Writing about Caribbean Tings
Dec 2023
If you ask any Trini, they will tell you that their Christmas is the best. It’s a fact outlined in Susan Macio’s aptly named “Trini Christmas Is the Best,” a song that lists the traditional food and drinks of an excellent Trinbagonian Christmas, including, of course, sorrel. But other Caribbean people might disagree with this assertion: Each island has distinct interpretations and methods of preparing Caribbean foods, and each island claims that theirs is superior. Sorrel lands smack dab in the middle of an intraregional debate, specifically between Trinidad and Jamaica. Jamaicans, as I had learned, include ginger in their version, and Trinbagonians adamantly leave it out. While most Trinbagonians outright reject the burning aftertaste of the spice, Jamaicans can’t get enough.