In St. Vincent and the Grenadines we can’t have enough breadfruit! As part of the national dish, it is a favourite amongst Vincentians and a must for travellers to our beautiful country. The tasty dish comprises of roasted breadfruit and fried jack fish. If you haven’t tried either of these, the best way to describe it is ‘a doughy bread’ but with much more moisture, even when roasted in the oven. It makes our mouths water just thinking about it. Wrapping the crushed leaves to the head also serves a practical purpose as a headache remedy- a must after over indulging in rum cocktails...
It’s fair to say that breadfruit has not always been the flavour of the month in SVG. As the story goes, breadfruit came into the West Indies from Tahiti by Captain William Bligh on his second voyage to the South Pacific in 1793 with his main intention to feed the slaves but the slaves didn’t like the taste so it was consumed by livestock instead. However, slowly but surely its popularity grew and grew and now Vincentians just can’t eat enough of what is now considered a national delicacy!
The best thing about bread fruit? You can try it any time of day – morning, noon or night. How many foods can you think of that can be made into soups or chips as well as boiled, steamed, roasted, fried or even made into a punch? We would argue that breadfruit is one of the most versatile foods in the world and of course the most delicious! If we have tempted you to try breadfruit you’ll be pleased to hear that this August you can try up 25 different varieties of breadfruit at the annual SVG Breadfruit festival.
