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Jamaican
cuisine is a healthier diet than most because it is made
with many unprocessed foods and uses smaller amounts of red
meats with much more fish, beans and vegetables. Ginger,
garlic, allspice and hot peppers are basic seasonings used
in Jamaican cuisine. Unhealthier trends are emerging as
Jamaica has taken on some of the traits of its many
visitors. British cuisine and American 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 such as the consumption of tea. The natives
of Jamaica drink the most tea per capita in the Caribbean to
this day as a result.
There is a
difference in the flavors of meats, such as pork and
chicken, then in 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
have a unusually rich flavor. Jamicans eat much more chicken
than beef or pork.
Mango and
Soursop Ice Cream are two popular desserts. Jamaican ice
cream is traditionally made with coconut milk, rather than
milk or cream as used elsewhere. The most popular Jamaican
ice cream flavors are Grapenut (not the cereal) and Rum
Raisin.
Popular
ingredients include: Ackee, Yuca, Plantains, Scotch bonnet
peppers, Sweet potatoes, Chayote (locally known as "chocho"),
Malanga (locally known as "coco"), Allspice, and Ginger.
Jamaican jerk spice
A Jamaican
patty is a fast food that contains various fillings and
spices baked inside a flaky pastry shell. As its name
suggests, it is commonly found in Jamaica, and is also eaten
in other areas of the Caribbean. It is traditionally filled
with ground beef, however, fillings now include chicken,
vegetables and fish. |
