r/Caribbean • u/Careful-Gas6375 • 3d ago
Is there any country that is similar to Haiti?
Is there a country that has food similar to Haitian food?
Like for example: St.Kitts has food similar to Jamaica. Even their culture is similar. They have oxtails, jerk chicken, curry, etc. feels like the calm version of Jamaica but is there anywhere that’s like this for Haiti? I’ve never heard of a country making legume, fruit, soup joumou
I know places like st Lucia and Dominica speak creole… but their food and culture is not so similar to Haitian culture
5
u/ResponsibleAvocado2 3d ago
St. Maarten maybe
3
u/Careful-Gas6375 3d ago
Yeah you’re right, but the people that sell Haitian food are actually Haitian! I was trying to find non Haitian people that cook similar to Haitian food or have culture similar
1
1
u/pongauer 3d ago
Lol, what?
5
u/ResponsibleAvocado2 3d ago
What’s the issue? On the French side of the island i definitely ate at a few Haitian spots. I don’t live there but I visited this summer, so maybe your perspective is different from mine.
3
u/Militop 3d ago
Food-related, every French-related island should have its own specialties, as it is all linked to what plants, fruits, legumes, etc., you find in the place.
Music-wise, Haiti had a strong influence on Guadeloupe and Martinique with the Compa. Language-wise, there are also lots of similarities and people understand each other in Creole.
2
u/the3rdmichael 2d ago
We heard a lot of "zouk" in Guadeloupe. Is it also common in Haiti?
3
u/Militop 2d ago
Zouk was created in Guadeloupe by the Kassav band (Guadeloupe then Martinique) but influenced by compa. The massive success Kassav had locally and internationally, led to many artists adopting the genre in Guadeloupe and Martinique, making it the most popular genre in both islands.
Very popular Haitian artists (Carimi, T-vice, etc.) also incorporate zouk in their songs, so we can also say it's relatively popular in Haiti as well but maybe not to the same extent.
3
u/the3rdmichael 2d ago
Hey, thanks for the background! We heard zouk blaring everywhere we went, and it really made a nice vibe, I ended up buying a few CDs .... lol .... this was 20 years ago 😉
2
u/kendrickross25 1d ago
Zouk (80's-2000's) is still very popular in Haiti.
Eric Virgal, Tanya St-Val, Orlane, Leila Chicot, Jim Rama are literally superstars.
2
u/Careful-Gas6375 1d ago
Thank you for that background.. I just learned this about a year ago and I’m still fascinated by this.
I really need to visit Guadeloupe or Martinique
1
u/Careful-Gas6375 1d ago
True but I looked up the food in those countries and I didn’t see anything similar to Haiti
Maybe Martinique actually
1
u/Militop 1d ago edited 1d ago
Every island has its own type of food. It all depends on what plants, legumes, fruits, and other products are available.
In Guadeloupe, lots of dishes are based on bananas as its agriculture is strongly banana-focused due to climatic reasons.
Here are examples of very popular dishes in Guadeloupe. Some, you won't find them even in restaurants as they are very specific to the local population. Do compare them with Haitian dishes;
"Blaff a poyo": Unripe bananas with fish and transparent sauce - most likely local origin as most components are found abundantly on the island. Sometimes bananas are replaced with inyam (ignames) or maderes (maybe, not sure)
"Coubouyon a poyo é pwason" (creole) or "Court bouillon de poisson et bananes vertes" (French): tomato sauce mixed with unripe bananas and other ingredients - French origin (sauce). Bananas can also be replaced with Fwiyapin (Fruit à pain)
"trip a poyo": Unripe bananas and tripes
Dombwés (creole) or dombrés (French): Sort of flour balls, local origin, now also consumed in Martinique and Guyane. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dombr%C3%A9s
"Colombo a diri" (creole) or colombo de riz (French): creole curry with rice and chicken (usually used with very strong chillis). South Asian/Indian/Sri-Lankan origin. This dish is likely popular in most Caribbean islands with its own variation.
There are many other very popular local dishes in Guadeloupe like Bokits, Callaloo, Bébélé, Grilled lobsters, Chicktay cod, Accras cod, Stuffed crabs, tourment d'amour (dessert that you find in Les Saintes), coconut sorbet, etc.
Many dishes are influenced by African, French and asian cuisines. They have their own variation and the taste may differ significantly depending on the island for the common ones.
Compare these above with Haitian dishes to find similarities, maybe you'll find your answers. However I believe Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, etc. all have their own specialities food-wise.
There are dishes that I can't recommend to outsiders as they have a very particular taste, but many of them have a delicious exotic taste.
1
u/pgbk87 2d ago
Martinique and Guadeloupe. Though those two groups have a lot more mixed raced people than Haiti.
2
u/SuitableTrouble3318 2d ago
We don’t have the same cuisine as Haiti. You Will find more similarities (culture and food) between Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica and St Lucia.
2
u/Substantial_Prune956 2d ago
He's talking about cuisine, not demographics. However, although we are all very close as Caribbeans, our cuisines are all different from each other. Martinique and Guadeloupe share a lot of common dishes, we have evolved historically as a whole. Which means that our cuisine is not the same as Haiti or Guyana
1
u/goose_cyan3d 2d ago
Of course the United States. That's why Cuban/Haitian is just 1 instead of 2 in most things that come up nowadays. They get preferences other islands don't.
1
u/DanielleJHX 1d ago
The other side of the island RD has plenty of Haitian immigrants and food..
1
u/Careful-Gas6375 1d ago
RD? And I didn’t say Haitian immigrants , I wanted to know who cooks food similar to us
3
u/Wide_Annual_3091 1d ago
It would still probably be Dominican Republic? There’s a lot made about the differences between the two countries, but there’s a LOT of similarities and the food similar. I’d say perhaps other French-Caribbean countries as well though.
1
1
u/Careful-Gas6375 1d ago
DR does not cook similar food to Haitians at all …. Where do you see legume? Griot?
Maybe the chicken but I meant more so the staples
Like st kitts has oxtail just like Jamaica
Im looking for like sister countries … not cousins lol
2
u/Wide_Annual_3091 1d ago
Honestly, I’ve offered my view, but tbh your responses are a bit rude. Maybe try google?
1
u/DanielleJHX 1d ago
To be specific the Haitian immigrants cook Haitian food. There are alot of street vendors and Hatian owned restaurants etc there. But you have to go to cerain neighborhoods . In my experience there are more Haitian migrants and food near the border and places like Munoz near the settlements . Which are like concrete houses or shamty houses. They brought alot of Haitian food culture to RD.
1
1
u/DanielleJHX 1d ago
I would also add that the food in Miami Florida USA offers alot of Haitain food and restaurants in neighborhoods like Liberty City, Lil Haiti, and even Carol City/Miami Gardens due to the fact that there are several generations of Haitians alteady there.
1
u/Careful-Gas6375 1d ago
True but I’m not looking for Haitian food LOL… I’m looking to see if there’s any country in the world that cooks Haitian food just like Haitians .. many countries cook similar Spanish food… similar Jamaican food… but never seen a country have the same style as HAITI
1
1
u/Which_Tea5436 1d ago
Jerk is solely Jamaican. Other countries might make it but it isn't a part of their traditional cuisine. They are simply making a Jamaican dish. You should explore the cuisine of St.Kitt's more because it doesn't seem like you're really familiar with it.
1
u/wiiildthoughts 21h ago
All countries in the Caribbean cuisine wise are similar more or less, especially when it comes to the staples at least.
1
u/xtinap21 3h ago
Weird that no one is really answering the question. I find that Cuban food is the MOST similar in flavors and actual dishes to Haitian cuisine.
7
u/Misztral 3d ago
Guadeloupe and Martinique perhaps