Barbados is a small Caribbean island of around 280,000 people. The country gave the world “Mount Gay rum,” which is the oldest commercially produced rum still in existence and has a food preservation culture rooted in pickled pork, pepperpot stew, fermented pepper sauces, and bottled island drinks.
Glass jars and bottles are the containers mostly used for food storage, ranging from pickle jars to rum bottles that have defined Caribbean spirits for over 350 years.
In this article, we will explore the traditional Barbadian foods and drinks most suited to glass storage, the type of container that works best for each, and four recipes you can make and bottle at home even in the UK.
The Barbadian Food and Drink Culture
Barbados' history is shaped by the sugar trade, African culinary traditions, and British colonial influence, creating a food culture that makes the most of every ingredient, preserves what was seasonal, and finds ways to keep protein safe in a hot, humid climate.
Some of these foods include pickled pork, souse (pickled pig's head and trotters), pepperpot (a slow-cooked, repeatedly refreshed meat stew preserved with cassareep), and fermented pepper sauces
Glass jars and bottles have become one of the most used containers for many traditional Barbadian foods and drinks because glass is non-reactive the vinegar and citrus used in Bajan pickling, with the cassareep (a bitter cassava extract with natural preservative properties) that keeps pepperpot alive for years, and with the rum, mauby, and sorrel, transparent, and easy to sterilise, making it ideal for fermented hot sauces, pickled meats, and rum infusions. Unlike plastic, glass doesn't absorb odours or leach chemicals into acidic or alcoholic contents.
Traditional Barbadian Foods and Drinks Commonly Stored in Glass
Bajan Pepper Sauce (Fermented Hot Sauce)
Bajan pepper sauce is one of Barbados's most iconic condiments. Made with Scotch bonnet peppers, mustard, and turmeric, it's a staple on every Bajan table. The sauce is traditionally fermented in glass jars for up to two weeks, which develops its complex, tangy flavour. With proper storage in a glass jar, it can last for up to a year in the refrigerator.
Pepperpot
Pepperpot is a slow-cooked stew of salted meats, spinach, and okra, and is one of the Caribbean's great stew traditions, just like in Antigua and Barbuda. Traditionally, pepperpot was kept permanently on the stove, refreshed daily with new ingredients, a continuous cooking method that served as preservation. Today, Barbadian families pour cooled pepperpot into wide-mouth glass jars and refrigerate for up to a week . Glass keeps the deep flavour stable without any interaction with the stew's salt content or acidic ingredients.
Rum Infusions
Barbados is the birthplace of rum, with a distilling history dating back to the 17th century. Rum infusions, where rum is infused with fruits like mangoes and pineapples, are often bottled in glass bottles that showcase the infused fruit ingredients. Glass is essential because it doesn't react with the alcohol, preserving the rum's flavour and allowing the fruit to be visible.
Mauby & Sorrel Drink
Mauby is a traditional Barbadian drink made from the bark of a small tree, sweetened with sugar and flavoured with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In olden days, mauby was sold by a “mauby woman” who carried the container on her head. Today, mauby is sold in glass or plastic containers, with glass being the preferred choice for preserving the drink's flavour. The bark is also available in London for those who want to make it at home. Sorrel is another drink. It is a hibiscus-based drink made from dried sorrel flowers steeped with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
Pickled Pork
Pickled pork is one of the most important ingredients in cooking in Bajan. Pork is salted and packed into containers with pickling spices, where it preserves for weeks and is used to season rice dishes, stews, and vegetables. Traditionally stored in crocks and earthenware jars, it is now more commonly kept in large glass storage jars or preserving jars where the brine and pork are visible and easily accessible.
Souse
Souse is a cold dish of pickled pig's parts, basically the head, trotters, and ears marinated in lime juice, cucumber, onion, hot pepper, and seasoning. Made fresh on Saturdays across Barbados, it is stored in glass pickle jars or square jars for refrigeration within a short term.
Types of Glass Bottles and Jars for Barbadian Foods and Drinks
|
Food or Drink |
Traditional Method of Preservation |
Best Glass Container |
|
Pickled pork |
Salt and spice brine, earthenware crock |
Wide-mouth preserving jars, storage jars |
|
Souse |
Lime juice and herb marinade, short-term |
|
|
Pepperpot |
Cassareep preservation, repeatedly refreshed |
Deep preserving jars, wide-mouth storage jars |
|
Bajan pepper sauce |
Vinegar fermentation, bottled |
|
|
Rum infusions |
Spirit maceration with fruit/spice |
Alcohol bottles, square jars |
|
Mauby/sorrel drink |
Steeped and sweetened, refrigerated |
Glass bottles, preserving jars |
|
Bajan pepper sauce |
Fermentation in glass jars |
Pickle jars, preserving jars, glass bottles |
Traditional Barbadian Recipes for Glass Jars and Bottles
Barbadian Bajan Pepper Sauce Recipe in Glass Jars and Bottles
Ingredients
● 250g scotch bonnet or Congo peppers, washed and stems removed
● 2 tbsp yellow mustard
● 3 garlic cloves, peeled
● 1 tsp turmeric
● 1 tsp salt
● 1 tsp caster sugar
● 150ml white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
● Juice of 1 lime
Method
● Handle the peppers with gloves throughout because scotch bonnets are very hot. Roughly chop the peppers, removing the seeds if you would prefer a milder sauce, though the traditional Bajan pepper sauce keeps them in.
● Place the chopped peppers, garlic, mustard, turmeric, salt, and sugar into a blender and pulse until the mixture forms a rough paste.
● With the blender running on low, gradually pour in the white wine vinegar and lime juice until the sauce reaches a smooth, pourable consistency. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
● Taste and adjust salt, acid, or sweetness to balance. The sauce should be fiery, tangy, and slightly mustardy.
● Pour the sauce into sterilised glass bottles using a funnel, filling to within 1cm of the rim or glass jars. Seal immediately with tight caps.
● For extra depth, leave the sealed bottles or jars at room temperature for 24-48 hours before refrigerating them. This allows a brief fermentation that rounds out the flavour.
● It can last for up to 6 months refrigerated in a sealed glass bottle or jar.
Find suitable sizes and designs of glass bottles and jars for Bajan pepper sauce in our collection.
Barbadian Bajan Pickled Pork Recipe in Glass Storage Jars
Ingredients
● 500g pork shoulder or pork belly, cut into 4cm cubes
● 3 tbsp coarse sea salt
● 1 tbsp sugar
● 1 tsp black peppercorns
● 4 allspice berries
● 3 cloves
● 2 bay leaves
● 3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
● 500ml cold water
Method
● Combine the coarse salt and sugar in a bowl and rub the mixture thoroughly into all surfaces of the pork cubes. Place the seasoned pork in a clean bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours to begin the curing process.
● Prepare the pickling brine by combining the cold water with the peppercorns, allspice, cloves, bay leaves, and garlic in a saucepan. Boil, stir briefly, and remove from the heat. Leave it to cool completely; do not pour hot brine over the pork.
● Pack the cured pork pieces tightly into a sterilised wide-mouth glass preserving jar, distributing the garlic and whole spices between the layers.
● Pour the cooled spiced brine over the pork, ensuring all the pieces are completely submerged. If needed, top up with a light brine of cold water and salt.
● Seal with an airtight lid and refrigerate for at least 3 days before using; the flavour will develop significantly over the first week.
● Consume within 3 weeks of making it, and always keep the pork submerged in brine.
Find various sizes and designs of glass pickle jars and storage jars in our collection.
Barbadian Rum and Citrus Shrub Recipe in Glass Bottles
Ingredients
● 250ml Barbadian white rum or any good white rum
● Zest and juice of 2 limes
● Zest and juice of 1 orange
● 100g caster sugar
● 50ml apple cider vinegar
● 1 tsp ground allspice
● ½ tsp ground cinnamon
● 3 whole cloves
Method
● Combine the sugar, lime juice, orange juice, and apple cider vinegar in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Do not boil; gentle heat is all that is needed.
● Add the allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and all the citrus zest to the warm syrup. Stir well and remove from the heat. Leave to steep and cool completely for at least 1 hour.
● Strain the spiced citrus syrup through a fine sieve into a clean jug, pressing the zest firmly to extract all the liquid and flavour. Discard the solids.
● Combine the strained syrup with the rum in the jug and stir well to combine completely.
● Using a small funnel, pour the shrub into a sterilised glass bottle, filling to within 1cm of the rim. Seal with a tight-fitting stopper or cap.
● Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving; the flavours mellow and integrate beautifully overnight.
● Rum shrub can last for up to 3 months refrigerated in a sealed glass bottle. Serve diluted with sparkling water over ice, or use as a cocktail base.
Find suitable sizes and designs of glass bottles for rum and citrus shrub in our collection.
Barbadian Sorrel Drink Recipe in Glass Bottles
Sorrel drink is made with hibiscus, just like hibiscus (zobo drink)
Ingredients
● 100g dried sorrel (dried hibiscus flowers)
● 30g fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
● 1 cinnamon stick
● 4 cloves
● 1 litre boiling water
● 150g caster sugar (or more to taste)
● Juice of 1 lime
Method
● Place the dried sorrel flowers, sliced ginger, cinnamon stick, and cloves into a large heatproof jug or bowl.
● Pour the litre of boiling water over the sorrel and spices, stir briefly, and leave to steep for a minimum of 4 hours; overnight gives a deeper, more intense colour and flavour. The liquid will turn a deep, jewel-like crimson.
● Strain the sorrel liquid through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing the flowers firmly to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the spent flowers and spices.
● Add the sugar to the strained sorrel liquid and heat gently over low heat, stirring until completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Taste and adjust sweetness.
● Leave to cool completely, then pour into a sterilised glass bottle using a funnel, filling to within 1cm of the rim. Seal with a tight cap or stopper.
● Refrigerate immediately. Serve chilled, diluted with cold water or sparkling water to taste.
● Sorrel drink can last for up to 2 weeks refrigerated in a sealed glass bottle. In Barbados, sorrel is the Christmas drink, made in large batches, bottled in glass, and shared between families and neighbours from early December onward.
Find suitable sizes and designs of glass bottles for sorrel drink in our collection.
If you are cooking Bajan food in a UK kitchen or looking for the right glass container for Caribbean-inspired food or drinks, always consider a food-grade glass, an airtight lid, and a size matched to how the product will be used.
Browse our full range of glass jars, pickle jars, preserving jars, storage jars, and glass bottles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Barbadian pepperpot different from other stews?
Barbadian pepperpot is preserved with cassareep, a thick, dark syrup made from bitter cassava that has natural antimicrobial properties. This means pepperpot is never fully consumed; new meat and cassareep are added regularly, and the dish can theoretically last for years. It is one of the oldest continuously maintained dishes in the Caribbean and is stored in deep glass preserving jars between servings.
What is Bajan pepper sauce made from?
Traditional Bajan pepper sauce is made from scotch bonnet or Congo peppers, yellow mustard, vinegar, garlic, turmeric, and salt. The mustard is the element that distinguishes Bajan pepper sauce from most other Caribbean hot sauces; it gives the sauce a tangy, slightly thick character and a bright golden-orange colour. It is bottled in glass for both home use and commercial sale.
What is sorrel and when is it traditionally made in Barbados?
Sorrel is a drink made from dried hibiscus flowers steeped with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, sweetened and bottled in glass. In Barbados, it is strongly associated with Christmas, where large batches are made in December, bottled, and shared as gifts.
Can rum shrubs be made and stored at home?
Yes, rum shrubs are straightforward to make at home and store excellently in glass alcohol bottles with tight-fitting stoppers. The combination of rum, citrus, vinegar, and sugar creates a naturally shelf-stable drink that can last for up to three months refrigerated. Glass is the right vessel because it does not absorb flavour or interact with the alcohol and acid in the way that plastic containers can.