The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, kicked off in early July and runs until Sunday, August 4. The festival, known for its Caribbean Carnival Parade (which is the largest in North America), street parties and nightlife, is a celebration of music, costumes and of course, food.

Caribbean cuisine varies from island to island, and has a mixture of Carib and Arawak Indian, Spanish, Chinese, African, French and English influences. Caribbean dishes are often rich and spicy and made with rice and peas, curries, jerk seasoning, seafood, roti and plantains.

And while jerk chicken, Jamaican patties and stuffed rotis are available at Caribbean restaurants all year around, carnival time is also a time to experiment with these traditional dishes at home.

In honour of Caribana 2013, we've rounded up 21 of the tastiest and most popular Caribbean foods both during the festival and overseas.