New Caledonia cuisine is light, original and offers a large variety of dishes. It evolved in relation to the colonial history and particular features of the islands. Like most French people, New Caledonian people like good cuisine.
Components of traditional cuisine of New Caledonia
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In the bush dear and to a lesser extent, wild pigs, are the basic meats. Dear meat has a low fat content, is cooked fresh, well done and not as venison. Local beef is very tasty and has never been affected by the mad cow desease (New Caledonia is isolated and has a good health control at its border). Fish (see pages on reef fish and lagoon fish ) and mud crabs are often served. Coconut milk tends to replace cream. Rice is an essential part at all meals, it is used to replace bread. Bananas, taros and other roots are eaten boiled or steamed rather than fried. Soy sauce is everywhere, on meats and fish, vegetables and even rice. The "Kikkoman" soy sauce bottle is on every table. Cheeses are, or were seldom served at lunch and diner but are often part of breakfast. Cooking is most often done with oil and seldom with butter or animal fats. However since the 70's development of air transport and the high income have triggered a return of Metropolitan French habits with an increasing amount of butter, cream, cheeses and salamis now available in all stores. Of course, in a tropical place, there are also the spices and particular the small very hot pepers which grow in all gardens. However the dishes are not too hot and every one is free to make it hoter in particular with "achards" (an habit which came from la Reunion Island.)
Influences
Mostly French, New Caledonian cuisine has been strongly influenced by cuisines of the various communities of the local population. In particular there is an important component of Vietnamiese and Indonesian cooking. Are also integrated various recipes from Melanesian cooking (with in particular the famous "bougna"). The "Bourbonnais" settlers coming from the Reunion island (Indian Ocean) in the earliest part of colonisation, brought also many dishes and plants. Other influences include Polynesia with people coming from Tahiti, India with the " Malabars", Carribean since people from the French Carribean Islands migrated also to New Caledonia, Japan from Japanese migrants before WWII (and today with restaurants catering for Japanese tourists), North Africa and even Australia. Those various ways of cookings have blended in a New Caledonian cuisine which is shared by all communities eventhough each one keeps also its original cooking.
Recipes
A nomber of recipes are given in the French language part of this website. They have not been translated into English yet.