Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine April 2017 | Page 85

processing of over 25,000 tons
of sugar in Barbados during the
1960s. As an interactive tour,
patrons will not only visit the
historical sites but also tantalize
their senses with delicious
culinary delights. Our tour will
introduce our guests to the
unofficial Saturday National Dish,
Pudding and Souse and to the
unique Barbadian Fish Cake.
Pudding and Souse is a dish that
emerged from the plantation
system in Barbados. It is an
adaptation of the blood puddings
found in English cooking. The
pudding traditionally would
have been made with sweet
potato, mixed with blood, spiced
with herbs and would have
been encased in pigs intestine.
However this tradition is slowly
exiting as most Barbadians
prefer a ‘white pudding”. This
is steamed pudding without
the blood and the intestines.
Instead the pudding is now
made with browning and spices
and steamed until it is almost
gelatinous in texture.
The second half of this dish,
souse, is a peppery cucumber
pickled pork. During the times
of enslavement in Barbados,
no food was left to waste. After
the best cuts of the pork where
taken for the Great House tables,
the other parts where utilized
for the enslaved population. It
is from th is that the dish Souse
was created. To aid in preserving
the meat, it was pickled and
everything was consumed
together.
Of course the tour would not
be complete without taking
part in the exciting experience
of the Barbados Rum Shop
(community shop). There is a
saying in Barbados that for every
church there is a rum shop next
door. The Rum Shop experience
is a cultural normality which we
expose our guests to, so that they
can experience the unique rum
shop atmosphere. They are also
introduced to the way Barbadians
enjoy stronger liquids, primarily
rum or local beer. On the tour we
explain that rum shops marked
the evolution of pop up shops.
Individuals built these shops onto
their homes in order to earn extra
income. A visit to a rum shop is
considered a social activity where
individuals can not only purchase
a meal and strong drinks, but
also discuss the latest news and
political occurrences.
Fish Cakes from Mr. Delicious Snack Bar
at Miami beach
Tour Group at Miami Beach
Our Pigtail and Breadfruit tour
is one of four specialized tours
being hosted by the Barbados
Museum and Historical Society
in 2017. The other tours are our
Flora and Fauna Garden Tour,
Historic Churches of Barbados and
the Bajan Rum-bullion Tour. The
tours are rotated and interested
persons are encouraged to visit
our website and Facebook to find
out the upcoming dates.
A guest at the site of the Newton Slave Burial Ground
www.barbadosmuseum.org | Facebook: Barbados Museum and Historical Society