Fungee is made by stirring cornmeal into boiling water with a special wooden stick until it becomes thick and smooth. The stirring needs to be fast and strong — cooks say you need a good arm to make proper fungee! It is then shaped into round balls or domed portions and served alongside the stew.
Pepperpot gets its deep flavour from a combination of leafy vegetables — often spinach, callaloo (a Caribbean green), or kale — cooked slowly with okra, spices, and sometimes salted fish or meat. The word 'pepperpot' refers to the pot in which it is cooked, which in Caribbean tradition was kept simmering on the stove and added to day after day.
Cornmeal arrived in the Caribbean from the Americas and became a staple ingredient because it was filling, easy to store, and could be grown locally. Today, fungee and pepperpot is eaten at home, at local restaurants, and at community celebrations. It is the dish most Antiguans say reminds them of home.
Every culture has dishes that are so tied to home that just the smell of them brings back memories. In Antigua, fungee and pepperpot is that dish. It is served at independence celebrations, family gatherings, and school lunch tables — a taste that belongs to the whole island.