Frikitaki and Blue Amber.
Research informs the writing. Adding local color to a new novel.
As the author of two trilogies, Benny Goldfarb, Private “I” and Henry Samson: Finder of Wrongdoing (under pen name H. F. Jefferson), I like to give readers a taste of the culture, language , and cuisine in the locations characters find themselves. There are two reasons for this: (1) local color adds depth to images in the reader’s mind’s eye; and (2), many people will not have the opportunity to visit places I write about. When they read my book, they receive a vicarious mini-tour.
Currently, I’m adding a fourth book to the Henry Samson series. As the story unfolds, the adventure moves to the Dominican Republic. A female character is an international gem dealer. She knows this island country is the only place in the world where blue amber is mined. The north and east of the island once had trees that produced a fluorescent resin. Ultraviolet light turns the yellow amber into bright shades of blue. I’d never heard of this before but, after a bit of research, my character was an expert.
In the course of storytelling, I’ve described the foods enjoyed in South American countries. If characters are in a restaurant, the reader knows their menu choices. Part of enjoying travel is experiencing cuisine different from what you normally eat. Latin America has fruit most norteamericanos don’t know, like the feijoa—a pear-shaped fruit with the flavor of apple pie and a minty aftertaste. When Argentines order steak, they have the optional con medio caballo, with half a horse.: two fried eggs on top giving the appearance of horse hooves.
This week’s research uncovered frikitaki, a sandwich sold on the street, in the Dominican Republic. The name fascinated me. It’s not clear how the name came about. The country has several spoken languages: Spanish, the official tongue, with regional dialects, words from Arawak, island natives, french-based Haitian Creole, and Samana English, which combines Spanish and West African languages. So far, the derivation of the sandwich’s name has eluded me.
How do you make a frikitaki or its relative, rikitaki? Here’s a link: https://t.ly/IQkQf
Bon appetit.
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