The Spice Necklace: My Adventures in Caribbean Cooking, Eating, and Island Life
Product Description
While sailing around the Caribbean, Ann Vanderhoof and her husband Steve track wild oregano-eating goats in the cactus-covered hills of the Dominican Republic, gather nutmegs on an old estate in Grenada, make searing-hot pepper sauce in a Trinidadian kitchen, cram for a chocolate-tasting test at the University of the West Indies, and sip moonshine straight out of hidden back-country stills.
Along the way, they are befriended by a collection of unforgettable island characters: Dwight, the skin-diving fisherman who always brings them something from his catch and critiques her efforts to cook it; Greta, who harvests seamoss on St. Lucia and turns it into potent Island-Viagra; sweet-hand Pat, who dispenses hugs and impromptu dance lessons along with cooking tips in her Port of Spain kitchen.
Back in her galley, Ann practices making curry like a Trini, dog sauce like a Martiniquais, and coo-coo like a Carriacouan. And for those who want to take these adventures into their own kitchens, she pulls 71 delicious recipes from the stories she tells, which she places at the end of the relevant chapters.
The Spice Necklace is a wonderful escape into a life filled with sunshine (and hurricanes), delicious food, irreplaceable company, and island traditions.
A Look at The Spice Necklace
(Click on Images to Enlarge)
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Photos from the Islands
 Fresh lobster for dinner |  Nutmeg and mace come from the same tree. |  A seamoss farmer with a jug of seamoss drink |
 Author Ann Vanderhoof drinking coconut water |  Cassia bark is rolled and pressed by hand to form cinnamon sticks |  Cooking oregano infused goat |
Spicy Bites: A Taste of The Spice Necklace
1. Wild oregano is a mainstay in the diet of goats that graze in the hills at the northwest edge of the Dominican Republic--which means the meat comes to the kitchen preseasoned, and infused with flavor.
2.Seamoss is a type of seaweed that is reputed in the Caribbean to be a potent aphrodisiac, the island version of Viagra. Itâs dried, boiled until thick, then mixed with milk and spices (such as cinnamon and nutmeg). One restaurant in Grenada calls its version of the milkshake-like seamoss drink âStay Up.â
3. Nutmeg and mace come from the same tree. When its apricot-like fruit is ripe, it splits open to reveal a lacy, strawberry-red wrapper around the hard glossy brown shell that holds the nutmeg itself. This waxy red corset is mace, and more than 300 pounds of nutmegs are needed to yield a single pound of it.
4. On the Scoville scale of pepper heat, Trinidadian Congo peppers rate about 300,000 units. Even the most fiery Mexican jalapeño only measures about 8,000.
5. Coconut water--the clear liquid inside a young or "jelly" coconut--has the same electrolyte balance as blood and was given intravenously to wounded soldiers as an emergency substitute for plasma during World War II. Coconut water is also better than energy drinks for rehydration, replenishing electrolytes and minerals such as potassium. For the same reasons, it's used as a hangover cure in the Caribbean.
6. Much of the ground cinnamon sold in North America is actually cassia, which is the variety of cinnamon grown in the Caribbean. Cassia has a stronger, more pungent flavor than true cinnamon. Once a year, the trees are harvested by carefully peeling the bark away from the branches. After the outer layer is removed, the inner bark is dried in the sun. As it dries, it begins to curl into sticks, and then is rolled and pressed by hand to complete the process.
7.The aroma of allspice is a sensuous combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper-- which leads to the common misconception that it is a blend of several spices. In fact, allspice is a single spice-- the dried berry of a tree that is native only to the West Indies and Central America. Jamaica produces 90% of the world's supply; Grenada, the remaining 10%.
8. To make removing coconut meat from the shell easier, bore holes in two of the eyes of the coconut using a pointed utensil and drain the liquid. Bake the nut in a preheated 400° F oven for 15â20 minutes. This cracks the shell and shrinks the meat slightly, so it virtually pops out.
9. Mauby, a popular West Indian drink, has a proven ability to reduce high blood pressure. It's made by steeping the bark of a native Caribbean tree with spices such as bay, cinnamon, star anise, and fennel.
10. Vanilla is the world's second most costly spice (after saffron). Not only do most vanilla flowers have to be hand-pollinated to produce beans, but the beans also have to be fermented and aged to develop their flavor. Straight off the vine, they're odorless and tasteless.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Rating
Most of us at some point in our lives want to shuck it all and take off for the Great Unknown on the adventure of a lifetime. Some of us are lucky enough to get to do just exactly that – to ride the rapids of the Grand Canyon or climb Mt. Everest or stand on a glacier in Alaska. Ann Vanderhoof and her husband dreamed of exploring the Caribbean. One day they packed up their sailboat and took off on the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way they learned how to taste chocolate, made friends on the island where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed, danced in the Carneval parade, went diving for fish and learned to cook the foods of the islands from the best cooks they could find.
Ann’s account of their travels is riveting and her recipes are mouthwatering. Better yet, the ingredients for nearly all of them are easily had at almost any supermarket. Kudos for a job well done. I can’t wait to see a sequel. Matter of fact, I might just hunt up a copy of the prequel – An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude.
I do have one minor complaint: my Advance Reader Copy has no index to the recipes!
Rating
I love to take sailing vacations, so reading about the sailing trip through the caribbean was almost like going on the vacation myself. This would make a wonderful take to the beach book. Interesting, entertaining, and when you are done, you have some interesting recipes. Some of the recipes were not exactly my taste so I took away a star for that, but overall an enjoyable book.
Rating
“Spice Necklace” will be a fascinating read for anyone who has spent a few vacation days in the Caribbean in a self-contained resort but wondered about the real daily world of the island people all around them. Ann Vanderhoof and her husband did not just go on vacation; they put their jobs in Toronto on hold, bought a 40 foot sailboat, and sailed from island to island for several years – an idyllic way of life. This is their second major book reporting their travels. The organizing principle of the trips was to seek out local foods, their ingredients and preparation. This they learned first hand by forming a series of relationships with locals as they sailed around the ‘necklace.’
But the book is more than a foodie tour. Vanderhoof is a lively, curious writer and a talented reporter who does not shy away from gritty realities. Her observations of local life include some unforgettable vignettes. At the frontier between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, she describes hundreds of desperately poor Haitian women pouring across the border for market day where they trade excess donated goods for badly needed foodstuffs. One Haitian woman crosses back with a huge crate of live chickens balanced on her head and liquid running down her back – which the author realizes is not sweat but chicken urine. A memorable image. There is also a hilarious passage where the author and her girlfriend fixate on the anatomy of a local man as he swims out to recover some seaweed, making her husband a bit jealous.
The book does include recipes, and they are tempting; who would not be intrigued to try “Dog Sauce” or “Oildown?” Unfortunately it will be difficult to replicate these without access to the local ingredients, which are available only in a few Caribbean expatriate communities in North America. The recipes do add to the understanding of island life and the diverse ways of life which emerged from the mixture of African slaves and European colonies. I started out intending to just skim the book but ended up reading it to the end to learn about a world which is nearby the US in miles but lightyears away in culture.
Highly recommended.
Rating
I love this book so much… The author talks about living on a boat and visiting various Caribbean islands. I would so love to live her life; the idea of living on a boat and traveling from island to island is alluring.
It is fascinating to learn about the islands and learning about the foods is a bonus. The foods sound very fresh and different, in a good way. I’ve made a batch of geera pork and it was fabulous. It starts by caramelizing sugar in oil and browning the meat in it. That gives the stew a deep and intense flavor I’ve never tasted before. I’ve also tried a corn soup that was great.
The books also discusses a black cake, made in Trinidad. It is a traditional Christmas treat. Although there isn’t a recipe for it in this book I was so taken by its description I found a recipe online and my fruit is soaking (for at least a month) and I will make it soon.
Other recipes I’ve enjoyed are Seafood stuffed cocktail bites (shrimp or lobster), plantain crusted chicken fingers with green seasoning and lime squares.
I’m very pleased that I had a chance to review this book and I look forward to trying more recipes as well as reading her first book, “An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude”.
Rating
The Spice necklace is a collection of spices known to distinct countries in the Caribbean. Each spice is interwoven between natural beads, such as nutmeg with its cover of mace. They are colorful and fragrant. You can hang them in your kitchen or whatever room or place that you define.
Ann and her husband lived in Toronto as magazine editors. They had a 42 foot sailboat, The Cecheta, which means recipes in Spanish. They used the sailboats for weekend getaways and trips. One of their trips took them to the Caribbean for two years. Along the way they met many people and made friend boats. They were curious about the cultures and the food and asked questions. Their curiosity was rewarded with significant answers that made many new friends and many wonderful new recipes . But, alas they had to return home to make money to fund their next trip. At home they found they felt claustrophobic in their enclosed home and the Caribbean called them.
After six long years the call to the Caribbean was answered. They shipped their sailboat to Florida, and then flew to Florida. They sailed to Grenada, the land of nutmeg. And, then on to the Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Haiti, St Martin, St Kitts, Martinique, Tobago, St. Lucia, Guadalupe, and the Island of All Saints. Interspersed throughout each chapter are a collection of 71 recipes . Each recipe is pertinent to the country. The book is filled with wonderful spices and I could almost smell the aromas. At one point, they are invited to a oildown, which is a combination of vegetables, meats and spices mixed together into a very rich mix. The mixture of wonderful story -telling and recipes is not new, but this is one of the better combinations of this type of book. The lure of the Caribbean and the stories of the cultures and the people are so well written that I can feel and smell the food and best of all, the spices. The blue of the Caribbean and the soft brown of the nutmeg, what could be better?
Recommended. prisrob 04-14-10
An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude
Rating
I must admit I was way more interested in the recipes in this book than the stories of the author’s travels! I’m very interested in the unique flavor combinations of caribbean cooking. There is a handy list of all 71 recipes in the front of the book. I don’t eat chicken, beef, pork, or lamb, and here are the recipes I look forward to making:
Coconut chips
Grenada-style ginger peanuts
Lobster pizza
Twice-fried green plantains with garlic-cilantro aioli dip
Wendy’s spicy smoked herring spread
Cocoa tea
Ginger tea
Receta’s ginger beer
Miss Pat’s pepper shrimp
Seared tuna with a cocoa crust
Trini-style curry shrimp
Creamed spinach with coconut milk
Rosa’s avocado salad
Stewed lentils with pumpkin
Watercress and avocado salad with spicy shrimp
Chocolate-crammed Christmas cookies
Ginger spice cookies
Tart and sweet lime squares
There are also lots of recipes with meat in them. If you love the caribbean and want to read about it and try some authentic recipes, this would be a great book for you!!!
Rating
This book is a travelogue of a couple who spent a few years sailing and cooking their way around the Carribean. The book is fashioned in a semi-chronological order, covering the islands they traveled to one chapter at a time. The stories that the author tells in the book are delightful, chronicling her friendship with loving Carribeans who welcomed her into their kitchens and homes, sharing their lives and recipes with her.
The recipes are interleaved within the relevant chapters and the author helpfully suggests alternative ingredients and methods that may be more accessible to the North American reader. At times, the tone of the writing can get indulgent, but seriously, this is a book about sailing in the Carribean. So sit back, relax, have a chilled drink within reach and enjoy this delightful read.
Rating
This book is the result of a second journey to the Caribbean Isles of the author and her husband. They dock their ship the Receta in various ports along their way and live for a time on various islands. They meet up with friends they made on the previous trip as well as make new ones on the way. On their journey they sample the local food and spend time to learn how to cook it, to the satisfaction of the locals no less.
The following table of contents chapters give you a sense of what the book is about: (Please note, since this is an advance reader’s copy, it could change)
Preface: The spell of the spice necklace
1: The Nutmeg Gatherers
2: Self-Spicing Goats
3: The Egg Ladies
4: The 151-Proof Spice
5: Bay in the Mountains, Crabs in the Pot
6: The Food Critics Visit the Easy Bake Boat
7: Rolling Rice and Drinking Jack Iron Rum
8: Curry Tablanca
9: Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot
10: Cramming for a Chocolate Tasting Test
11: Snow on the Mountains, Christmas on the Way
12: All Ah We is One
13: In Search of Passion
14: Barks That Bite
15: Dog Sauce and Rhum
16: Lunch with Moses
18: Back to the Isle of Spice
You get an idea that each chapter covers a particular spice or food item, person or a meal. Each chapter ends with a set of recipes in both English and Metric measures and considering typical North American ingredients (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!). At least I can get close to creating some of the wonderful meals I have read about.
As with any foreign travel, there are cultural differences and the author wonderfully captures the flavor of the Islands from the laid back feel (liming) to the way of speech: the colloquialisms (“sweet hand” to describe a good island cook) to capturing the long drawn out way the islanders say her name (Ahnn).
You can also see despite the poverty, generosity is a way of life. People opened their kitchens and their lives to these strangers and we are the richer for it. The book is filled with stories of hard-working fisherman, successful collectives and a resilient people. It also is quite comical listening to the author describe their SDJ and how depending on it’s condition, determines the direction they travel. I’ll let the book explain that.
As I was reading this book there was many a passage I had to read aloud (to anyone who would listen) to explain my laughter. The author allows herself to bear the brunt of the humor at times and we get a true sense of her interactions with the locals. It is clear these people have found a place in her heart and I can also see why she and her husband would put such effort in returning there.
Soon, I hope to try out some of these recipes. There are 71 all told and only a few have ingredients that will need a Caribbean grocer to fulfill.
I certainly hope the Receta is getting ready for another voyage soon.
Rating
If you’ve ever dreamed of living on a sailboat, then this is a good book for you. I have dreamed the dream and have been lucky enough to visit all of the islands Ann talks about in her wonderful book. She nails the live a board life, but more than that, she nails the flavor of the islands. Anyone who’s been leaves a part of themselves when they leave and brings something new back home. And the longer you stay, the more you leave and the more you bring back.
For me, with it’s vibrant lifestyle, laid back attitude and just plain zest for life, Trinidad is the jewel of the Caribbean, so I particularly enjoyed Ann’s “Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot” chapter and “Miss Pat’s Pepper Sauce”, which is much better than anything you can buy in an American supermarket. Hotter too.
In addition to bringing living on a sailboat to life, Ann peppers the book with delightfully delicious Caribbean recipes, any one of which would justify the purchase of this book. Ann Vanderhoof has delivered a real treat, in more ways than one.