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Floribbean cuisine refers to a fusion cuisine found in Florida with an emphasis on fresh regional ingredients and complex medleys of spices, especially strong flavors offset by milder ones. Floribbean-style cooking incorporates an exotic spice pantry: red curry, lemongrass, ginger, and scallions are as commonly used today in Floribbean cookery as grits and cobbler are in other parts of Florida. Foundationally, its bedrock is Conch, Black, Spanish and Cuban regional cooking, with heavy Asian influences.

History and influences

In the 1950's, following the Cuban Revolution, a significant influx of Cuban refugees to South Florida spurred the development of Floribbean cuisine. Early advocates were characterized by the so-called "Mango Gang," a group of South Florida chefs that included Norman Van Aken, Mark Militello, Douglas Rodriguez, and Allen Susser, who advocated the use of fresh local ingredients with Caribbean influences. Following a second influx of Cuban immigrants in the 1980s, these chefs and others in the state formalized Floribbean cuisine. Floribbean cooking often uses less spicy heat than the Caribbean dishes that inspire it, but there is extensive use of several kinds of peppers. This pungency, however, is almost always moderated by the use of mango, papaya, rum, almond, coconut, key lime, or honey.

Latin-Floribbean cuisine mixes Floribbean cuisine with Latin-American cuisine, resulting in strong Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican influences.

See also

  • Cuisine of Florida
  • Cuisine of the Southern United States

References

Bibliography

  • Hartz, Deborah (2004). "What Goes Around..." South Florida Sun Sentinel. March 25.
  • Lang, John (2007). "America, the Melting Pot." Foodservice Director. August 15.
  • Parseghian, Pamela (2002). "Hunger for new tastes drives Caribbean menu influences." Nation's Restaurant News.
  • Richman, Alan (2004). Fork it over: the Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater. New York: HarperCollins.
  • Bennett, Michael (2009) "In the Land of Misfits, Pirates and Cooks". The Professional Image