Callaloo

Callaloo

Callaloo (sometimes calaloo) is a Caribbean dish that is most popular in Guyana, Barbados, Grenada, Haiti, Dominica, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The main ingredient is a leaf vegetable, traditionally either amaranth (known by many local names including callaloo or bhaaji), or taro or "Xanthosoma" species (both known by many names including callaloo, coco, tannia, or dasheen bush). Because the leaf vegetable used in some regions may be locally called "callaloo" or "callaloo bush", some confusion can arise among the different vegetables and with the dish itself. Outside of the Caribbean, water spinach is occasionally used.

Jamaicans use the name callaloo to refer to amaranth, and use it in a plethora of dishes and also a drink ('callaloo juice').

Plant sources for Callaloo leaves

*Taro - also called "dasheen" in the West Indies the leaves of this root crop are used in the Trinidadian version of the dish
*Tannia or Malanga called "calalu" in Puerto Rico
*Amaranth species include "Amaranthus spinosus" used in the West Indies; "A. flavus" is a yellow variety used in Brazil and known as "caruru"
*Pokeweed species, "Phytolacca octandra" or "West Indian foxglove" (no relation to garden foxglove, species "Digitalis")
*Nightshade species, "Solanum nodiflorum"
*Water spinach, "Ipomoea aquatica" (a form of morning-glory)

Callaloo is almost always made with okra and dasheen or water spinach "Ipomoea aquatica". There are many variations of callaloo which may include coconut milk, crab, Caribbean lobster, meats, chili peppers, and other seasonings such as chopped onions and garlic. The ingredients are added and simmered down to a somewhat slimy (from the okra) soup or stew consistency. When done, callaloo is dark green in color and is served as a soup or a side dish which may be used as a gravy for other food.

Callaloo is widely known throughout the Caribbean and has a distinctively Caribbean origin, created by African slaves using ideas of the indigenous people along with both African (okra) and indigenous ("Xanthosoma") plants. Trinidadians have embraced this dish, from their ancestors and over time have added ingredients such as coconut milk to improve its excellence. Callaloo is mostly served as a side dish, for Trinidadians it usually accompanies rice, macaroni pie, and a meat of choice. This meal is typically prepared and eaten for a Sunday lunch.

References

Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Callaloo". p. 125 ISBN 0-19-211579-0

External links

* [http://www.jamaicans.com/cooking/soup/peppot.shtml Pepperpot Soup]
* [http://recipes.caribseek.com/Trinidad_and_Tobago/callaloo.shtml Callaloo Recipe]
* [http://www.b-v-i.com/Cooking/Callaloo/default.htm Callaloo]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • callaloo — [ka΄lə lo͞o′, ka′lə lo͞o΄] n. 1. the leaves of the taro, or, sometimes, other plants, cooked and eaten as a vegetable 2. a West Indian stew or soup made with this vegetable and, typically, crabmeat, okra, pork, and coconut milk …   English World dictionary

  • callaloo — [ˌkalə lu:] (also callalou) noun 1》 the spinach like leaves of a tropical American plant, widely used in Caribbean cookery.     ↘a soup or stew made with callaloo leaves. 2》 the plant from which callaloo leaves are obtained. [Genus Xanthosoma.]… …   English new terms dictionary

  • callaloo — noun Etymology: Caribbean English, perhaps ultimately of African origin; akin to Caribbean Spanish calalú callaloo (greens and dish), Brazilian Portuguese carurú, Haitian Creole kalalou okra Date: 1892 1. the edible young green leaves of a plant… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Callaloo (disambiguation) — Callaloo can mean:* Callaloo, a Caribbean dish sometimes called pepperpot * The Callaloo Journal * Amaranth * Coco ** Taro ** Malanga …   Wikipedia

  • Callaloo (journal) — Infobox Journal title = Callaloo discipline = African American studies, Literature, African studies abbreviation = CAL website = http://callaloo.tamu.edu/ publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press country = USA history = 1976 to present ISSN =… …   Wikipedia

  • callaloo — /kal euh looh , kal euh looh /, n. Southern Cookery. a thick soup of crabmeat, greens, and various seasonings. [1695 1700; cf. Jamaican E calalu any of a variety of greens used as an ingredient in soup < AmerSp calalú, Pg carurú, said to be …   Universalium

  • callaloo — noun /kæləˈluː/ a) Any of various tropical plants grown in the Americas, especially of the genus Xanthosoma, cultivated for their edible leaves. b) A spicy soup or stew made from such leaves …   Wiktionary

  • callaloo — n. Caribbean thick soup (made with crab meat, okra, green peppers, coconut milk, onions and seasoning); confusion …   English contemporary dictionary

  • callaloo — cal·la·loo …   English syllables

  • callaloo — cal•la•loo [[t]ˌkæl əˈlu, ˈkæl əˌlu[/t]] n. coo a thick soup of crabmeat, greens, and seasonings • Etymology: 1695–1700; cf. Jamaican E calalu greens used in soup < AmerSp calalú, Pg carurú, said to be < Tupi caárurú thick leaf …   From formal English to slang

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