South Pacific Cuisine

The Polynesian all time favourite, the coconut.

FIND GASTRO - HOTELS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

As islanders, the people of the south Pacific obtain most of their protein from eating fish, where they bake it, barbeque it, pickle it or even eat it raw. There are literally hundreds of types of fish to choose from within the Pacific Ocean, making their fish diet very varied with all sorts of deep sea fish, shell fish and reef fish.

The various fish dishes are often accompanied with local style breads or with vegetable staples that come in the form of yams, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, taro roots, taro leaves or plantains.

Desserts are nearly always in the form of some type of tropical fruit, of which there are many to choose from, including pineapples, coconuts, bananas, papayas, mangoes and melons.

Vegetables are also made into spicy pickles and fruits are made into succulent preserves or refreshing, long, cool drinks. A particular Pacific island favourite is a fruit smoothie made with coconut milk.

For special occasions south Pacific islanders will roast whole pigs or chickens and serve them with various vegetable dishes which are accompanied with thick creamy sauces which are then followed by a dessert of coconut cream pudding, fruit dumplings or doughnuts.

On the islands where large Indian or Chinese communities have migrated, many of the more traditional island dishes have been fused with various Indian and Chinese spices and foodstuffs, such as curries, soy sauce, chilli and seaweed.

In recent years, with global warming causing ever more terrifying cyclones and earthquakes triggering devastating tsunamis, islanders have found their food crops failing or being spoilt on a much more regular basis, leading to their governments having to buy supplies of convenience or processed foods from Australia and New Zealand.

On islands with large tourist industries locals have also gotten used to foreign foodstuffs sent to the islands for the tourists.

These imported foodstuffs have led to the islanders taking a great liking to fast food, tinned spam, corned beef and canned fizzy drinks and beer.

This increase in the consumption of sugary drinks, fast food, convenience foods and processed meats has led to a surge in obesity and obesity related medical problems such as diabetes amongst islanders.

The Polynesian staple, the taro root.

Where ever you travel in the south Pacific there is a good chance that you will be able to sample the more traditional Polynesian or Melanesian dishes, but on islands with a thriving tourist industry or large resort hotels, you may well find yourself being able to sample anything from five star haute cuisine to pizzas.

If you prefer European food the island of New Caledonia or the islands of French Polynesia may be more to your liking, where there are several French restaurants and French style cafes where local dishes are a unique fusion of French rustic and traditional Polynesian.

For a more unusual mix of Polynesia meets south America, Easter Island can offer visitors some interesting combinations of Spanish colonial, south American classical and traditional Polynesian cuisine. For more of a south American culinary experience, try Ecudor's Galapagos Islands, which has only an Ecuadorian population with no Polynesian influences.

In American Samoa, where most of the food eaten by the locals is typical Polynesian as described above, you will also be able to sample a large array of American foodstuffs, which can be bought from either local supermarkets or from restaurants and hotels.

However, for those of you who can't live without your regular fix of burger and fries, fear not, as there are MacDonalds fast food restaurants located in the cities of Noumea in New Caledonia, Apia in the Republic of Samoa, Pago Pago in American Samoa, Suva and Nadi in Fiji and Papeete on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia.

The Polynesian classic ota iki, raw fish served in coconut milk.

Image courtesy of Watashiwani, wikimedia commons.

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