Marie Denise's Fruits and Vegetables

Marie Denise's fruits and vegetables stand at the market in Basse Terre:

Above, papayas, soursops (guanábana), passion fruits, star fruits, bananas, cucumbers, bell peppers, giraumon, scotch bonnet peppers, piments vegetalien, tomatoes

Above left, bananas, star fruits, passion fruits, soursops, papayas
Above right, watermelons, papayas, zucchinis, chayote, eggplants

Above, pineapples, plantains, yams

Sugar Cane Juice

The color of sugar cane juice certainly isn't very appetizing. The murky greenish brown liquid could easily be mistaken for very dirty mop water. The taste, then, is somehow even more remarkable for its unattractive color: sweet, crisp, and very refreshing.

We bought a bottle of freshly pressed cane juice this morning at the market in Basse Terre from a man and his truck. It comes in reused 1L water bottles for €3.50.

I had my first taste of cane juice in December. M. and I had driven to Baillif to see a special Christmas market. It was no more than a regular market, with vegetables and fruit, but with a few tables selling cakes. Somewhat in the center of the temporary market, there was a truck with the words 'jus du canne' wriiten in large bold red letters across the side. An old man was noisily extracting juice using a sugar cane press. M. and I were excited about buying a glass each to accompany the snacks we had purchased. Unfortunately, you had to bring your own bottle. Having none, we could buy no juice. A steady rain began to fall so we remained next to the truck to take shelter. And the old man, seeing us still there, told somebody to fetch two cups from the bakery across the way. He then served us two plastic cups of cane juice. When M. tried to pay him, the old man shook his head. It was free, he said. This was the famous Antillais hospitality.

Eating Well

As I mentioned in a previous post, our local boulangerie in Trois-Rivières makes an excellent baguette. Here, the baguette is consistently good. The only stipulation is that you must clearly ask for a baguette that is 'bien cuite,' or well cooked, since some customers apparently like their baguette on the soft side (why, I haven't the foggiest). Today's baguette was absolutely marvelous, having been bought while still warm. It was the perfect color, the perfect crustiness, a triumph, I think.


Above, the triumphant baguette. Below, a detail.


Otherwise, we stopped by the market in Basse Terre. We haven't been there in a long time, and so also had to stop by Marcellia's stand to restock on rum. M. chose a red currant punch, which is, along with coconut punch, the traditional punch of the season. Technically, the red currant punch is not exactly a true punch since it is not a masceration of red current berries, but a mixture of red currant syrup plus rum. M. also picked up two bottles of shrub to send to family in France for Christmas. Shrub is rum infused with the peel of an orange (or tangerine, or clementine) plus a good amount of sugar. Beyond these two main components, other ingredients may be added according to personal tastes, vanilla and cinnamon being the most popular.


The more I dine in other people's homes, the more I realize that everybody 'makes' their own alcohol. Its not just people who are from Guadeloupe, or have Antillais roots, but even recent expats. M.'s got a little booklet of traditional creole recipes, including one for shrub. It sounds pretty delicious, and I've convinced him that we ought to try our hand at making our own.

Marché de Basse Terre

About every other Saturday, M. and I drive to the market in Basse-Terre. While the actual market is inside a semi-enclosed building, vendors pour out of the building and invade the esplanade facing the Caribbean Sea. We can easily buy our vegetables at Carrefour, but this is the only place where we can buy guavas (goyave), passion fruits (fruit de la passion, or maracudja), sugar apples (pomme cannelle), pineapples (ananas), etc. We've been buying from one stand since the beginning and now we're greeted warmly as regulars. We're asked how we're doing (and we do the same), and now its "What would I like, cherie." We always leave with an extra...an extra cucumber, an extra star fruit (carambole), a pair of bananas...

Otherwise, the market is the best place to buy home-made punch. Its impossible to miss Marcellia's stand. With tables draped in plastic madras (the way we like it), and more than 100 bottles of punch, groups of tourists seem to constantly surround the stand. Understandable, as Marcellia gives out free tastes of as many different bottles you like. Marcellia is the toast of photo-hungry vacationers, since she comes dressed in traditional creole clothing and happily poses for photos.


I don't know if she's mentioned in English guides, but she has an entry in the last Michelin guide: