Breadfruit: A versatile, starchy, staple of the Saint Lucian diet, the breadfruit is the large, roundish, green fruit of a tree said to be brought to the Caribbean from the South Pacific by Captain Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame). No beach party is complete without a roasted breadfruit over a traditional three stone fire pit. It can be boiled, sliced and eaten plain, or fried, or mashed and turned into breadfruit pie by adding milk, cheese, onions, etc. and baking it.Another delicious twist is to take the mashed breadfruit, roll it in crumbs and deep fry it into golden, crispy breadfruit balls.

Green Figs: Not a fig at all, green figs are the name Saint Lucians give to unripe bananas. Sold by the ‘hand’ (a bunch ranging from 12-20 individual bananas) they have the texture and taste of potatoes when boiled. Saint Lucia’s national dish is salt fish with green figs. Boiled, cut into bite-sized pieces along with mixed veg, onions, green onions and a touch of mayo, it makes a great green fig salad. They are so versatile and tasty, it is a wonder any of them every stay around long enough to get ripe.

Plantain: The pointy-ended cousin of the banana, plantains are another one of the main starchy foods served with most local meals. When ripe, they are sliced and fried for a slightly sweet accompaniment. Green plantains can be sliced very thin and deep fried into crispy, salty plantain chips great for snacking. Plantains can also be turned into flour that for baked goods and porridge.

Pigeon Peas: Delicious, nutritious and ubiquitous, pigeon peas grow on shrubby trees that can spring up almost anywhere, including in poor soil. Their yellow flowers turn into pods with iron-rich peas that are always there to ‘full your belly’ and add protein to diets when times are tough. They can be cooked green or you can let the pods dry and prepare them like a dried bean, for example, added to rice.

Salt fish: A staple of Saint Lucian cuisine, salt fish has come from very humble beginnings as a cheap food source that wouldn’t spoil in tropical climates to become a national favorite. Whitefish such as cod are split, salted and shipped with the skin on. To prepare salt fish, you start by soaking it overnight and pouring off the water to take out some of the salt, then putting it to boil until tender enough for the meat to fall off the bones. After picking out all the bones, salt fish can be enjoyed any number of ways; turned into the traditional filling for bakes, added to salads or breadfruit pie, or stewed with green figs to become Saint Lucia’s national dish.

Sea moss: Found growing wild on the ocean reefs or ‘farmed’ by ‘planting’ it on ropes suspended by plastic bottles in Laborie Bay, sea moss is an ingredient in several Saint Lucian food favorites. After rinsing it and drying it in the sun for several days, it can be boiled and turned into a thick, tasty drink along with milk, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add a little strong white rum and you have sea moss punch. Sea moss is reputed to have an ‘invigorating’ effect on men, and some will even add bwa bandé to the drink to double that effect. You can enjoy sea moss all day, from sea moss porridge for breakfast to sea moss ice cream for dessert.