Q&A #1: What is Green Seasoning?
Filed Under articles, series, Q&A | Posted on May 31, 2007
This is part of the series:
One of the unexepcted pleasures of running this site is getting a chance to hear and answer your questions. Some of you are Trinis who have lived abroad for some time. Some of you are foreigners who have come to love a certain special Trinbagonian and want to recreate their culinary memories. Others of you are foreigners who have visited our shores and want to recreate some of the dishes you’ve tasted, or maybe you are just curious about Caribbean cooking and culture and stumbled your way here. Whatever your reason I’m glad you’ve taken the time to drop me a line 
Because many of your questions are questions that I am sure others share, from time to time I will feature Readers’ questions (and my answers) in a feature I’m calling ‘Q&A with TriniGourmet’.
Reader’s Questions:
• Do you have any recipes for making green seasoning?
• Is Green Seasoning hot? (I have my eye on purchasing the Turban Green Seasoning)
TriniGourmet’s Answer:
My version of green seasoning is very loose and free form
One of the above questions came to me from a Jamaican woman married to a Trini. Like many foreigners she was curious about this mythical and mystical Green seasoning that is such a key component in most Trini meat and fish-based dishes.
I have no idea how prevalent Green Seasoning is throughout the Caribbean. My Jamaican mother (like the above reader) never knew about it til she moved here, and still has no use for it. However I do know that there are some other islands in the Caribbean that consider this a key part of their cooking.
Green seasoning comes in many different formulations, and these vary as much between islands as they do between homes within one island.
Recently one of my Brit-blogging friends, Trig, tried his hand at making a batch of his own. His post led to me and Chennette realizing the similarities and differences between our own versions.
Unlike many Trinis I don’t make green seasoning in batches to be bottled. I prefer to make as much as I will use in one go. This emphasis on making it fresh each time comes probably from my own mother’s paranoia and suspicion of ‘bottled seasonings’ (did I mention she doesn’t use Green Seasoning 
)
For those who have no problem with bottled seasonings and/or no interest in making green seasoning from scratch many supermarket versions abound.
Like my version, posted above, the bottled versions all feature garlic and chadon beni (cilantro) as the key flavour notes. When I lived abroad scoring a bottle of this stuff was like heaven. Just a whiff of the bottle was enough to spread a smile across my face and those of other ‘displaced’ Trinis. Then if you were like me you put some on the tip of your finger to lick before nodding and going ‘yes… this is d real ting’ 
If -you- have a version of Green Seasoning that you would like to share feel free to add it via the comments form. I’d love to hear from you! There is a recipe for Trini Green seasoning that I see circulating online that involves copious amounts of vinegar and celery. Is this version one that is actually used? I must say that it strikes me as rather unappetizing so I am quite curious to see how popular it really is.
Oh! And one more thing, like any good Trini cook would tell you, be sure to ’stab up yuh meat’ so that the seasoning really has a chance to penetrate, oh and give the meat and seasoning time to get to know each other. Preferably overnight
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14 Responses to “Q&A #1: What is Green Seasoning?”
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Those bottles of “green” seasoning look freakishly brown for my liking. Is that normal for shop bought green seasoning where you are? I’m only asking because the variety my mum’s friend brought back from Monserrat was literally bright green
ey - I have a green seasoning post waiting in drafts…waiting for pictures of local celery
So it’s like pesto then?!
Trig - freakishly brown? more like olive… but whatever… and yes that is normal… i’ve never seen bright green but they probably use different stuff in Monsterrat *shrug*
Chennette - I took a pic of local celery in Hi-Lo today, great minds think alike!
Marsha - where you been hiding??? Don’t play like you don’t know green seasoning! And no, it’s not like pesto???
Hmm that question looks vaguely familiar LOL. My hubby and I were talking about making green seasoning the other day. I think we are going to try it this weekend.
Thanks for the reminder. Awesome Blog!!
AppleDiva - hehehehe, i was trying not to buss yuh files
have fun making it, let me know how it turns out!
Sarina,
I found Green Seasoning @ a store in Ontario, Canada. I will see how it works. The Hubby and I will make still make our own. The brand is called Mr. Goudas.
AppleDiva - never heard of that one, where’s it made? I’ll google it
Yes yes make yuh own chile, it’s eeeeeeeasy 
The best thing is absolutely to make fresh green seasoning. However it is a big timesaver in the kitchen to have it ready to go so I make green seasoning in weekly batches. I don’t keep it any longer than that because by then it starts to get ‘brown’ olive green like the ones on the grocery shelves. I NEVER use those and consider them to be a waste of my money. The flavour comes from the fresh herbs. The stuff that has been sitting on those grocery shelves for months tastes nothing like the fresh stuff. Do a taste test and see for yourself. Also the bright green ones have food colouring and the ratio of herbs used is actually very little….okay okay you get the idea I don’t like bottled green seasoning….oh and yes I do use celery tops as well as garlic, shandon beni, french, spanish and portuguese thyme to make mine. I saw Giada top some staeks once with a version of this and she called it salsa verde! The Spanish Caribbean islands also have a base seasoning mix called sofrito
Re the question about celery, it refers to what many people in England call flat parsley, or if there’s none around, then the top leaves only from celery in the supermarket.
White vinegar is used for the preservative effect if keeping the green seasoning in the fridge.
hey you guys i make fresh greens seasongs weekly for sale holla at me to make an order 486-0359
When I first moved to Trinidad a woman used to sell us bunches of ’seasoning’ wrapped up in a rubber band at the gate. We lived in Maraval at the base of the Paramin Hills. These bunches were available at all the stalls and markets too with the ingredients never varying - ‘cive’ or ‘chive’ otherwise known as spring onion or green onion was the bulkiest ingredient (about 4 stems), a good sprig of thyme, a couple of sprigs of Shadon Beni (coriander leaf or cilantro is the equivalent), and some flat leaf parsley (or celery tops). This would be ground up with a little vinegar and scotch bonnet as desired, rubbed into meat (any and every meat!!) to be then cooked in a curry, pelau, stew chicken, BBQ, you name it! I never saw oil put into seasoning and the fresh made was always better than store bought. The greatest ingredient in Trini cooking that I can’t buy here in NZ is the pimento or …. can’t remember what it is called there…. it’s not actually a pimento, it looks like a red scotch bonnet but it’s not hot and has an incredible flavour. Funny practice too of washing meat and fish with water and flour before marinating to ‘get rid of the freshness’. Hmm, makes me want to go cook me up some goat!!
you know what i do sometimes? throw in some green mango in the blender along with the other greens. it’s awesome in everything YUM
Is there anywhere in London where I can buy a freshly made green seasoning?
Or if anyone can tell me an exact recipe with exact measurements?
Is it quite hard to get the same authentic ingredients in London as they use in Trini?