Caribbean Kitchen: Components of Flavor
Many of the seasonings employed in the Caribbean kitchen will be unfamiliar to chefs trained in the Western European idiom. But they are worth exploring and experimenting with, because Latin flavors are on the rise. Could some of these ingredients help refresh and update your repertoire?
Achiote
Also known as annatto, this small, hard brick-red seed has an earthy flavor and gives pale foods an orange color. (Some Cheddars are tinted with it.) Douglas Rodriguez, a force behind the Nuevo Latino movement, makes achiote oil by warming the seeds slowly in vegetable oil for 10 minutes, then steeping them in the oil for three hours before straining. Use achiote oil on fish or chicken.
Adobo
A seasoning mixture for pork, Cuban adobo is different from the chili-based Mexican version. In Cuba, adobo is citrus-based, incorporating either bitter orange juice, lime juice or vinegar, plus lots of garlic, oregano, cumin and allspice. It has no chilies.
Ají dulce
Also known as cachuca peppers, these small rounded chilies are usually seen in the green state, but they do turn red when ripe. They are mild and are common in Puerto Rican cooking, typically appearing in the sofrito, or flavor base, of olive oil, garlic and tomato.
Alcaparrado
A Puerto Rican and Cuban condiment of green olive, chopped pimiento and capers; Alcaparrado is often purchased ready made and added to rice, chicken or other meat dishes to give them the characteristic Puerto Rican and Cuban taste.
Cubanelle
Long, mild, thin-skinned green or pale yellow pepper, similar to Anaheim.
Culantro
A cilantro-like herb, known as recao in Puerto Rico, cilantro has a long, flat, serrated leaf (it is sometimes called serrated cilantro). It is similar in aroma to cilantro but more pungent. Culantro can be used in salsa or in cooked dishes, as you would use cilantro.
Epazote
A culinary herb with a long, slender leaf with serrated edges; epazote is commonly added to black beans in Mexican and Caribbean cooking to aid in digestion. It is pungent and not to everyone's taste, but Caribbean black beans wouldn't taste right without it.
Huacatay
Also known as black mint, Peruvian black mint or Mexican marigold, huacatay is an herbaceous plant in the marigold family with a mintlike aroma.