VI.
EVERYBODY eats akras;—they sell at a cent apiece. The akra is a
small fritter or pancake, which may be made of fifty different
things,—among others codfish, titiri, beans, brains, choux-caraïbes,
little black peas (poix-zié-nouè, "black-eyed peas"),
or of crawfish (akra-cribîche). When made of carrots, bananas,
chicken, palm-cabbage, etc. and sweetened, they are called
marinades. On first acquaintance they seem rather greasy for so
hot a climate; but one learns, on becoming accustomed to tropical
conditions, that a certain amount of oily or greasy food is both
healthy and needful.
First among popular vegetables are beans. Red beans are
preferred; but boiled white beans, served cold with vinegar and
plenty of oil, form a favorite salad. Next in order of
preferment come the choux-caraïbes, patates, zignames, camanioc,
and cousscouche: all immense roots,—the true potatoes of the
tropics. The camanioc is finer than the choux-caraïbe, boils
whiter and softer: in appearance it resembles the manioc root
very closely, but has no toxic element. The cousscouche is the
best of all: the finest Irish potato boiled into sparkling flour
is not so good. Most of these roots can be cooked into a sort of
mush, called migan: such as migan-choux, made with the choux-caraïbe;
migan-zignames, made with yams; migan-cousscouche,
etc.,—in which case crabs or shrimps
are usually served with the
migan. There is a particular fondness for the little rosy crab
called
tourlouroux, in patois
touloulou.
Migan is also made
with bread-fruit. Very large bananas or plantains are boiled with
codfish, with
daubes, or meat stews, and with eggs. The bread-
fruit is a fair substitute for vegetables. It must be cooked
very thoroughly, and has a dry potato taste. What is called the
fleu-fouitt-à-pain, or "bread-fruit flower"—a long pod-shaped
solid growth, covered exteriorly with tiny seeds closely set as
pin-heads could be, and having an interior pith very elastic and
resistant,—is candied into a delicious sweetmeat.
