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This article is about Caribbean soup sometimes called pepperpot. For the colonial soup made with tripe, see


Callaloo (sometimes '''calaloo''') ( Trinidad And Tobago ) or '''pepperpot''' ( Jamaica and Guyana ) is a Caribbean dish, the main ingredient of which is a Leaf Vegetable , traditionally either Amaranth (known by many local names including callaloo or bhaji), or Taro or '' Xanthosoma '' species (both known by many local names including callaloo, coco, tannia, or dasheen bush). Because the leaf vegetable used in some regions may be locally called "callaloo" or "callaloo bush", some confusion can arise among the different vegetables and with the dish itself. Outside of the Caribbean, Spinach is occasionally used.


Plant sources for Callaloo leaves


  • Taro - also called ''dasheen'' in the West Indies the leaves of this root crop are used in the Trinidadian version of the dish

  • Tannia or Malanga called ''calalu'' in Puerto Rico

  • Amaranth species include ''Amaranthus spinosus'' used in the West Indies and ''A. flavus'' is a yellow variety used in Brazil and known as ''caruru''

  • Pokeweed species ''Phtolacca octandra'' or West Indian Foxglove

  • Nightshade species ''Solanum nodiflorum''


Callaloo is almost always made with Okra . There are many variations of callaloo which may include Coconut Milk , Crab , Caribbean Lobster , Meat s, Chile Pepper s, and other Seasoning s. The ingredients are added and simmered down to a soup or stew consistency. When done, callaloo is dark green in color and is served as a soup or a side dish which may be used as a gravy for other food.

Callaloo is widely known throughout the Caribbean and has a distinctively Caribbean origin, created by African Slave s using ideas of the indigenous people along with both African (okra) and indigenous (''Xanthosoma'') plants.


REFERENCE

Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Callaloo". p. 125 ISBN 0192115790


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