispaniola and after many battles won and lost, the Spaniards ceded the Western side of the Island, which became known as Saint Domingue (not the present day Santo Domingo).
The French rule is perhaps the most lasting and recognizable influence on Haitian culture and cuisine. Many Haitian dishes, even as they retain the local ingredients cultivated by the indigenous Taino Amerindians and the exotic flavors introduced by the Spaniards and later still some of the ethnicity of the African Slaves, find their roots in French culinary techniques still being used today in classical French Cuisine.
It is this use of primitive essence and classic methods which elevates Haitian Cuisine above some of her counter parts; the sophistication Haitian dishes displays has endured the bastardization the Western World tends to make of ethnic dishes.
Under the French rule, Haiti prospered and became one of the richest islands in the Caribbean, nicknamed La Perle des Antilles or Pearl of the Caribbean due in large part to the sugar, lumber coffee, cotton, and cocoa trades.
With the French colonization, also came the slave trades; African slaves played a major role in the development of Haiti and it can furthermore be seen clearly in traditional Haitian cooking is such foods as okra (also called gumbo; edible pods), ackee (red and yellow fruit), taro (edible root), pigeon peas (seeds of an African shrub), and various spices to the diet.
During this time of prosperity, Haitians expanded their gastronomic tastes and this period in time defined Traditional Haitian Cuisine.
In 1804 Haiti, led by a mostly black slave and freed people of color revolutionist army, went on to win its independence from France and became not only the first black-led African-Republic in the New World, but also one of only two independent francophone nations (having French as an official language), Canada being the other in the Americas.
One notable Haitian contribution to the United States must be mentioned here. In 1809 French Creole colonist fled Haiti along with their slaves due to the revolution, as did numerous free people of color some of whom were also slaveholders.
They first fled to Cuba but later immigrated, en masse, to New Orleans. 10,000 French creoles and free Haitians of color infused New Orleans with a mixture of French traditions and Haitian customs.
The immigrants doubled the New Orleans population and are credited for helping preserve the French language for several generations thereafter in Louisiana and in shaping what is today one of the most unique State in the United States of America.
The creole culture of New Orleans is not Haitian kreyole but in examining Louisiana’s Creole cooking, one can assuredly find some Haitian Kreyole hidden amongst the Cajun heritage, such Haitian specialties as red beans and rice and mirliton or chayote; a pear-shaped vegetable (which was introduced to Haitian cuisine by African Slaves most propably from South Africa) Louisiana's Creole cuisine. The Cajuns who settled in Louisiana were Canadian French immigrants from the area now known as New Finland.
Though Haiti’s history includes influences by many other cultures, German, Polish, and Dutch most notably, even some Arab, Jewish and Chinese to some degree, France had the greatest impact on Haitian cultural background.
Although, in the last fifty years, the United States has had a vast amount of power, both economic and social, in Haiti.
The United States provides the largest humanitarian aid to Haiti, followed by Canada and the European Union. The United States also has the largest concentration of Haitian immigrants, again followed by Canada (namely Montreal), Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela and France.
The Republic of Haiti is unique amongst the Caribbean – Latin islands as Haitian history is so rich and varied with a mix of European cultures, African ancestry and native Taino and Arawak Amerindians origins, each contributed to what is no doubt a Nation like no other; La Perle des Antilles indeed it is!
*This article is strictly the opinion of the writer, Carrine lovelace
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