Hawaii

Although it is a constituent of the United States – a country that is arguably in the constant spotlight of global attention – it is not talked about often. In fact, most of the time people tend to forget that Hawaii is technically part of U.S culture. However, that can be explained by the fact that Hawaiian culture stands completely on its own from that of the mainland, and when you know what the locals like to eat, you realize how remarkably vast and fresh the cuisine really is. I am talking about a group of islands, after all.

I have never been to Hawaii, although my fiancee has about two years ago (pre-Covid) for a family birthday trip. When he returned, among the many aspects of the land and culture he was amazed by, the food was one of his constant talking points. He visited Maui, which is known to be a little less oriented towards the American tourists than the Southernmost Island of Hawaii. Among the locations he visited was a famous (even among locals) banana bread cart, a pub offering traditional Hawaiian cuisine, and a winery that featured some interesting and fruit-forward wines.

This week, I will be focusing on the freshest aspects of Hawaiian food. These dishes pay homage to the prolific nature of the land (from earth to sea) and combine local flavours and spices to create a one-of-a-kind experience. As is typical with my location, my access to these types of fresh, authentic ingredients is limited. While I will not be able to locate a piece of Ahi Tuna from a fish that has only seconds ago been pulled from the sea, thanks to the benefits of globalization I can still obtain something relatively the same. Many of the fresh ingredients that are staples in Hawaiian dishes can be found at my local supermarket: bananas, macadamia nuts, fruits, etc. Therefore I will be making the best with what I have, and I will attempt to bake a banana bread loaf inspired by the small stand in Maui. It is the same one featured in this episode of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted and also visited by my fiancé during his family trip (he can testify to how good it really is).

It may be a surprise to some (it certainly was to me) that Hawaii really does produce its own grapes and, by extension, its own wine. Because the region favours a never-ending array of ripe fruits, the grapes are likewise quite sweet. My fiancee described the wines he tasted as similar to the honey wines, or even the ice wine, that Canada is known to be produce a great many of. Seeing as it is impossible to find a bottle of Hawaiian wines in any nearby liquor store (I suspect all cellars are very small-batch in the region) we will be serving a bottle of sweeter Canadian wine as a replacement.