Escovitch
Also spelled: escoveitch, scoveitch, scovitch
Meaning
Fried fish dressed with a tangy, spiced vinegar sauce loaded with sliced onion, carrot, chocho and whole pimento seeds and Scotch bonnet. The vinegar both flavours and preserves the fish, giving a sharp, pickled character quite unlike plain fried fish.
Examples
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“Good Friday nah pass widout escovitch fish an bammy.”
Good Friday never passes without escovitch fish and bammy.
Escovitch fish with bammy is a traditional Easter meal.
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“Har escovitch season sweet, everybody waan seconds.”
Her escovitch seasoning is delicious, everybody wants seconds.
'sweet' here means tasty, not sugary; 'season' means the flavouring.
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“Lef di fish inna di vinegar likkl longa mek it soak up.”
Leave the fish in the vinegar a little longer so it soaks it up.
'mek it soak up' expresses purpose; resting improves the pickled flavour.
Origin
From Spanish 'escabeche', a Mediterranean method of preserving fried food in an acidic marinade, brought to the Caribbean via the Spanish and adapted locally.
How it's used
Everyday culinary term, strongly associated with Easter and with fried snapper. Foreign menus sometimes spell it 'escoveitch' or confuse it with regular fried fish; the defining feature is the vinegar-onion dressing.