Turks and Caicos celebrates conch
Annual festival in November
virginvoices.com staff
It’s ubiquitous here in the Caribbean. So why not dedicate a festival to its flavor – and the zillion ways to prepare and eat it?
The annual Conch (please pronounce it KONK) Festival in November in Turks and Caicos will make you a lover of all thing conch.
Turks and Caicos is known especially for its conch, which is its most important export. Conch fishing is an impotant industry in historic south Caicos.
If you go, you can expect a lot more than creative conch. You’ll find music, dancing, fishing at this fundraiser for the islands.
And for those of you who don’t know much about conch, you can also get an education about these large marine snails.
Queen, or pink-lipped conch can be found in warm waters of the Atlantic and the Caribbean. Their shells have overlapping whorls with a bright colored pink lip.
Conch is the second best known edible snail, after escargot.
It dates back to the Arawak Indians in the 1400s. The Arawaks also carved the shells into instruments, including musical horns. ( The blowing of the Conch shell is a Caribbean tradition.)
Conch meat has a mild, sweet flavor. If cooked correctly it is melt in your mouth soft.
It can be sautéed in butter sauce, fused into fritters, and poached in chowder.
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