Kona coffee
is one of the iconic beverages of Hawaii.
Hawaii is an archipelago of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Because of their remote location, the Hawaiian people developed a culture and diet different from the rest of the Pacific Islanders. Today, Hawaii serves as a melting pot of Polynesian, Asian, American and Hawaiian culture and cuisine. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Traditional Diet
Hawaiian Islanders lived for centuries in relative isolation and maintained a culture strongly tied to food. Poi, a starchy paste ground up from the root of the taro plant, is part of much of traditional Hawaiian cooking and was the primary starch. Fresh fruit was a major component of the Hawaiian diet, and for protein they ate mostly fish and other seafood with the occasional chicken or dog. Pork was reserved for the traditional luau feast and for royalty.
Luau Foods
The traditional Hawaiian feast is the luau, featuring hula dancing, fire eating and a delicious roast pig as the central feature. The pig is roasted whole in a pit lined with banana leaves and buried for about four hours. Chicken, fish, squid, pineapple, banana, coconut and the ubiquitous poi may also be part of a luau.
Modern Diet
Located in the middle of the Pacific, Hawaii draws from Asian, American and traditional menus to create a synthesis that is all its own. Japanese food is a major influence as well as any food imaginable from the mainland of America. From Japan comes sushi and the bento box. A mix of Japanese and American cuisine is the popular SPAM musubi, a rice-ball wrapped in seaweed with a slice of SPAM on top. Chinese culture inspired the manapua, a ball of dough filled with meat. From Portugal comes the malasadas, a doughnut rolled in sugar.
Food Exports
Hawaii is famous for its production of sugar, pineapple, Kona coffee, bananas, macadamia nuts and other tropical fruits. It is the only place in the United States where coffee grows and a major source of the tropical fruits grown in America.
Tags: Asian American, Kona coffee, middle Pacific, traditional Hawaiian, tropical fruits