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Last Updated on July 5, 2025 by Tiffany
Mek wi bring back traditional Caribbean food making methods! In the current age of convenience, there are plenty of food items that can be bought pre-made. While this saves time, it can sadly lead to a loss of culture. Also, you can’t control the ingredients in ready made foods and lots of them are loaded with sugar or salt.
Here are my absolute favorite Caribbean and Jamaican staples to make rooms scratch!
Browning Sauce
An absolute staple in so many Afro Caribbean islands! Its actually cheaper to make this from home instead of store-bought as well!
Homemade Browning Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar or sugar of choice
- 1/2 Cup Room Temp Water separated into two
Instructions
- Make sure you're wearing an oven mit or heat safe glove to protect the hand thats holding the pot. Sugar burns are NOT fun!Put your brown sugar into a small sauce pan on medium heat. Stir this vigorously for about 45 seconds so that each sugar bit is touching the heat. Now, allow the sugar to sit untouched for about 30 seconds. You will start to see the sugar melt in some patches. Continue to stir on and off every couple of seconds. The goal is to get the sugar to melt without burning it. It will take about 5 minutes for the sugar to fully melt.
- Once the sugar has fully melted and liquified, it will turn a gorgeous golden brown color. Continue to alternate between stirring and leaving it alone every few seconds for the next 5 minutes. You will start to see dark brown bubbles appear and the mixture may even start to smoke. Stay calm, you can do this.
- Rapidly, you will see the sugar turn from a golden caramel color to a dark woodsy brown within a couple of seconds. The sugar will kind of go from being a dense liquid to a light, fluffy, and almost airy liquid. See the video below for explanation. This is when the major color change happens.Once the browning color turns to a deep dark brown (almost black), turn off the heat.SLOWLY add in half of your room temp water. We're not using hot water for this recipe. As soon as the water touches the browning, the mixture will bubble up and possibly sputter. Stay calm, you're all good, it's just ~science~. Be safe and mind yuh face.
- Once you've stirred in that water, turn the heat back on medium low. Add in the rest of your water and allow the browning to simmer for the next 35 minutes. Once finished, the browning will look extremely glossy. The browning sauce will still be liquid because it is hot. Once it cools, it will turn into the thick, runny browning texture Jamaican and Caribbean people know and love. Store in a heat safe mason jar and enjoy the fruit of your labor!
Notes
Green Seasoning
Not as common in Jamaica but extremely popular in countries like Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, and Grenada. It adds an extremely delicious and refreshing taste to curries, stews, and more.
Caribbean Green Seasoning
Ingredients
- 1/2 Bunch Parsley
- 1 Bunch Cilantro
- 1 Yellow Onion small
- 1/2 Thumb Ginger
- 2 Celery Sticks
- 1.5 Scotch Bonnet Pepper take out the seeds, they're spicy!
- 12 Cloves Fresh Garlic
- 8 Jamaican Pimento Seeds
- 10 Fresh Thyme stem removed
- 1 Lime squeezed
- 5 Scallion
- 1/4 Cup Water or olive oil
Instructions
- Pull the thyme leaves off the stem and leave your scotch Bonnet while if you want it spicy or remove the seeds for a milder sauce. Chop your fresh herbs to fit into your food processor and blender.
- Feel free to add salt to your mixture or leave out if you want a salt free seasoning. Place all your ingredients into your machine and pulse while slowly pouring water in until the desired consistency has been reached. Tip** I prefer to use a food processor because I like my green seasoning slightly chunky with some texture as opposed to a smooth paste.
Coconut Condensed Milk
Nowadays with veganism trending throughout the world, you can certainly buy dairy free condensed milk, but sometimes it’s hard to find or very expensive. This coconut condensed milk is cheap, easy, and ready in under 30 minutes.
Healthy Homemade Milo
Milo is extremely popular in various Caribbean and African countries for good reason- it tastes delicious! However, there is dairy and a LOT of sugar in their powde.r I chose to make my own homemade recipe that’s fully vegan and just as delicious!
Dairy Free Peanut Punch (no alcohol)
In Jamaica and countries with high Caribbean populations, you can easily purchase a ready made peanut punch at the grocery store. But take a Quick Look at those ingredients and you might think twice. This homemade recipe is fair/alcohol free, and add in a likkle Irish moss for a nutrient boost too!
Homemade Hot Sauce (with mango & habanero)
Hot sauce is typically cheap to buy in stores, but they tend to have a lot of hot sauce. This easy to make homemade hot sauce is made with a base of mango and scotch bonnet/habanero peppers and tastes incredible!
