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Jamaican Cuisine

 
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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 dumpling
Dumpling

Dumplings, as defined in a standard English dictionary, fall in two main categories: these are either "piece[s] of dough, sometimes filled, that are cooked in liquid such as water or soup" or alternatively "sweetened dough wrapped around fruit, such as an apple, baked and served as a dessert." More generally, dumplings may be any of a wi...
s, ackee
Ackee

The Ackee or Akee is a member of the Sapindaceae , native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo....
 and salt fish (cod
Cod

Cod is the common name for the genus of fish Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety of other fishes....
) (the national dish of Jamaica), fried plantain
Plantain

The plantain is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana .The population of North America was first introduced to the banana plantain, and colloquially in the United States and Europe the term "banana" refers to that variety....
, "jerk
Jamaican jerk spice

Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and goat....
", steamed cabbage
Cabbage

The cabbage is a leafy garden plant of the Family Brassicaceae , used as a Leaf vegetable. It is a herbaceous, biennial plant, dicotyledonous flowering plant distinguished by a short stem upon which is crowded a mass of leaves, usually green but in some varieties red or purplish, forming a characteristic compact, globular cluster ....
 and "rice and peas
Rice and peas

Rice and Peas is the mainstay of the Cuisine of Jamaica and is traditionally, but not exclusively, eaten with the Sunday dinner. The dish is made with rice and any available legume, such as red kidney beans, pigeon peas , or cowpeas....
" (pigeon peas or kidney beans).

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m2063235",this)' onMouseout='hide("m2063235")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Christopher_Columbus">Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
 visited Jamaica
Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
 multiple times towards the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, once even shipwreck
Shipwreck

A shipwreck is the remains of a ship that has wrecked, either in it having sunk or been Beaching . A shipwreck can refer to a wrecked ship or to the event that caused the wreck, such as the striking of something that causes the ship to sink, the stranding of the ship on rocks, land or shoal, or the destruction of the ship at sea by vio...
ed off the north
North

North is one of the four cardinal directions, specifically the direction that, in Western culture, is treated as the fundamental direction:...
 coast
Coast

The coast is defined as that part of the land adjoining or near the ocean or its saltwater arms. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides....
 for 2 year
Year

A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. By extension, this can be applied to any planet: for example, a "Martian year" is the time in which Mars completes its own orbit....
s (1503-1504 ).






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Jerk Chicken July 05
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 dumpling
Dumpling

Dumplings, as defined in a standard English dictionary, fall in two main categories: these are either "piece[s] of dough, sometimes filled, that are cooked in liquid such as water or soup" or alternatively "sweetened dough wrapped around fruit, such as an apple, baked and served as a dessert." More generally, dumplings may be any of a wi...
s, ackee
Ackee

The Ackee or Akee is a member of the Sapindaceae , native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo....
 and salt fish (cod
Cod

Cod is the common name for the genus of fish Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety of other fishes....
) (the national dish of Jamaica), fried plantain
Plantain

The plantain is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana .The population of North America was first introduced to the banana plantain, and colloquially in the United States and Europe the term "banana" refers to that variety....
, "jerk
Jamaican jerk spice

Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and goat....
", steamed cabbage
Cabbage

The cabbage is a leafy garden plant of the Family Brassicaceae , used as a Leaf vegetable. It is a herbaceous, biennial plant, dicotyledonous flowering plant distinguished by a short stem upon which is crowded a mass of leaves, usually green but in some varieties red or purplish, forming a characteristic compact, globular cluster ....
 and "rice and peas
Rice and peas

Rice and Peas is the mainstay of the Cuisine of Jamaica and is traditionally, but not exclusively, eaten with the Sunday dinner. The dish is made with rice and any available legume, such as red kidney beans, pigeon peas , or cowpeas....
" (pigeon peas or kidney beans).

History


Cuisine of the Tainos

Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
 visited Jamaica
Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
 multiple times towards the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, once even shipwreck
Shipwreck

A shipwreck is the remains of a ship that has wrecked, either in it having sunk or been Beaching . A shipwreck can refer to a wrecked ship or to the event that caused the wreck, such as the striking of something that causes the ship to sink, the stranding of the ship on rocks, land or shoal, or the destruction of the ship at sea by vio...
ed off the north
North

North is one of the four cardinal directions, specifically the direction that, in Western culture, is treated as the fundamental direction:...
 coast
Coast

The coast is defined as that part of the land adjoining or near the ocean or its saltwater arms. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides....
 for 2 year
Year

A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. By extension, this can be applied to any planet: for example, a "Martian year" is the time in which Mars completes its own orbit....
s (1503-1504 ). During these visits he described a way the Taíno
Taíno

The Ta?nos were Indigenous peoples of the Americas of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is believed that the seafaring Ta?nos were relatives of the Arawakan people of South America....
s (the indigenous
Indigenous

Indigenous may refer to:*Indigenous peoples, population groups with ancestral connections to place prior to formally recorded history**Indigenous intellectual property, a legal term identifying the right to claim knowledge within their culture...
 inhabitants of Jamaica) preserved meat
Meat

In modern English usage, meat most often refers to animal biological tissue used as food, mostly skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also refer to offal, including livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, in some countries lungs, and a variety of other internal organs as well as blood....
 by adding pepper
Chili pepper

Chili pepper is the fruit of the plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the Solanaceae, Solanaceae. Botany considers the plant a berry bush....
s, allspice
Allspice

Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, Kurundu, Myrtle pepper, pimento, or newspice, is a spice which is the dried unripe fruit of the Pimenta dioica plant, a tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America....
 and sea salt
Sea salt

Sea salt, obtained by the evaporation of seawater, is used in cooking and cosmetics. Historically called bay salt, its mineral content gives it a different taste from table salt, which is pure sodium chloride, usually refined from mined rock salt or from sea salt....
 to make what is now known as Jamaican jerk spice
Jamaican jerk spice

Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and goat....
.

Development of the cuisine

The Spanish
Spanish people

Spanish people or Spaniards are a nation or ethnic group native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. They are often considered an amalgam of different ethnic groups, rather than an ethnic group by itself....
, the first Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
an arrivals to the island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
 contributed dishes such as the vinegar
Vinegar

Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid . It also may come in a diluted form....
y concoction [escovitched fish] [Spanish escabeche
Escabeche

Escabeche refers to both a dish of poached or fried fish , and not only fish that is marination in an acidic mixture before serving, and to the marinade itself....
). Later, Spanish
Spanish people

Spanish people or Spaniards are a nation or ethnic group native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. They are often considered an amalgam of different ethnic groups, rather than an ethnic group by itself....
 influences developed the Jamaican patty
Jamaican patty

A Jamaican patty or pattie is a pastry that contains various fillings and spices baked inside a flaky shell, often tinted golden yellow with an egg yolk mixture or turmeric....
, an empanada
Empanada

An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry. The name comes from the Spanish language verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing....
 styled turnover
Turnover (food)

A turnover is a kind of pastry made by placing a filling on a piece of dough, folding the dough over, and sealing it. Turnovers can be sweet or savory and are often made as a sort of portable meal or dessert, similar to a sandwich....
 filled with spiced meat. African cuisine developed on the island as a result of waves of slavery
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
 introduced by the Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
an powers. Chinese
Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine originated from the various regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world ? from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa....
 and East Indian influences can also be found in Jamaican cuisine, as a result of indenture
Indenture

An Indenture is a legal contract between two parties, particularly for Indentured servant or a term of apprenticeship but also for certain real estate transactions....
d labourers who replaced slaves after emancipation
Emancipation

Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:...
 brought their own culinary talents (especially curry
Curry

Curry is the English language description of any of a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine....
, which Jamaican chefs sometimes use to season goat
Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae....
 meat for special occasions).

African cuisine, Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine

The cuisine of India is characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of many spices and vegetables grown across India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism across its society....
 and American cuisine
American cuisine

American cuisine can refer to the cuisine of several regions:*Latin American cuisine*North American cuisine*cuisine of the United States...
, Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine originated from the various regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world ? from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa....
 and British cuisine
British cuisine

English cuisine is shaped by the country's temperate climate, its island geography, and its history. The latter includes interactions with other European countries, and the importing of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China, and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of World War II Immigration t...
 are not new to the island. Through many years of British colonialism
British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, and other Dependent territory ruled or administered by the United Kingdom , that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries....
 the cuisine developed many habits of cooking particular to a trading colony. The natives of Jamaica drink the most tea
Tea

Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods....
 per capita in the Caribbean
Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
 to this day as a result .

Popular ingredients

  • There is a difference in the flavors of meats, such as turkey
    Turkey

    Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
     and chicken
    Chicken

    The chicken is a Domestication fowl. Recent evidence suggests that domestication of the chicken was under way in Vietnam over 10,000 years ago....
    , from other countries because of differences in the diet
    Diet

    Diet, in relation to food, might mean:* Diet , the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group.* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake....
     of the animal
    Animal

    Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
    s being fed on local foodstuffs as opposed to imported grain
    GRAIN

    GRAIN is an international non-governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world's food crops are being drastically eliminated....
    s. Jamaican chickens in particular some allege compared to other chickens have an unusually rich flavor. Jamaicans eat much more chicken than beef
    Beef

    Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, European cuisine and the Americas, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia....
     or pork.
pimentos
  • Ackee
    Ackee

    The Ackee or Akee is a member of the Sapindaceae , native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo....
  • Cassava
    Cassava

    The cassava, cassadaIn page 25, Darwin says "Mandioca or cassada is likewise cultivated in great quantity."See it also in ,yuca, 'manioc, 'mogo...
  • Plantain
    Plantain

    The plantain is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana .The population of North America was first introduced to the banana plantain, and colloquially in the United States and Europe the term "banana" refers to that variety....
  • Green
    Green

    Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520?570-Nanometre....
     Banana
    Banana

    File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
  • Scotch bonnet (pepper)
  • Chayote
    Chayote

    The chayote , also known as sayote, tayota, choko, chocho, chow-chow, christophine, mirliton, and vegetable pear, is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash ....
     (locally known as "chocho
    Chocho

    Chocho may refer to:...
    ")
  • Taro
    Taro

    Taro , more rarely kalo , gabi in The Philippines and dalo in Fiji is a tropical plant grown primarily as a root vegetable for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable....
     (locally known as "dasheen" or "coco
    Coco

    Coco or CoCo may refer to:People* Coco the Clown, a name adopted by several clowns, but originally Nicolai Poliakoff* Nicole "Coco" Austin, model and wife of rapper Ice-T...
    ")
  • Pigeon peas (locally known as "gungo peas")
  • Allspice
    Allspice

    Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, Kurundu, Myrtle pepper, pimento, or newspice, is a spice which is the dried unripe fruit of the Pimenta dioica plant, a tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America....
     (locally known as "pimento
    Pimento

    The pimento, pimiento, or cherry pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper that measures 7 to 10 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide ....
    ")
  • Ginger
    Ginger

    Ginger is a spice which is used for cooking and is also consumed whole as a delicacy or medicine. It is the rhizome of the Zingiber, Zingiber officinale....
  • Jamaican jerk spice
    Jamaican jerk spice

    Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and goat....
  • Callaloo
    Callaloo

    Callaloo is a Caribbean dish that is most popular in Trinidad and Tobago, with variants in Guyana, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Haiti, Dominica, and Jamaica....
  • Escallion
  • Breadfruit
    Breadfruit

    Breadfruit is a species of Flowering plant tree in the Morus family, Moraceae, that is native to the Malay Peninsula and western Pacific Ocean islands....
  • Yam (vegetable)
    Yam (vegetable)

    Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea .These are perennial plant herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania....
  • Garlic
    Garlic

    Allium sativum L., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive....
  • Black Pepper
    Black pepper

    Black pepper is a flowering plant vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning....
  • Dried and salted cod (locally known as "salt fish")
  • Salted Beef
    Beef

    Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, European cuisine and the Americas, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia....
  • Thyme
    Thyme

    Thyme is a well known herb; in common usage the name may refer to* any or all members of the plant genus Thymus ,* common thyme, Thymus vulgaris, and some other species that are used as culinary herbs or for medicinal purposes....
  • Oxtail
    Oxtail

    Oxtail is the culinary name for the tail of a beef animal. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of an ox, a castrated bull. The oxtail of a steer typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs....
  • Cow Feet
  • Pig
    Pig

    Pigs, also called hogs or swine, are a genus of even-toed ungulates within the Family Suidae. The name pig, hog, or swine most commonly refers to the Domestic pig in everyday parlance, but technically encompasses several distinct species, including the Wild Boar....
     Tail
    Tail

    The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals and birds....
  • Pig
    Pig

    Pigs, also called hogs or swine, are a genus of even-toed ungulates within the Family Suidae. The name pig, hog, or swine most commonly refers to the Domestic pig in everyday parlance, but technically encompasses several distinct species, including the Wild Boar....
     Ears
    EARS

    EARS may refer to:* Electoral software* Emirates Amateur Radio SocietySee also* Ears...
  • Coconut milk
    Coconut milk

    Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut. The color and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high coconut oil content and sugars....
  • Coconut
    Coconut

    The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
  • Guava
    Guava

    Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium, which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. Native to Mexico and Central America, northern South America, parts of the Caribbean and some parts of North Africa, guavas are now cultivated and naturalized throughout the tropics, and are also grown in some...
  • Soursop
    Soursop

    The soursop is a broadleaf flowering evergreen tree native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. Today, it is also grown in some areas of Southeast Asia....
  • Passion fruit
  • Sugar cane
  • Ketchup
    Ketchup

    Ketchup, also known as tomato ketchup, tomato sauce, red sauce is a condiment, usually made from tomatoes. The primary ingredients in a typical modern ketchup are tomato concentrate, spirit vinegar, milk, corn syrup, or other sugar, edible salt, spice and herb extracts , spice and garlic powder....
  • Onion
    Onion

    Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa....
  • Browning Sauce
    Sauce

    In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish....
  • Boniato (locally known as "sweet potato")
  • Calabaza
    Calabaza

    Calabaza is an old Spanish language term that can be applied to a variety of gourds and melons. It is derived from the Persian language term for melon ....
     (locally known as "pumpkin")
  • Anatto
  • Avocado
    Avocado

    The avocado , also known as palta or aguacate , butter pear or alligator pear, is a tree native to Mexico, South America and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae....
     (locally known as "pear")
  • Gungo pea
  • Kidney bean
  • Roselle (plant)
    Roselle (plant)

    The Roselle is a species of hibiscus native to the Old World tropics. It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to 2?2.5 m tall....
     (locally known as "sorrel")
  • Tamarind
    Tamarind

    The Tamarind is a tree in the rank Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic . It is a tropical tree, native to tropical Africa, including Sudan and parts of the Madagascar dry deciduous forests....
  • Acerola
    Acerola

    Acerola or Acerolla, also known as Barbados cherry or wild crapemyrtle, is a tropical fruit-bearing shrub or small tree in the family Malpighiaceae....
     (locally known as "cherry")
  • Lima bean
    Lima bean

    'Phaseolus lunatus' is a legume. It is grown for its seed, which is eaten as a vegetable. It is commonly known as the 'lima bean' or 'butter bean'; it is also known as Haba bean, Pallar bean, Burma bean, Guffin bean, Hibbert bean, Sieva bean, Rangoon bean, Madagascar bean, Paiga, Paigya, ...
  • Chondrus crispus
  • Tahitian apple
    Tahitian apple

    Spondias dulcis or the Tahitian apple, also known as the Otaheite apple, , or just Golden apple, is an equatorial or tropical tree, with edible fruit containing a fibrous pit....
     (locally known as "June plum")
  • Jackfruit
    Jackfruit

    The jackfruit is a species of tree of the mulberry family native to parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is well suited to tropical lowlands....
  • Pineapple
    Pineapple

    Pineapple is the common name for an edible tropical plant and also its fruit. It is native to the southern part of Brazil, and Paraguay. This herbaceous plant perennial plant grows to tall with 30 or more trough-shaped and pointed leaves long, surrounding a thick plant stem....
  • Malay apple
    Malay Apple

    Malacca Apple is native to Malaysia but has been introduced throughout the tropics, including many Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago....
     (locally known as "apple" or "Otaheite apple")
  • banana
    Banana

    File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
  • Vinegar
    Vinegar

    Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid . It also may come in a diluted form....


Popular dishes

  • Ackee and saltfish
    Ackee and Saltfish

    Ackee and saltfish is a traditional Jamaican dish, which is internationally known as Jamaica's "national dish." This meal has spread to other countries wherever you find the Jamaican diaspora....
  • Jerk chicken - grilled
    Grilled

    Grilled could refer to:*Grilling, a form of cookingFilm*Grilled , a 2006 film directed by Jason Ensler...
     Jerk-spiced
    Jamaican jerk spice

    Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and goat....
     chicken
  • Curry goat and Curried
    Curry

    Curry is the English language description of any of a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine....
     Mutton
  • Rice and peas
    Rice and peas

    Rice and Peas is the mainstay of the Cuisine of Jamaica and is traditionally, but not exclusively, eaten with the Sunday dinner. The dish is made with rice and any available legume, such as red kidney beans, pigeon peas , or cowpeas....
     - rice
    Rice

    Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
     stewed with bean
    Bean

    Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genus of the Family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed.The whole young pods of bean plants, if picked before the pods ripen and dry, can be tender enough to eat whole, whether cooked or raw....
    s and coconut milk
    Coconut milk

    Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut. The color and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high coconut oil content and sugars....
    .
  • Jamaican beef
    Beef

    Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, European cuisine and the Americas, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia....
    , chicken
    Chicken

    The chicken is a Domestication fowl. Recent evidence suggests that domestication of the chicken was under way in Vietnam over 10,000 years ago....
    , curry
    Curry

    Curry is the English language description of any of a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine....
     patties
    Jamaican patty

    A Jamaican patty or pattie is a pastry that contains various fillings and spices baked inside a flaky shell, often tinted golden yellow with an egg yolk mixture or turmeric....
  • Jamaican spiced bun
    Spiced bun

    A spiced bun is a bun into which spices were added during the making process. Common examples are the hot cross bun and the Jamaican spiced bun....
  • Brown Stew Chicken, Brown Stew Beef
  • Red Peas Soup
  • Stewed Peas
  • Mannish Water (Head of Goat
    Goat

    The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae....
     Soup
    Soup

    Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables in Stock or hot/boiling water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth....
    )- This is said to be an aphrodisiac
    Aphrodisiac

    An aphrodisiac is a substance which is used in the belief that it increases sexual desire. The name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek mythology of sensuality....
     and is a common New Year's Eve
    New Year's Eve

    New Year's Eve is on , the final day of the Gregorian calendar year, and the day before New Year's Day.New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day....
     tradition.
  • Escoveitch Fish
  • Coconut Rundown - spicy mackerel
    Mackerel

    Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They occur in all tropical and temperate seas....
     and coconut
    Coconut

    The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
     stew
    Stew

    A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, poultry, sausages and seafood....
  • Oxtail
    Oxtail

    Oxtail is the culinary name for the tail of a beef animal. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of an ox, a castrated bull. The oxtail of a steer typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs....
  • Pepperpot Soup
    Soup

    Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables in Stock or hot/boiling water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth....
  • Callaloo and Saltfish
  • Cabbage and Saltfish
  • Corned Beef
    Corned beef

    In the U.S. and Canada, Corned beef has two meanings. One refers to a cut of beef Curing or Pickling in a seasoned brine. The other use of the term refers to a tinned product generally found with canned goods on supermarket shelves ...
     and Cabbage
  • Steamed Fish
  • Okra
    Okra

    Okra , also known as ladyfinger and gumbo, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae , valued for its edible green fruits. Okra's binomial nomenclature is Abelmoschus esculentus; it is occasionally referred to by the synonym, Hibiscus esculentus L....
     (also Okra and saltfish stew)
  • Pigfoot
  • Cowfoot
  • Renta Pineapple Drink


Desserts

Mango
Mango

Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae....
 and soursop
Soursop

The soursop is a broadleaf flowering evergreen tree native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. Today, it is also grown in some areas of Southeast Asia....
 ice Cream
Ice cream

Ice cream or ice-cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, combined with fruits or other ingredients....
 are two popular dessert
Dessert

Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses....
s. Jamaican ice cream is traditionally made with coconut milk
Coconut milk

Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut. The color and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high coconut oil content and sugars....
, rather than milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
 or cream
Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
 as used elsewhere. The most popular Jamaican ice cream flavours are grapenut and rum
Rûm

R?m, also Roum or Rhum , is a very indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of R?m in Asia Minor, and for Greeks inhabiting Ottoman Empire or modern Turkey territory as well as for Greek Cypriots....
 & raisin
Raisin

Raisins are Dried fruit grapes. They are created in many regions of the world, such as the United States, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Republic of Macedonia, Mexico, Greece, Turkey, India, Iran, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Togo, and Jamaica, as well as South Africa and Southern Europe and Eastern Europe....
.

Other popular desserts include potato pudding, gizzada (a small tart
Tart

A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet, that is a type of pie with an open top not covered with pastry. The Tarte Tatin is a particular kind of "upside-down" tart, of apples, other fruit, or onions....
 shell
Shell

Shell may refer to* Exoskeleton, or exoskeleton, including those of molluscs, turtles, insects and crustaceans* Seashell, the shells of various marine animals, especially marine mollusks...
 with sweet spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
d coconut
Coconut

The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
 filling), toto (a small coconut cake
Cake

Cake is a form of food that is usually sweet and often Baking. Cakes normally combine some kind of flour, a sweetener , a binding agent , fats , a liquid , flavoring and some form of leavening agent , though many cakes lack these ingredients and instead rely on air bubbles in the dough to expand and cause the cake to rise....
), banana
Banana

File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
 fritter
Fritter

A fritter is any kind of food coated in Batter and deep fried. The word comes from the Latin *frictura by way of Old French and Middle English....
s, coconut drops, plantain
Plantain

The plantain is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana .The population of North America was first introduced to the banana plantain, and colloquially in the United States and Europe the term "banana" refers to that variety....
 tart
Tart

A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet, that is a type of pie with an open top not covered with pastry. The Tarte Tatin is a particular kind of "upside-down" tart, of apples, other fruit, or onions....
. Dookoonu is a Ghanaian dish made with sweetened starch (usually cornmeal but can also be cassava) wrapped and boiled in a banana leaf. Also called "blue drawers'. [Asham] is ground or powdered sweetened parched corn.

External links

  • (includes description of Jamaican Cuisine)