Jamaica

Country - Jamaica

Cuisine Description - The Jamaican cuisine is appreciated for being a healthy one, due to the reduced usage of red meat and furthermore, for using fish, vegetables and beans in most recipes. Spices are common to the Jamaican dishes, and the most frequently used are: allspice, ginger, garlic and hot peppers.

The first people to develop the Jamaican cuisine were the Arawak Indians. Next, the Tainos, which are among the oldest inhabitants of this country, have increased the number of cooking techniques and have enhanced the recipes. Tainos had a special way to conserve the meat, by adding peppers, allspice and sea salt to it. This mix was named Jamaican jerk spice. The first to describe this was Christopher Columbus, who came to this country in several occasions, at the end of the 15th century and the first years of the 16th century.

In time, Jamaica has gathered cooking concepts from all over the world. The American and the British cuisines have exercised the strongest influence over the Jamaican cooking style. Britain’s most obvious influence can be observed in the tea culture of this country. In the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica is on the first place in the tea consumption top. However, these cuisines seem also to develop an unhealthy tendency. As slavery was initiated, a greater number of influences were felt. The English desserts, such as puddings and the African yams, ackee and yams became part of the Jamaican cuisine. When this ended, Britain transported servants from India, who have affected the traditional style, as well.

The Jamaican foods based on meat are different from the ones in the rest of the world. This happens because the animals have a specific diet and therefore Pork and Chicken have a unique flavor.

Some of the ingredients might be consider exotic for the rest of the world, but this is one of the most important facts that make the Jamaican cuisine unique. cassava and callaloo, bananas, chocho, pawpaw, avocados and limes are widely used, all over the country. These are only a few of the ingredients that characterize the cuisine of Jamaica.

The Jamaican cuisine is not unique only because of the foods, but also due to the beverages that made this country popular all over the globe. The rum is a traditional drink that knows many variations in each part of Jamaica. This beverage has a very long history, which began in 1630. It is made from sugar cane or molasses and the name comes from rumbullion - a British word used in the 17th century to describe tumult. Another beverage that is typical for Jamaica is coffee. In time, however, the number of the plantations decreased, and so did the quality. Copy Recipes Wiki