Yuh is ah Trini | "Yuh like to put salt on every citrus fruit yuh eat to make it sweeter"
Triniglish|Trinididioms spoken and explained #81
Image via Bing Web Browser (a little salt on this fruit makes it taste so much better)
I saw the topic somewhere on the web (sorry can't remember the weblink to give the author credit) but I do have something to say about it because, you guessed it, I love to put salt on meh orange, grapefruit, mango, plums whatever to make it sweeter. Yes I said make it 'sweeter'!
Are we unique or is this typical of all people in the Caribbean? I don't know but I do know that Trinis like to put salt on oranges and grapefruit to make it 'sweeter' to eat. Look, when I say sweeter or use the term sweet I don't mean sweet like sugar but make a sour or acidic fruit palatable. Trinis have an affection for eating fruit with salt or as in the case of pommecythre (yes I spelt it correctly) we love to pickle it with plenty pepper.
I don't know why but on Sundays it seems like more oranges and grapefruit are eaten in Trinidad. Maybe it is because it is considered 'market day'. Now if you live along the Eastern Main Road you probably go to Sah-Wah (San Juan if you have to be proper), Tunapuna Market or on the greens in Arima where the main market is located.
Typically one would not see people sucking oranges and grapefruit at the market that session is for coconut water and doubles. However, when Trini returns home and unpacks the market haul he will peel his orange and sprinkle some salt on the fruit, rub the halves together then suck it in glorious fashion. After that one may hear his wife quarrelling with him because he forgot to buy the dasheen leaves for the callaloo or he purchased some real old and hard leaves for the callaloo.
In any case after sucking that orange he will have another then another until the roof of his mouth is scarred and then he will bitch and complain then repeat the ritual next Sunday. Trini eh!