Fritura · Codfish Fritter

Bacalaíto

Photo: Kim Navarre from Brooklyn, NY / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

It's a fried pancake of salted codfish — a fish that was never native to the Caribbean but became a pantry staple through centuries of the Atlantic trade.

A seasoned batter mixed with shredded salted codfish is ladled into hot oil, spreading into a thin, lacy, irregularly shaped fritter fried until crisp. It's sold hot at beachside kioskos, often right alongside alcapurrias.

Why it's made this way: Salted cod became a Caribbean pantry staple because it didn't need refrigeration to survive the long transatlantic voyage.