After getting a feel for New England cuisine, we thought we'd take a look at a different--and slightly warmer--part of the eastern shoreline: Florida!
Florida cuisine has always taken full advantage of what the land and the sea has to offer. And why wouldn't they?! The flavors of the land pair so well with the flavors of the sea that finding ingredients that don't go together is near impossible. With practically a year-round growing season, fresh fruits and vegetables are always at hand! Think citrus. Think seafood so fresh it hardly needs to be cooked. Think mojitos on a humid Florida evening.
Can't you just taste the tropics?!
Clean, bright flavors are the name of the game in this part of the country! Here are some typical ingredients you'll find in a lot of the cuisine:
Fruit/Citrus:
Oranges
Limes
Key limes
Guavas
Mangoes
Tamarind
Bananas
Vegetables:
Yuca (aka Cassava, Manioc)
Plantain
Yam
Black Beans
Fish and Seafood:
Grouper
Snapper
Amberjack
Wahoo
Stone Crab
Conch
Shrimp
Spices/Flavorings:
Ginger
Cilantro
Mint
Your turn! What else would you add to our list?!
Related: Sense of Place: The Food of New England
(Images: Flickr members RunnerAlan2004, GreenColander, JennyHuang, and Luigig licensed under Creative Commons)
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Comments (4)
How can you have a list of Floridan foods without GATOR! There's also a fish called mullock, but I've never eaten it.
I'd also add strawberries to that list. We grow some of the most gorgeous early berries from the Tampa Bay area.
I don't know what "Floridian" cuisine is, but you can't compile a "Florida" list without including a lot of Cuban and other Latin American and Caribbean influences, so I'd also add pork and goat to our regional cuisines.
(PS I'm originally from New England, so these posts are amusing me).
You forgot Mahi which is one of my favorite florida food.
And I do believe Cuban food should have it's on category here because outside of Cuba and Florida it's hard to find great Cuban cuisine anywhere in the US.
Don't worry! Cuban cuisine will definitely be in our round-up of Florida recipes in a few days!
Goat and pork are good ingredients to add--thanks!
I know I'm late to the party... but I think I would add in Rum!