Grenada’s traditional one-pot dish made with coconut milk, meat or seafood, dumplings, and ground provisions is oil down.
Oil down is widely regarded as Grenada’s national dish. Typical ingredients include salted meat or fish, chicken, breadfruit, green banana, dasheen, turmeric, coconut milk, and flour dumplings. Recipes differ between households, and seafood versions are especially natural in an island setting.
The name refers to the cooking process: coconut milk is simmered until much of its liquid evaporates, leaving the coconut oil to settle at the bottom of the pot. Ingredients are layered and cooked together, producing a thick, richly flavored meal rather than a soup with a large amount of broth.
Oil down reflects African, Indigenous Caribbean, and European influences on Grenadian foodways. It is often prepared communally because the one-pot method is practical for gatherings. The dish should not be confused with Jamaican rundown, another coconut-based Caribbean preparation with a different regional identity.