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Hops Bread
Small, round Trinidad bread rolls with a thin, crisp crust and a soft, airy inside. Split warm for ham and hops at Christmas.
Recipe category
Trini Christmas
Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago has its own taste: pastelles wrapped in banana leaf, dark rum-soaked black cake, ham and hops with chow chow, and glasses of sorrel, ginger beer and ponche de crème. Here are the recipes for the season, from the drinks you start weeks ahead to Christmas morning breakfast.
10 recipes
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Chow Chow
A bright yellow mustard pickle of crunchy cauliflower, carrot, christophene and hot pepper. The condiment that makes ham and hops.
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Pastelles
Seasoned minced meat with raisins, olives and capers, wrapped in a thin layer of cornmeal dough and banana leaf, then steamed. The Christmas parcel.
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Christmas Ham
A smoked ham studded with cloves and baked under a sticky glaze of brown sugar, pineapple and mustard. Sliced for ham and hops all season.
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Ginger Beer
Fiery homemade ginger beer: fresh ginger steeped with lime and cloves for a day, then strained, sweetened and served over ice. No alcohol.
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Ponche de Crème
Trinidad and Tobago's creamy Christmas punch of eggs, milk, rum, Angostura bitters and nutmeg. This version cooks the eggs gently for safety.
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Paime
Sweet cornmeal, coconut and pumpkin parcels, spiced and wrapped in banana leaves, then steamed until firm. A Trinidad sweet often made at Christmas.
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Black Cake
The Christmas cake of Trinidad and Tobago: a dark, moist, rum-soaked fruit cake made with fruit steeped for weeks in rum and cherry brandy.
Coconut Sweet Bread
A dense, fragrant loaf packed with grated coconut, raisins and spice. A Christmas-season favourite worth baking any time.
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