Jamaican cuisine
Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian, West African, Irish, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern people who have inhabited the island.
Popular Jamaican dishes include curry goat, fried dumplings, brown stew oxtail, ackee and saltfish and jerk.
The indigenous inhabitants of Jamaica, the Taínos, developed dishes such as jerk meats,[2] roasted fish, bammy,[2] cassava bread and pepperpot (made with callaloo and scotch bonnet pepper).
[2] Taíno influence can also be found in dishes like turned cornmeal, duckunoo,[17] Jamaican hominy corn porridge and Saturday beef soup.
[26] The Spanish, the first European arrivals to Jamaica, contributed many dishes and introduced a variety of crops and ingredients to the island— such as Asian rice, sugar cane, citrus like sweet orange, sour orange (Seville and Valencia), lime and lemon, tamarind, cacao, coconut, tomato, avocado, banana, grape, pomegranate, plantain, lettuce, carrot, fig and many other fruits and vegetables.
[3][4] They also brought cattle, goat, pig and other livestock that are eaten on the island,[4][18] as well as, rum,[27] herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, garlic, onion, oregano, ginger and others.
[18] Spanish and Portuguese Jews[28][29][30] who had escaped the inquisition in the 1500s, also introduced coconut macaroons, gizzada, steamed and fried fish, and salted codfish which is used in breakfast dishes and Jamaica's national dish— ackee and saltfish.
[18] African cuisine developed on the island as a result of waves of slavery and indentureship, such as callaloo from the Angolan dish calulu, okra and taro.
Their knowledge of cultivating and using crops that were introduced by the Europeans, from Africa and other regions, helped to shape cuisines in the Americas including Jamaica's.
[37] In the past, tools like the wooden mortar and pestle were used to grind dried and roasted coffee and cocoa beans, as well as, clay pots called ‘yabba’, were used for mixing cakes or puddings and seasoning or salting meats—both of which have African origins.
Due to the migration of British settlers, enslaved and emancipated Afro-Jamaicans and Creole Jamaicans to coastal Central America, between the 17th and 20th centuries,[6][7][8][9][48][49] Jamaican dishes some of which were influenced by the British, have been contributed to Belize and the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala and San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina.
Along with spices, they brought jackfruit, plums, tamarind, banyan, neem and bilimbi (also called kamranga locally)[51][56][55]— which is pickled and served as a relish.
[59] Their most notable culinary contributions are hard dough bread[60] and the use of soy sauce, ginger and escallion on meats,[18][59] particularly in Jamaican brown stew and fricassee dishes.
They also influenced other Jamaican fusion dishes, and contributed stir-fry, chow mein, chop suey, fried rice, sweet and sour meats / seafood, pineapple chicken and others[18]— which can be found on the menus of non-Chinese local restaurants.
French and English influences can be found in the use of bouillon or stock cubes, and Jamaican smoked herring pâté called Solomon Gundy.
[2][26] The coal stove, another important cooking tool used for preparing a wide range of foods like roast breadfruit (especially outdoors), was introduced by Dutch traders during the colonial era.
[30][79] Contingents of Syrian / Lebanese merchants settled in Jamaica and established businesses[29][80]— as such, Middle Eastern influences can be found in some dishes.
Variations of kebabs, wraps, meatballs, pelau, stuffed grape leaf rolls (known as ‘mehshi’) which are made with cabbage as a substitute, hummus, kibbeh, laban, tabbouleh and Syrian bread have been adopted.
[83] Simmering, a popular cooking style in Jewish cuisine[84] is also used for Jamaican stews, and the use of garlic as a primary seasoning is a culinary tradition inherited from the Jews.
[85] Their diet is based on maintaining a balanced life, good health and longevity by consuming fresh, organic and locally-sourced ingredients.
[18][85] Popular ital foods include ackee, lentil, tofu, okra and bean / peas dishes, pumpkin rice, callaloo and other vegetables.
A typical Jamaican breakfast may include ackee and saltfish, seasoned callaloo, boiled green bananas, and fried dumplings.
Jamaican ice cream comes in many flavours like, coffee, pistachio, jackfruit, coconut, mango, pineapple, guava, soursop and Dragon Stout.
Tie-a-leaf or blue drawers is a dish made by combining a starch (usually cornmeal, cassava or sweet potato) with coconut milk, spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, sugar and vanilla, then wrapped and tied in banana leaf before boiling.
In the United States, numerous restaurants are located throughout New York's boroughs, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and other metropolitan areas.
