A TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN
Chef Dudley Newbery travels to Jamaica with teacher and presenter Beverley Lennon to cook up a feast of local cuisine on the Caribbean island.
ABOUT JAMIACAN FOOD
KEY INGEDIENTS IN JAMAICAN AND CARIBBEAN FOOD
Below is an extensive list of ingredients and dishes that are integral to the identity of Jamaican and Caribbean cooking. Some items you might recognise but, in the main, the majority will be as unfamiliar to you in the way that they are familiar to the West Indians.
A-B C-D E-J L-P R-S T-Y
Ackee - National Fruit of Jamaica and one half of the national breakfast dish, which is ackee and saltfish. Ackee originated in West Africa and is reddish-yellow in colour. Ackee is poisonous before ripening. When it ripens the ackee pod opens up to reveal three large black seeds and bright yellow flesh. Never open an ackee pod as it will do so by itself and will thus cease to be deadly.
Adobo Rub/Marinade - A marinade for grilled/roasted meats and poultry consisting of salt, chilli peppers, garlic, onion and lime.
Allspice - This is a berry that comes from a tree that is indigenous to Jamaica. They are dark-reddish/brown in hue whilst the scent and flavour is akin to a mixture of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, pepper, anise and coriander. Also known as the Pimento Seed.
Annatto - Reddish yellow spice, which is ground from the seeds of a flowering tree. The seeds are stored in oil, which gives it a wonderful colour and flavour.
Arrowroot - A starch used as a thickening agent for stews and sauces. Often boiled and used as a cure for diarrhoea.
Asopao - A word of Spanish origin that means soupy. This is basically a soup-like stew that usually includes meat, chicken or fish with rice, tomato, onion, peppers, olives, peas (beans) and so on.
Bammy - A dish that originated from the Arawak Indians. Bammy is deep-fried yucca bread and shaped much like a pancake.
Banana - Popular fruit used in many dishes and often deep-fried.
Bay Rum - Dark berry from the Bay Rum Tree and used to add flavour to soups and stews.
Beans (Peas) - All beans in Jamaica are referred to as peas, hence the dish Rice & Peas. Interchangeable term used to describe red kidney beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, pigeon peas, yellow/green lentils, cowpeas, butter beans and so on. Beans/Peas are Jamaicas main source of protein.
Beef - Due to British colonisation roast beef remains popular in Jamaica and the other Caribbean islands.
Bissy - A cola nut that is often used to quell an upset stomach. Also used to counteract a bout of food poisoning.
Blaff - Poached fish, which got its name from the sound it makes when dropped into a pan filled with spicy boiling water.
Blue Marlin - Popular and classy fish enjoyed by Jamaicans. Thought to be the Jamaican answer to smoked salmon. Marlin that isnt eaten immediately is smoked.
Blue Mountain Coffee - The signature coffee of Jamaica processed by four companies on the island.
Boniato - White potato, semi-sweet in taste
Braata - Basically means a little extra of everything.
Breadfruit - Native to Tahiti and first brought to the Caribbean by Captain Bligh in 1793, following his survival of the mutiny on his ship The Bounty. Only edible when cooked and used as an alternative to rice, pasta and starchy vegetables.
Bulla - Small round brown biscuit or cookie made from sugar and flour
A-B C-D E-J L-P R-S T-Y
Ackee - National Fruit of Jamaica and one half of the national breakfast dish, which is ackee and saltfish. Ackee originated in West Africa and is reddish-yellow in colour. Ackee is poisonous before ripening. When it ripens the ackee pod opens up to reveal three large black seeds and bright yellow flesh. Never open an ackee pod as it will do so by itself and will thus cease to be deadly.
Adobo Rub/Marinade - A marinade for grilled/roasted meats and poultry consisting of salt, chilli peppers, garlic, onion and lime.
Allspice - This is a berry that comes from a tree that is indigenous to Jamaica. They are dark-reddish/brown in hue whilst the scent and flavour is akin to a mixture of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, pepper, anise and coriander. Also known as the Pimento Seed.
Annatto - Reddish yellow spice, which is ground from the seeds of a flowering tree. The seeds are stored in oil, which gives it a wonderful colour and flavour.
Arrowroot - A starch used as a thickening agent for stews and sauces. Often boiled and used as a cure for diarrhoea.
Asopao - A word of Spanish origin that means soupy. This is basically a soup-like stew that usually includes meat, chicken or fish with rice, tomato, onion, peppers, olives, peas (beans) and so on.
Bammy - A dish that originated from the Arawak Indians. Bammy is deep-fried yucca bread and shaped much like a pancake.
Banana - Popular fruit used in many dishes and often deep-fried.
Bay Rum - Dark berry from the Bay Rum Tree and used to add flavour to soups and stews.
Beans (Peas) - All beans in Jamaica are referred to as peas, hence the dish Rice & Peas. Interchangeable term used to describe red kidney beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, pigeon peas, yellow/green lentils, cowpeas, butter beans and so on. Beans/Peas are Jamaicas main source of protein.
Beef - Due to British colonisation roast beef remains popular in Jamaica and the other Caribbean islands.
Bissy - A cola nut that is often used to quell an upset stomach. Also used to counteract a bout of food poisoning.
Blaff - Poached fish, which got its name from the sound it makes when dropped into a pan filled with spicy boiling water.
Blue Marlin - Popular and classy fish enjoyed by Jamaicans. Thought to be the Jamaican answer to smoked salmon. Marlin that isnt eaten immediately is smoked.
Blue Mountain Coffee - The signature coffee of Jamaica processed by four companies on the island.
Boniato - White potato, semi-sweet in taste
Braata - Basically means a little extra of everything.
Breadfruit - Native to Tahiti and first brought to the Caribbean by Captain Bligh in 1793, following his survival of the mutiny on his ship The Bounty. Only edible when cooked and used as an alternative to rice, pasta and starchy vegetables.
Bulla - Small round brown biscuit or cookie made from sugar and flour