Conch Fritters
Fri July 5th, 2019
The large sea snail that lives in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico surrounding the Florida Keys is known as the Key West Conch (pronounced Konk). The first settlers and longtime residents of Key West are also referred to as Key West Conch.
Americans loyal to the British crown after the war (Tories) were so unpopular, they left the south and fled to the Bahamas (the next British colony). At that time, the British Parliament began taxing Bahamians on their food, the same way they taxed the Bostonians on their tea...
The Bahamians declared that they would rather eat conch than pay the taxes! So, they did just that! The Bahamians came up with 27 different ways to make conch. Over the years, the name Conch was given as a nickname to locals who made Key West their home.