Characteristic products
Fishing has always been a major activity in Jamaica. The whole island, including the interior, is supplied daily with fresh seafood that small fishermen bring to the markets. A wide variety of fish is consumed: grouper, snapper, jacks, surmulet, mackerel, etc. Cod (saltfish) is extremely popular and is used in many dishes. And of course there are lobsters, shrimps, crabs and lambis or conch
, huge mollusks with a beautiful shell.Pork and chicken are the most common meats, but goat or goatling is also popular. Vegetables and starches include cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, black and white beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, potatoes, etc. Some vegetables are less well known, such as okra, which has a slight zucchini taste and looks like a green chili pepper. The christophine or chayote looks like a green pear, but this cousin of the squash has a very neutral taste, close to the potato. Various leafy vegetables such as amaranth are used to prepare callaloo
.Pineapple, banana, mango, guava, passion fruit (maracuja), papaya, coconut, citrus, avocado and plantain are some of the most common fruits in the markets. But there are other species just as interesting. Let us note the yellow star-shaped carambola, the sapodillo with its apricot taste, the sugar cane to be chewed, the annone corossol with its very sweet white pulp or the guineps - fruit of the quenettier - with its translucent acidulous flesh. There are also a few fruits native to Jamaica such as the star apple with a slight blueberry taste and the sweet-sop
(apple-cinnamon) which resembles a kind of green bread apple with a flavor close to that of a pear.The ackee, fruit of theakesia, does not come from the Caribbean and was introduced in the island by the African slaves. This fruit hides three globes of yellow flesh and three large black pits under a hard red shell. When it is not ripe and still closed, the ackee is poisonous. When cooked, it looks and tastes like scrambled eggs. The breadfruit
comes from the Pacific. This large fruit has a dense, chewy texture with a slight bread-like taste when cooked. The locals make generous use of spices. The queen of the island is undoubtedly the famous allspice or pepper/allspice. A native spice with a strong flavor, a subtle blend of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper, it is used to season many dishes. The chili pepper is widely present here, like the tiny but fierce bird pepper or the Scotch bonnet, one of the hottest chili peppers in the world. Pepper, bay leaf, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon round out the list. Browning sauce is a brown sugar-based molasses used to give a caramelized flavor to stews and baked goods.Eating habits and Rastafarianism
In the restaurants of the big hotels - dedicated to a well-to-do western public - the prices are generally high. If the fast-food
chains - very present on the island - are more affordable, they do not necessarily offer a gastronomic journey. Dare to venture into "bouis-bouis" and markets to discover excellent Jamaican cuisine at very reasonable prices. If these establishments do not always look good, they are often worth a visit. It is impossible to talk about local gastronomy without mentioning I-Tal cuisine. This term, which appeared in the 1930s and is inseparable from the Rastafari culture, comes from the English word " vital " from which the "v" has been removed and which refers to a healthy lifestyle, devoid of excess. It is a vegan diet, which excludes meat, fish, dairy products, eggs and even honey. The I-Tal diet also prohibits alcohol and drugs, but not marijuana, which is considered a herb. This cuisine can be found in many restaurants on the island, but the Rastafari Indigenous Village community (around Montego Bay) is the most famous.The classics of Jamaican cuisine
Breakfast in Jamaica will be the occasion to taste the national dish of the island, namely the famous ackee & saltfish. This must-try dish consists of a mixture of dried and salted cod, cooked withackee whose soft flesh is reminiscent of scrambled eggs. The saltfish with cabbage contains cod and shredded cabbage simmered with spices and vegetables. Another savory dish to start the day is the mackerel rundown
, a spicy stew of dried mackerel in coconut milk, served with plantain and a cassava roll.Among the seafood products is theescovitch fish, inspired by the escabeche, introduced in the Caribbean by the Spaniards. Fresh fish is cooked in a vinegar-based sauce, topped with onion, bell pepper, allspice and chili. The brown stew fish owes its dark color to the browning sauce and consists of fish, tomato, bell pepper, chili and onion. Jamaicans are fond of pepper shrimps. These very spicy shrimps are one of the emblems of the local street food
.But if you had to name only one dish in Jamaica, it would probably be the jerk chicken. You will find it on every street corner, in every town and village. The meat is first marinated in a bouquet of spices called Jamaican jerk spices
, containing chili, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, etc. Then the meat - which can also be pork - is grilled on the barbecue, but well above the flames, which allows for a longer cooking time similar to hot smoking, like the smoked chicken found in the French West Indies. In general, locals use horizontal metal barrels as barbecues.Other classics include rice & peas, a recipe for rice cooked with red beans sometimes cooked in coconut milk and flavored with various spices. It accompanies most meat dishes. The pepperpot is a specialty of Arawak origin, coming from Guyana in South America. Transformed to match the Jamaican taste, it is a rich stew of meats (beef, pig tail, ham), cooked with callaloo, the local spinach. No Jamaican party is complete without curry goat
, usually served with white rice or black beans. The same recipe can be served with chicken.On the soup side, let's mention the mannish water, a spicy goat soup filled with vegetables with supposedly aphrodisiac properties, served to newlyweds on their wedding night. The simple pumkin soup is a spicy pumpkin soup made with beef broth. Or try the red peas soup
: red beans, beef, coconut, corn, onions, garlic, pepper and thyme are the main ingredients. There are of course various pastries, such as patties. Very popular, these small patties filled with meat (beef or chicken) are rather spicy. To test: theackee patty. Bammies are round flat breads made of cassava flour that usually accompany fish dishes in sauce. Coco bread is a type of bread roll made with coconut milk and used to make sandwiches.Desserts and drinks
Johnny cakes are flour rolls fried in oil, often served for breakfast. The bulla cake is a round and flat cake, flavored with molasses and spices, often eaten with avocado. Gizzadas are small caramelized coconut pies flavored with ginger. Let's also mention the duckunoo,
a kind of pudding, of African origin, made of green bananas and corn flour, cooked in banana leaves.Inspired by the English Christmas pudding , the black cake is a kind of rich cake with dried fruits, spices and rum. Finally, the tamarind balls are soft and tangy tamarind sweets. Halfway between a dessert and a drink, the Irish moss is a very liquid cream made of milk, honey and spices, thickened with red seaweed - or " Irish moss
" in English - which is used as a gelling agent in this recipe.Coffee lovers will be delighted in Jamaica. Blue Mountain coffee
is considered one of the best coffees in the world. It is best enjoyed in one of the small coffee shops located on the side of the said mountains, while enjoying the restful landscapes of the Blue Peak. A rarity that has a cost: on average 150 €/kg. However, due to English colonization, tea is by far the most consumed hot drink in Jamaica. Jamaican teas offer a wide range of medicinal herbal infusions with healing properties such as " roots " (infusion of roots with tonic and rum) or " bush teas " (infusions of herbs, fruits or roots such as lemongrass for fever, cerasee/bitter melon for digestive pains or ginger for sore throat). Fruit juices remain a safe bet, unless you prefer Ting, the very refreshing grapefruit flavored soda.In rum heaven
Jamaican rum, produced according to centuries-old recipes, is one of the best in the Caribbean. Its different varieties, natural or flavored, with ages, dresses and scents full of promise, are consumed in many ways: dry at first, but especially in cocktails, and the creativity of Jamaican bartenders
in this field is impressive. The Appleton and the Myers have distinguished themselves and are considered the two best in Jamaica, and are certainly the most famous. The Blackwell Rum is used in many cocktails and we can also mention the Compagnie des Indes rum, the Hampden, the Velier Royal Nevy or the Smith & Cross. It is possible to visit the most famous distilleries on the island. Beer is the popular national drink at the counter of Jamaican bars. The favorite brand of Jamaican beer is Red Stripe, colloquially known as "policeman" because of the similarity between the red stripe of the national uniform and the red stripe on the label. Red Stripe is now available in a light version and a bold, slightly amber version. The Dragon (7%) and the Dragon Spitfire (10%) will delight those who are used to stronger beers with more pronounced aromas. The Guinness Punch is an amazing milkshake with Guinness beer, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and cinnamon. As for liqueurs, the list is also long, but the most famous are probably the Tía María - "Aunt Mary" - a mixture of rum, coffee, vanilla and sugar, at 31.5° and Sangster's, a cream of rum, similar to Irish Baileys, at only 17°. To be drunk iced.
