Tropical regions have a large variety of culinary possibilities, and the Cook Islands are no different. Popular ingredients include fresh fruit—papayas, lemons, limes, coconuts, bananas, mangos, musk melons—all of which make for a refreshing taste for the palate, not to mention a healthy breakfast!
The locals are adept at making items of clothing and items like necklaces and jewellery made from shells. Giving somebody a shell necklace and placing it around the recipients neck is a goodwill and love gesture.
About 70% of the population of the Cook Islands belong to the Cook Islands Christian Church. The second largest group are Roman Catholics, estimated at the end of 1994 to have 3,086 adherents. The following traditions are also represented in the islands: Anglicans, the Assembly of God, the Baptist Church, the Church of Latter-Day Saints, the Apostolic Church, the Baha'i faith and Jehovah's witnesses.