 
| Virgin Islands Food & Drinks Food and drinks are an important part of Virgin Island's culture. Every festival, party, graduation, birth, wedding or holiday celebration must have food! Local foods in the Virgin Islands include an assortment of Caribbean dishes. It is common to find American dishes, restaurants with various cuisines and fast food restaurants in the Virgin Islands. Drinks
There are a number of popular health and fruit drinks common to the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. Seamoss is a popular drink made of seaweed that is boiled until it dissolves and then mixed with milk and spices. Mauby is made by boiling mauby bark with spices including cinnamon and is a local favorite. Other favorites include; passionfruit juice, pumpkin punch, sorrel, soursop punch, banana punch, coconut water, peanut punch, bush tea and lemon tea among others. Caribbean Food
The first known inhabitants of the Caribbean region were Indians and from them European settlers gained knowledge of local fruits and vegetables. The Indians raised ground provisions like cassava and knew how to make bread from it. While most of the indigenous Indian cuisine has not survived, their influence is still apparent. One of the enduring cooking methods the Indians used was barbecue!
When slavery was abolished many laborers abandoned the fields leaving a need for workers. European nations adopted a system of indentured servants which were often from China and India; the new groups brought more cooking styles to the Caribbean. One dramatic and lasting result of Indian migration to the Caribbean is a spice mixture called curry. Curry dishes have become popular in Caribbean cuisine. Caribbean cooking has many dishes. The best cooks are often the older women in the community. Asking for a recipe is often pointless as they do not cook with recipes but rather with memory and taste; they add a little of this and a little that and create masterpieces. Fish soup is popular and on some islands it is eaten for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner! Callaloo soup is another popular dish; it is made of leaves from a daheen plant mixed with okra, local herbs and often various meats or seafoods. Stewed oxtail, beef, goat and chicken are all popular. Saltfish is favorite as a dish or in pates. Side dishes include rice and peas, yams, fried plantains, dasheen, sweet potato, cassava, beans and lentils. Below you will find a few recipes for island favorites! RecipesMeat PateStep I. Pastry4 cups flour 4 level tablespoons unsalted vegetable shortening 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup water Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in shortening with knives or pastry blender. Add water gradually to form a soft dough. Knead gently on a floured board for a few minutes. Cover and let rest for about 10 minutes. Shape into small balls, roll out and cut into size circles desired for turnovers. Step II. Filling Step III. Prepare and Cook FungiIngredients: Directions: SorrelIngredients: Put water and ginger slices in a large saucepan. Cover and boil well for 3 minutes. Place sorrel, cloves and orange peel in a jar with boiling ginger-water mixture. Allow mixture to sit for 24 hours. Strain the mixture and sweeten to taste (Sorrel is quite tart, so a couple cups of sugar may be necessary.) Add rum. Pour liquid into glass bottle adding a few grains of rice to each bottle. The grains of rice are said to help quicken fermentation. Leave bottles of sorrel un-chilled for a minimum of 24 hours before serving. Purchase a Caribbean Cookbook and Seasonings!
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Rum, rum and more rum! Throughout the Caribbean, every major
island has its own varieties of rum. Rum is distilled directly from
sugar cane or molasses. As such rum was originally manufactured
along side sugar on sugar plantations in the Caribbean. Today the
Virgin Islands are well known for Cruzan Rum, manufactured
on St. Croix. 
The foods common to the Virgin Islands today and to the Caribbean
are a result of interactions between the indigenous Indians and
Europeans during the early years of exploration in the Caribbean
region, Europeans and Africans during years of colonization and through interactions between immigrants from
neighboring islands and Americans in more recent times. 
In the early days of colonization in the Caribbean two groups with
vastly different cooking styles and ingredients lived together;
Europeans and Africans. The Europeans brought recipes and food
products like beef, onions, garlic and wheat that were unknown to
the region. They also brought many food items that are today
synonymous with the islands such as breadfruits,
limes, mangos and sugar cane. With the importation of African
slaves came new crops like okra and new cooking styles. From the
Americas came beans, corn, potatoes and varying types of
peppers. 
Purchase a Caribbean Cookbook or Bartending book. Books
include recipes for breakfast, snacks, appetizers, soups,
salads, pastas, fish, sweets, cocktails and much more.
Several cookbooks and drink books to choose from.
Pick up some wonderful island seasonings. Selection includes Island Fish,
Tropical Chicken, Caribbean Jerk Seasoning, West Indies Herbs, Caribbean BBQ, West Indies Curry Powder and Pure
Vanilla. 
