The Betty Black Blog

Curry Goat is probably one of the most popular Jamaican dishes and, in some quarters, is a must for parties and special events. This dish, like so many others, exemplifies the melding of different cultures into what is entirely Jamaican. In 1845 the first indentured labourers arrived from India.

There is disagreement among scientists as to whether the Coconut Palm, Cocos nucifera, originated in South Asia or the West Indies. Dry coconuts are very buoyant and can float for miles across the ocean, wash up on a beach somewhere and grow into a coconut palm.

For those people who know only canned coconut cream and [...]

From the hilltop mansions to the middle class ‘burbs to the poorest inner city room to the rural farmhouse: Sunday Dinner must be chicken and rice and peas. No social or cultural divide here.

Jerk is a Taino (native Jamaican people) barbeque which was adopted by the Maroons and the Buccaneers. In fact, the word barbeque is a Taino word. The word buccaneer or boucanier is derived from the French meaning “eater of smoked meat.”

Once upon a time, long, long ago when I was younger and had more patience, I had the reputation of being a fairly decent cook; but let’s say it’s been a decade (or two) since my family was treated to Beef Wellington for Sunday dinner! Now, like most people, I cook the easiest meal as [...]