Cuisine of Jamaica contains cooking techniques, flavors, spices and influences from each of the many waves of immigration to the island. Today, dishes which grace nearly every Jamaican menu include curry goat,fried dumplings, ackee and salt fish (cod)(the national dish of Jamaica), fried plantain, “jerk”,steamed cabbage and “rice and peas” (pigeon peas or kidney beans).
History
Cuisine of the Tainos
Christopher Columbus visited Jamaica multiple times towards the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, once even shipwrecked off the north coast for 2 years (1503-1504). During these visits he described a way the Tainos (the indigenous inhabitants of Jamaica) preserved meat by adding peppers,all spice and sea salt to make what is now known as Jamaican jerk spice.
Development of the cuisine
The Spanish, the first European arrivals to the island contributed dishes such as the vinegary concoction escovitch fish (Spanish cobeche). Later, English influences developed the Jamaican patty, a turnover filled with spicy meat. African cuisine developed on the island as a result of waves of slavery introduced by the European powers. Chinese and East Indian influences can also be found in Jamaican cuisine, as a result of indentured laborers who replaced slaves after emancipation brought their own culinary talents.
African cuisine, Indian cuisine and American cuisine, Chinese cuisine and British cuisine are not new to the island. Through many years of British colonialism the cuisine developed many habits of cooking particular to a trading colony. The natives of Jamaica drink the most tea per capita in the Caribbean to this day as a result.
Popular ingredients
- There is a difference in the flavors of meats, such as pork and chicken, from other countries because of differences in the diet of the animals being fed on local foodstuffs as opposed to imported grains. Jamaican chickens in particular some allege compared to other chickens have an unusually rich flavor. Jamaicans eat much more chicken than beef or pork.
- Ackee
- Cassava
- Plantain
- Green Bananas
- Scotch bonnet peppers
- Chayote (locally known as “chocho”)
- Taro (locally known as ” dasheen” or “coco”)
- Pigeon peas (locally known as “gungo peas”)
- All spice
- Ginger
- Jamaican jerk spice
- Callaloo
- Escallion
Popular dishes
- Ackee and salt fish
- Jerk chicken – griled jerrk-spiced chicken
- Curry goat
- Rice and peas – rice stewed with beans and coconut milk.
- Jamaican beef, chicken, curry patties.
- Jamaican spiced bun.
- Brown stew chicken.
- Red peas soup.
- Stewed peas.
- Mannish water (Goat soup) – This is said to be an aphrodisiac.
- Escoveitch Fish.
- Coconut Rundown – spicy mackerel and coconut stew
- Oxtail
- Pepper pot soup
- Callaloo and Salt fish
- Cabbage and Salt fish
- Corned beef and Cabbage
- Steamed Fish
- Okra (also Okra and salt fish stew)
- Pig Foot
- Cow Foot
- Renta Pineapple Drink
Desserts
Mango and sour sop ice cream are two popular desserts. Jamaican ice cream is traditionally made with coconut milk, rather than milk or cream as used elswhere. The most popular Jamaican ice cream flavors are grape nut and rum & raisin.
Other popular desserts include potato pudding, gizzada (a small pie shell with sweet spiced coconut filling), toto (a small coconut cake), banana fritters, coconut drops, plantain tart. Dookoonu
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