The outer shell is glossy, and imprinted with the pastel hues of a sunrise: rose-pink, coral, buttercream, and mauve. Inside lives a wary, gelatinous creature who cleanses the coral reefs and feeds on algae. As with every non-human on the planet, the conch plays an essential part of maintaining a healthy oceanic ecosystem. They are vital to the growth of seagrass and the population of turtles, one of their predators. They are, of course, as deeply essential to the lives of Bahamians.
The myths are already in place. How there used to be so many conchs a child could easily find them swimming. How they used to feast on the mollusk as salad, as aphrodisiac, as sustenance. How shells piled up so high they became jetties.
For the indigenous of the Caribbean, conch was a staple both as diet and as medicine. For Bahamians today, a conch-less life is both unthinkable and swiftly becoming reality. Food is one of the cultural lifelines Bahamians cling to ferociously as a way of remembering and celebrating how things were. They used to be fishers of conch. Now that is gone. Soon, wild caught conch will be a relic of the past as the climate crises decimates sea-life.
They were makers of conch art, offering the multi-hued shells as souvenirs, creating jewelry and sculpture from the pearlescent outer case. Today plastic replicas are replacing the rare mollusks.
They are bearers of a history eradicated by colonization. Conch graveyards are one of the few remaining cultural markers of the indigenous populations and ways in which they lived. As sea levels rise and destroy archaeological evidence of peoples whose existence was mostly erased from official records, the conch’s lifecycle and its many ties to Bahamian society becomes ever more necessary.
BT’s CONCH FRITTERS
Serves: 8 persons
Total Time: 30 minutes [Prep Time = 20 minutes, Cook Time = 10 minutes]
WHAT YOU NEED
Ingredients
- 227 grams conch
- 125 grams all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 118 mL milk
- 946 mL oil for frying
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 medium cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 onion, medium
- ½ medium green bell pepper
- 1 ½ cloves garlic
WHAT TO DO
- If the conch meat does not come cleaned and pre-cut, make sure to parboil it and chop finely.
- Lightly beat the egg and combine in a large bowl with flour and milk.
- Dice the onion, garlic cloves, green pepper, and cayenne pepper. Add to the flour, milk, and egg combination.
- Add the chopped conch meat. Season with salt and pepper.*
- Mix the batter well, making sure the ingredients are evenly distributed. The mixture should look like a slurry.
- In a deep skillet pour frying oil until it reaches two-and-half centimeters up the sides of the pan.
- Heat the oil to 185 degrees C
- Make tablespoon sized balls out of the batter and drop into the hot oil.
- Fry until golden brown, two minutes for smaller balls, four minutes for larger ones. Do not overcrowd the skillet.
- Remove done fritters with a slotted spoon onto drying rack or paper towels and add extra seasoning if desired.
- Allow to drain and cool, five minutes.
- Serve with favorite dipping sauces.
* BT Tip: Add shredded coconut to the batter for a sweeter, nuttier flavor.
Are there foods you can no longer find or that are no longer cooked in your community? Tell me about them in the comments!
Discover more from Bespoke Traveler
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Bespoke Traveler 
Thanks for poking me BT. I hope to have my blog up again soon, but not sure if a comment section will be part of it. That’s part of the reason it’s taking so long! I’ve eaten conch before, though I can’t say it’s on my list of fave foods. It always seemed like the small amount of meat hid in something so magical and beautiful, which should not have been disturbed. It doesn’t surprise me that this will become less available because of climate change, but it’s still overwhelmingly sad.
Hope you’ve been keeping well. xo
I was thinking of you listening to The Smiths because I know you’d posted about them regarding The Killer movie, which by the way I felt exactly the same as you after watching. I see that your beautiful new website is taking shape and I am excited for when you officially launch! Take your time and get it to how you envision your space of the internet. It’s so good to hear from you and I hope this finds you safe and well. XO
Thank you so much! I’ll keep you posted on my site. That Smiths post seems like years ago, though it wasn’t!
I smiled at the aptly worded sentence: “As with every non-human on the planet, the conch plays an essential part of maintaining a healthy oceanic ecosystem.” This post taught me much, and the conch fritters look amazingly delicious. Happy trails and a wonderful finish to your summer.
🙂 Thank you so very much! Wishing you an equally wonderful upcoming change in the season in your neck of the woods.
I’m another one who never thought about the creature in a conch shell.
We are fortunate, in our area, to not have food disappearing in this way. An example could be bison, but happily they are making a comeback.
Love how you wrote this. So lyrical, it almost sings.
Thank you so much and happy to hear about the return of bison in your area! I’ve only seen them while on a trip to Yellowstone NP, but I am imagining how it must have been to have known them wandering the lands alongside us.
Thanks for the story and the recipe! Now I just on a mission to find some conch in Portugal 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Good luck in your search for conch. 🙂
I typed out a lengthy comment and I think it’s gone🥺
In short: what a great little post about conch. You taught me something new. Never did I consider the creature housed within the beautiful shell.
I miss dearly a fruit called chappulle from North-eastern Nigeria where I am from. This sweet and a little sour bomb of deliciousness was a highlight of childhood which revolved around what fruit tree was fruiting when and which house in the neighbourhood had the trees and would not mind us foraging. It was a glorious childhood and after a decade of not finding the fruit on my visits home, I got a tree planted 2 years ago. I cannot wait for it to yield it’s divine fruit so that I can introduce my daughter to that piece of heaven
I believe I found your earlier comment, but I wanted to include this one as well because I really love how you are attempting to pass onto your daughter a beautiful piece of your childhood cultural memory.
Love the post. Silly me! Never thought of who the beautiful shells belonged to. I don’t think they’re eaten in Nigeria my motherland but I’ve seen some amazing ‘shells’ from the seas there in Lagos. I am northern Nigerian and so many of my childhood favourites are disappearing. Punkaso, a friend dumpling type food used to be sold by kosai (or akara) sellers on every street corner in the early mornings served in old newspapers with a side of kulikuli chilli. Now I have to talk to someone who knows someone to get it when I visit. Another loss I mourn is of a fruit called chappulle that we used to climb up trees to harvest in season when we were children. There was a tree in many family homes. And when we’d picked all of the trees in the neighbourhood clean, we’d beg our parents to buy us more from the market. I haven’t had one in a decade now. Closest thing I’ve found is the damson plum. A divinely delicious fruit that has been the victim of urbanisation and carelessness. Oh…my mouth is watering as I type and my heart is sad (have planted a tree 2 years ago and waiting patiently for it to mature and fruit).
My heart breaks too to hear how many of the foods you knew growing up have disappeared or are becoming impossible to find! Thank you for sharing these stories as reminders of what so many of us are experiencing as we try to adapt to changing climates. May your patience bear fruit soon with your damson plum tree!
lovely story for a tasty food
Thank you for reading it and for letting me know! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it.
It’s sad, but not surprising, to read that these creatures are now losing ground in their own habitat. We are losing so much to climate change, and also to over-fishing. I do not eat animals, so they’re safe from me, but even if I did, I think it would be hard for me to eat a creature that had such a beautiful home.
The grief is overwhelming when considering how much we are losing to climate change. I was really happy that I was able to still see real conch shells while in the Caribbean. They are such a marvel.