Breadfruit is a large, round, green fruit that grows on tall trees across Saint Vincent. When it is roasted whole directly on hot coals or an open fire, the outside chars and blackens while the inside becomes fluffy and soft — almost like a baked potato but with a slightly sweet, nutty flavour. The smell of breadfruit roasting over a fire is one of the most recognisable scents in any Vincentian village.
Jackfish — also called yellowtail snapper in some parts of the Caribbean — are caught fresh each morning by local fishermen who set out before dawn in traditional wooden pirogues. The fish are cleaned, seasoned with garlic, lime, thyme and local herbs, then fried in hot oil until the skin is crispy and golden. Eating fish this fresh, just hours from the sea, has a completely different taste from anything you might find in a supermarket.
The dish is eaten at all times of day — as a hearty breakfast, a satisfying lunch or a relaxed family dinner. The breadfruit and fish are often served with a simple salad of cucumber, tomato and onion seasoned with lime juice. Many Vincentians will tell you this is the meal they miss most when they travel away from home.
The breadfruit tree itself has an interesting history. Captain William Bligh — famous for the mutiny on his ship the Bounty — brought breadfruit plants from Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean in 1793, hoping it would become a cheap, filling food source. He was right: it grew brilliantly and became central to the diet across the Caribbean islands.