Chapter 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.