Callaloo ( , ; many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux, or callalloo) is a plant used in popular dishes in many Caribbean countries, while for other Caribbean countries, a stew made with the plant is called callaloo. Cuisines, including the plant callaloo or dishes called callaloo, vary throughout the Caribbean. In countries such as Trinidad and Tobago or Grenada, the dish itself is called callaloo and uses

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

leaves (known by many local names such as 'dasheen bush', 'callaloo bush', or 'bush') or ''

Xanthosoma ''Xanthosoma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae. The genus is native to tropical America but widely cultivated and naturalized in other tropical regions. Several are grown for their starchy corms, an important food stap ...

'' leaves (known by many names, including ''cocoyam'' and ''tannia''). Since the leaf vegetable used in some regions differs, some confusion can arise among the vegetables with the dish itself. This, as is the case with many other Caribbean dishes, is a remnant of West African and Taino cuisine.

Etymology

There are two possible etymological origins for the word. The first deriving from Tupi ''caárurú'', meaning thick leaf. The other being from

Kimbundu Kimbundu, a Bantu language which has sometimes been called Mbundu or North Mbundu (to distinguish it from Umbundu, sometimes called South Mbundu), is the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in Angola. Its speakers are concentrated in the n ...

referring to okra, similar to the present use of the word in

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...

and São Tomean Portuguese.

Cooking variations

Trinbagonians, Grenadians, and Dominicans primarily use taro/ dasheen bush for callaloo, although Dominicans also use

water spinach ''Ipomoea aquatica'', commonly known as water spinach or kangkung, is a semi- aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. ''I. aquatica'' is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is wi ...

Jamaicans Jamaicans are the citizens of Jamaica and their descendants in the Jamaican diaspora. The vast majority of Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African descent, with minorities of Europeans, Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and others of mixed a ...

, Belizeans, St. Lucians, and Guyanese, on the other hand, use the name ''callaloo'' to refer to an indigenous variation of amaranth, and use it in a plethora of dishes and as a drink ("callaloo juice"). The "callaloo" made in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

is different from the "callaloo" made in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, and the rest of the Caribbean in terms of the main ingredient (the leaf used) and other ingredients included. Jamaicans tend to steam callaloo leaf with garlic, carrots, local powdered seasoning, tomatoes, salt, Scotch bonnet peppers, onions, scallions, thyme, sweet pepper, pimento, with or without salt fish or other meats and even in rice or their famous patty pastries. Trinidadians and Saint Lucians, however, use dasheen bush, okra, coconut milk, pumpkin, onions, bell peppers, local seasonings, and spices, along with crabs or pigtails. "Callaloo" in Trinidad is found in a variety of dishes, including callaloo soup or "

oil down Oil down is a salted meat and vegetable stew that is the national dish of Grenada. Description Oil down is a stew of breadfruit, salted meat, chicken, dumplings, callaloo, and other vegetables stewed in coconut milk, herbs, and spices. The na ...

". Callaloo is one of the

national dishes A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

and

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, although this soup can be found all around the Caribbean as one of the regional cuisine's "foodie favorites".

Plant sources for callaloo

Taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

, 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 (''

'') also called ''calalu'' or "yautía" in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual plant, annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some names include "prostrate pigweed" an ...

species include ''

Amaranthus spinosus ''Amaranthus spinosus'', commonly known as the spiny amaranth, spiny pigweed, prickly amaranth or thorny amaranth, is a plant that is native to the tropical Americas, but is present on most continents as an introduced species and sometimes a noxi ...

'' used in the West Indies; ''Amaranthus flavus'' is a yellow variety used in Brazil and known as ''caruru''; ''

Amaranthus viridis ''Amaranthus viridis'' is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as slender amaranth or green amaranth. Description ''Amaranthus viridis'' is an annual herb with an upright, light green stem that grows ...

'' in Jamaica; ''

Amaranthus tricolor ''Amaranthus tricolor'', known as edible amaranth, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Amaranthus'', part of the family Amaranthaceae. The plant is often cultivated for ornamental and culinary purposes. It is known as bireum in Kore ...

'' in the Caribbean *

Okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

, where in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

the plant is called Kalalou. Often prepared in a beef stew dish called ''sos béf ak kalalou'', or ''tomtom ak kalalou'' (breadfruit with kalalou). *

Pokeweed ''Phytolacca'' is a genus of perennial plants native to North America, South America and East Asia. Some members of the genus are known as pokeweeds or similar names such as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot or poke sallet. Other names for species ...

species, '' Phytolacca octandra'' or "West Indian foxglove" (no relation to garden foxglove, genus ''

Digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...

'') *

Nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

species, ''

Solanum americanum ''Solanum americanum'', commonly known as American black nightshade, small-flowered nightshade or glossy nightshade, is a herbaceous flowering plant of wide though uncertain native range. The certain native range encompasses the tropics and subtr ...

'' *

Water spinach ''Ipomoea aquatica'', commonly known as water spinach or kangkung, is a semi- aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. ''I. aquatica'' is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is wi ...

(''Ipomoea aquatica''; a form of

morning glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose taxonomy and systematics remain in flux. These species are distributed across numerous genus, gene ...

)

Callaloo recipes

Callaloo in Trinidad and Tobago and other eastern Caribbean countries is generally made with

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

and dasheen or water spinach ''Ipomoea aquatica''. There are many variations of callaloo which may include

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

conch Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ...

Caribbean lobster ''Metanephrops binghami'', the Caribbean lobster or Caribbean lobsterette, is a lobster that inhabits the western Atlantic region: from the Bahamas and southern Florida to French Guiana, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea Th ...

, meats, pumpkin,

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

s, and other

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, and/or salts, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Salt may ...

s such as chopped onions and garlic. The ingredients are added and simmered down to a somewhat stew-like consistency. When done, callaloo is dark green in colour and is served as 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, using indigenous (''Xanthosoma'') plants and modified with African influences, such as okra. (See

palaver sauce Palaver sauce or palava sauce or plasas is a type of stew widely eaten in West Africa, including Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone The word ''wiktionary:palaver, palaver'' comes from the Portuguese language and means a talk, lengthy debate or quarrel. ...

for the West African dish.) Trinidadians have embraced this dish from their ancestors and over time have added ingredients such as coconut milk to modify its flavour. Callaloo is mostly served as a side dish; for Trinidadians, Bajans, and Grenadians it usually accompanies rice, macaroni pie, and a meat of choice. In Guyana it is made in various ways without okra. In Jamaica, callaloo is often combined with

saltfish Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export of ...

or other meats, and is usually seasoned with garlic, carrots, local powdered seasoning, tomatoes, salt, scotch bonnet peppers, onions, scallions, thyme, sweet pepper, pimento and steamed. It is often eaten as a side dish with a full course meal, or as either breakfast or dinner with roasted breadfruit, boiled green bananas and dumplings, or bread. It is a popular and versatile dish that is even added to Jamaican patties, called vegetable/vegie/vagan patties, seasoned rice, as well as Fritters In Grenada, callaloo is steamed with garlic, onion and coconut milk and often eaten as a side dish. Grenadians also stir or blend the mixture until it has a smooth consistent texture. Callaloo soup comprising callaloo, okra (optional), dumplings, ground provision like yam, potato (sweet and "Irish") chicken and beef is traditionally eaten on Saturdays. It is also one of the most important ingredients in

, the island's national dish comprising steamed breadfruit, callaloo, dumplings, ground provision, carrot and several varieties of meat—salt fish, chicken, and pork. All of this is steamed in coconut milk and saffron powder. In the Virgin Islands, callaloo is served with a dish of

fungee Cou-cou, coo-coo (as it is known in the Windward Islands), or fungee (as it is known in the Leeward Islands and Dominica), makes up part of the national dishes of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands ...

on the side. In Guadeloupe, ''calalou au crabe'' (crab callaloo) is a traditional Easter dish. In St. Lucia, crab callaloo is also popular especially as part of the country's Creole day celebrations. Martinique and Guadeloupe also have a variety served with Creole rice and salt cod salad. A similar variation is the recipe called '' laing'' which is popular in the Philippines, mainly the Bicol region.

References

* Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Callaloo". p. 125 * Callaloo – Volume 30, Number 1, Winter 2007, pp. 351–368 �
Jamaican Versions of Callaloo

External links