Two Reflections on Making Callaloo in Trinidad: An Interview with Betty Laban and Angella Ramlachan

A. RAMLACHAN:

Bundle of rolled dasheen bush leaves
5 okras
1 coconut or 1 can of coconut milk
1/2 lb pig tail (pre-boiled to remove salt)
1 crab (fresh)
1 congo pepper

Clean dasheen leaves by tearing from stem, chop up (without including tips), and wash. Add enough water to cover in pot and boil. Wash, cut up, and add okras to pot. Wash and clean crab, put aside. Add all other ingredients and salt to taste, including whole pepper. After boiling, use swizzle stick or blender to mix. Put back on stove and add boiled meat and crab. You can add additional seasoning to taste including Golden Ray butter, chives and garlic, or burst the congo pepper for additional "heat."

N. RAMLACHAN: How long have you been making callaloo?

A. RAMLACHAN: I've been cooking callaloo for probably about fifty-five years since it was a staple for my family growing up, and then I made it as an adult. I was taught how to make it by my neighbors since my mother passed away when I was very young and continued to make it for my brothers and sisters, and then eventually for my own family. It is a tradition in my family. We started by eating it at our Spanish neighbors while I was growing up in the country, and they taught my family their recipes which we then took and substituted a few ingredients to match our tastes. It is common in Trinidad to have slight adaptations to general dishes depending on an individual family's taste. We make callaloo whenever we feel like it as it is more of an everyday dish, included as a weekly staple in most Trinidadian families irrespective of race or social standing. We usually also make it for big occasions, if you are having a large event, and for the traditional Sunday lunch, which is the biggest meal for the week and the one that people from all aspects of religious and cultural backgrounds in Trinidad would usually have with their family.

N. RAMLACHAN: How much does it cost to make it?

A. RAMLACHAN: A bunch of callaloo bush is $5.00TT; $20.00 for two crabs; Okra is $5.00 for the amount needed; $2.00 for a fresh raw coconut; $8.00 for coconut milk (pre-packaged); plus a congo pepper for $1.00. So, it would cost approximately $40.00 to feed about twenty people.

N. RAMLACHAN: In your opinion, who makes and eats callaloo?

A. RAMLACHAN: Callaloo is a dish of all people in Trinidad and Tobago. It began as a necessity of sorts with the more economically challenged people combining leftover ingredients in a soup form to maximize or "stretch" their meals, but now it is standard for all economic sects of the population. At present, everybody representing all aspects of Trinidadian social economic classes consume it regularly as it is a normal part of our diet. However, initially it began with the French/Spanish Creoles.

N. RAMLACHAN: In your opinion what is popularly thought about the dish?

A. RAMLACHAN: It is a local dish that belongs to Trinidadian culture. We are proud to have our own locally derived foods, and we enjoy eating callaloo especially as it is thought to be truly a "Trini ting."

N. RAMLACHAN: Do you know if it is made in tourist restaurants?

A. RAMLACHAN: Yes, callaloo is commonly served as a soup in hotel restaurants where tourists would usually visit. However, for the local people, it is more like a part of the meal and served over rice. It is commonly served at schools or cafeterias as it is a popular item with the locals.

N. RAMLACHAN: How do you select and acquire your ingredients?

A. RAMLACHAN: On the day you are going to make it, you get from the market live crabs and you buy young, soft dasheen leaves, preferably with the leaves rolled. Most of our vegetables and fruits and even fish or chicken are bought from...