We would expect that two countries close both in geography and culture would have similar foods. It is therefore no surprise that neighbouring Jamaica and Haiti have similar cuisine. There are many indigenous fruit, vegetables and native animals in common. Canoes of the early Tainos plied back and forth between the two Islands. The history of European colonists and East African slaves is a common one. War in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries between the English, headquartered at Port Royal and the French, later based in Port-au-Prince, also affected food as soldiers and their retinues carried recipes from one country to the other.

But, as we all know, similar does not necessarily mean the same. There are still French influences in Haitian food to this day, particularly their puddings and breads, and their food does not have the strong Eastern flavours which we got from East Indian and Chinese indentured labourers.

Similar

Diri et Pois Colles

1 cup red kidney beans
¼-½ cup salt pork, diced
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green Scotch Bonnet pepper, chopped
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups rice

Cook the beans in lightly salted water until tender, drain and set aside both the beans and the cooking liquid.

Fry the salt pork until crisp (use oil if necessary). Add the onion, garlic and green pepper and sauté lightly. Stir in the drained beans and sauté for a minute or two more.

Add  four cups of the water in which the beans were cooked. Bring to a boil, add cumin and salt and pepper if necessary. Add the rice and cook until rice is tender, 20-25 minutes.

Griot (Grillots)

½ cup scallions, chopped
½ Scotch Bonnet pepper, chopped
1 tsp thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup Seville (sour) orange juice
3 lb pork shoulder, cubed

Mix first five ingredients together. Pour over pork in a glass or ceramic container, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain pork and place in heavy pot. Add enough water to barely cover and cook for about 45 minutes.

Drain, then fry in hot oil until golden brown. Serve with Ti-Malis Sauce

Ti-Malis Sauce

1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup lime juice
3 Tbsp butter
2 Scotch Bonnet peppers, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tomatoes, chopped

Marinate the onions in lime juice for about 30 minutes. Drain the onions, reserving lime juice.

In a heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, add the onions and sauté lightly. Stir in the peppers, garlic and tomatoes. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes

Turn off the heat and add the reserved lime juice. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Different

Diri Jon-Jon (Riz Djon Djon)

2 cups rice
1 cup dried black mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sprig thyme
4 Tbsp butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and soak each in a cup of hot water for approximately ½ hour.

Sauté rice and garlic in butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add mushroom caps and water in which they were soaked. Discard mushroom stems and add water in which they were soaked.
Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Accra

1lb malanga (coco yam)
1 cup fresh black eyed peas (not dried)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 stalk scallion, chopped
½ onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ green pepper, chopped
1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, chopped
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp flour, approx.
½ tsp baking powder
Oil for deep frying

Grate the malanga. Process black eyed peas, ½ cup water and seasoning in blender until about the same consistency as the grated malanga.

In a bowl, mix the malanga with the black eye pea mixture. Add the beaten egg then the flour and baking powder to make a very thick batter.

Heat the oil until very hot. Drop the mixture by tablespoons into the hot oil. Turn when dark golden brown.

Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Bon Appétit!

Please help our neighbours in distress by donating to Food for the Poor or your favourite Charity

Traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day, Gungo Peas Soup is a highly nutritious follow up to the over indulgence of the Christmas Season. Gungo Peas, Cajanus cajan, are also called Pigeon Peas or Congo Peas. They are popular all over the Caribbean from Trinidad and Tobago to Barbados to Puerto Rico and, of course, Jamaica. Gungo peas have been cultivated for millennia; supposedly travelling from the Indian sub-continent to East Africa and then to the West Indies. A true legume, the gungo bush can sometimes grow up to ten feet tall and different varieties will bear annually or biannually. The plants generally live for three to five years but are often rooted out after two years as the yield falls off. The plants are then shredded and tilled back into the soil as, like all legumes, they are an excellent green manure and will enrich the poorest soil. They are also very drought tolerant and will grow in the driest areas. They are an excellent source of protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and in the herbal medicine of some cultures, tea made from the leaves is used to treat swelling of internal organs and some cancers. Though dried peas are available throughout the year, in Jamaica, gungo usually bears in December and January and fresh green gungo are a must for Christmas Dinner rice and peas and of course: Ham Bone Soup Ham bone ½-1 lb pigstail or salt pork (optional) 1 qt (4 cups) fresh green gungo (or 3 tins green gungo) 2 tsp allspice berries or 1 tsp ground allspice 2 sprigs thyme 3 stalks scallion, chopped 1 med onion, chopped Salt & black pepper to taste 1 whole unbroken green Scotch Bonnet pepper 2 cups coconut milk (or 1 tin) 1 lb yellow yam, peeled and cut into chunks Flour for dumplings If bone is large, saw into 2 or 3 pieces, the bone from a picnic ham can usually be left in one piece. If the meat remaining on the bone appears to be less than 2 cups add pig’s tail or salt pork and use less salt. Place all ingredients except coconut, yam and dumplings in a 5-6 quart pot and cover with water to about 2 inches from the top. Bring to boil then cover and lower heat and simmer for about 1 hour until peas are tender (20 minutes in pressure cooker). Take out pepper and discard. Remove bone and cut off meat. Return meat to pot along with yam and dumplings, adding more water if necessary,  and cook for a further 30 minutes (10 minutes in pressure cooker). Add coconut milk and adjust seasoning. Return to stove and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes. Happy New Year!

For more about Jamaica visit Jamaica-Allspice.com

High in antioxidants, roselle is used in herbal medicine as a diuretic, mild laxative, cough medicine, for high blood pressure and even to treat cancer! Heated leaves are used as a poultice to treat sores. The leaves are eaten like callaloo or spinach in some parts of the world and it makes delicious jam and chutney as well as herbal tea.

So what are we talking about? It’s December isn’t it, surely you’ve bought your sorrel by now!

Since we’ve had the good news that Appleton supplies are not affected by last night’s (2nd December) awful fire at Wray and Nephew, it’s time to draw your sorrel, my great-grandmother’s stone jar is ready for mine.

Sorrel Drink
4 qt sorrel (seeds removed)
1 gal boiling water
Strip fresh orange peel
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice berries
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger or to taste
1 lb each granulated and brown sugar
White or “red” rum to taste
Place the sorrel and spices in a large, clean glass or ceramic jar. Pour boiling water over. Cover and let the mixture steep for at least 24 hours. Strain, add sugar and rum to taste. Pour into clean bottles and refrigerate.

Not too much rum, December’s only just started!

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com

So the bottom line is I’ve decided to take advantage of the American “Black Friday” crazy shopping day and have discounted some of the designs in my online shop especially for the Readers of my Website and my Blog. I’ve created two new designs to big up our athletes and I’ve hunted down twenty-four more antique maps to reproduce for my popular Jamaican and West Indian Maps store.

All of these new items are discounted by half of my normal profit margin to say a big Thank You to everyone who has been kind enough to read my random thoughts over the past six years. These designs are accessible only through this link and the one on the Jamaica-Allspice website.

Happy Shopping!

If you’re really into American Thanksgiving here’s a Pumpkin Pie:
Pastry:
1½ cups pastry flour
½ tsp salt
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup butter
Filling:
1 lb peeled and cooked pumpkin or 1×15oz can
½ cup sugar
¼ cup maple syrup or maple-flavoured syrup
1 tsp each ground cinnamon and allspice
½ tsp salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 375F.

Sieve together flour and salt. Cut cold butter and shortening into cubes and cut into flour using a pastry blender or knife until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp cold water over mixture and mix with a fork, add up to 2 more Tbsp water until dough can form a ball. Do not use more than 4 Tbsp water total or your pastry will be tough.

On a floured surface, flatten dough ball with your hands then roll out to a 13 circle. Lift pastry carefully into a 9 inch pie dish and ease in carefully without stretching it, trim edges that hang over sides of dish. Put to one side in a cool place; if using a metal pie plate, put in the fridge while you make the filling.

In a bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, maple syrup, spices and salt. Add eggs and beat with a fork until combined. Gradually add milk, stirring until combined.

Carefully pour filling in pastry shell. Cover edge of pie crust with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, return to oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes more or until a knife inserted near centre comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for about an hour then refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve decorate with whipped cream and chopped pecans.

Happy Thanksgiving to our American Friends!

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com

The Oxford English Dictionary defines allspice as: Jamaica Pepper, Eugenia Pimenta: Native Tree the berries of which are a popular spice which tastes like a combination of several other spices. Botanically, it is Pimenta dioica of the family Myrtaceae.

According to legend, when the Spanish arrived in Jamaica they thought that the dried berries were black pepper or pimienta and the name stuck. The native Tainos used allspice as medicine and for preserving meat. Meat, mostly wild boar, was preserved by flavouring with allspice and smoking over fires of allspice leaves and branches. The result was called boucan, which ultimately gave us the word buccaneer. As you may realise boucan was the earliest form of jerk pork!

An evergreen tree, rarely more than 15 ft (4.5m) tall, both leaves and berries can be used to achieve the distinctive flavour. However, it is the dried berries which are used both locally and for export as the leaves lose all flavour when dried. The berries are picked green and dried on special “barbeques” in the sun. The essential oil is also used in medicine including the treatment of indigestion and arthritis.

Pimento grown in Jamaica is in high demand for, just as with coffee, our soil and climate produces the best flavour. We produce 90% of the world’s pimento.

Allspice is popular worldwide and is used in an amazing range of dishes: cakes in England, Cincinnati Chili in the U.S.A., curries in India and sausages in Germany, meat dishes in Middle Eastern cuisine, pickles of various kinds in various countries and, of course, absolutely everything here!

When the trees bloom their small white powder-puff flowers the scent is amazing. In 1755, the botanist Patrick Browne wrote: “Nothing can be more delicious than the odour of these walks, when the trees are in bloom, as well as other times; the friction of the leaves and small branches even in a gentle breeze diffusing a most exhilarating scent.”

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com.

Peppered Shrimp
2 lb large shrimp in shell or jonga (crawfish), if available
3-5 cloves garlic
½ cup salad oil
½ cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2-4 Scotch Bonnet peppers – try 2 green and 2 ripe chopped
1 tsp pimento berries or ½ tsp ground allspice

It’s a good idea to wear gloves when chopping any hot peppers, most of all with Scotch Bonnets!

Bring all ingredients except shrimp to boil in a large non-aluminium pot or Dutch pot. Reduce heat and add shrimp.

Cook for approximately 10-15 minutes. Do not leave unattended.

Cover and leave overnight in a cool place for flavours to mature. Serve warm or cold.

Scotch Bonnet Peppers
This is a naturally occurring relative (not a cultivar) of the habanero. It looks like a squashed habanero or a Scotsman’s “bonnet”, hence the name. Habaneros, which are easier to find internationally, can be substituted.
In 1912 a pharmacologist called Wilbur Scoville developed a system for rating the hotness of peppers. On this scale the Jalapeno is rated at 2,500-8,000; the Serrano at 8,000-22,000 and the Scotch Bonnet at 200,000-325,000 so treat it with respect if you are not used to it. It has a wonderful fruity flavour if used carefully.
We use whole green Scotch bonnets a lot in soups and stews. Use unbroken peppers with the stem attached and be careful when stirring that the pepper does not break or your soup may become inedible!

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com

]]> http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/2009/11/18/favourite-jamaican-dishes-pepper-shrimp/feed/ 0 http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/2009/11/15/blue-mountain-coffee-the-nectar-of-the-gods/ http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/2009/11/15/blue-mountain-coffee-the-nectar-of-the-gods/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:25:29 +0000 BettyB http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/?p=420 To the eastern end of Jamaica, straddling St Andrew, St Mary and Portland, lie the Blue Mountains, the tallest section of the Island’s hilly spine. Blue Mountain Peak soars a majestic 7402ft (2256m) into the air. Half way up this lush range something magical happens, for this is where the world famous Blue Mountain Coffee grows.

In the 1720s, Louis XIV of France sent three Arabica coffee plants to his colony of Martinique. Two plants perished and the third was given as a gift or bribe by the Governor of Martinique to Sir Nicholas Lawes, Governor of Jamaica, in about 1728. Other versions say that the plants were part of the cargo on a captured French vessel. Plant, soil and climate created a perfect synergy and by 1737, Jamaica started to export coffee and the rest, as they say, is history.

Most of the coffee available in our local supermarkets is what is known as high mountain coffee, this coffee meets some but not all of the criteria. It may be grown at the correct altitude but not in the Blue Mountains or it might be grown below the minimum altitude, or it might just possible have been grown on a certified Blue Mountain plantation and the beans were not quite the right size or colour! Some of our locally available coffee is High Mountain mixed with imported product as, for every pound of Blue Mountain Coffee sold, we can buy 10 pounds of Brazilian or Columbian.

The designation, Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, is an internationally protected certification that can only be issued by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica. Altitude, geographic location, method of drying and roasting, size of beans, etc. are all rigidly regulated and monitored; the beans also take twice as long to ripen as more mundane coffees. Blue Mountain Coffee is never freeze dried, decaffeinated or made into instant granules. Some people think that there is a low caffeine content because the coffee is not bitter but in actual fact this is not so; the caffeine level is quite high, it is a low acid content which gives the deceptively mild flavour. The rich, smooth taste makes this incredible brew one of the most sought after, and most expensive, coffees in the world. Blue Mountain Coffee is grown at elevations between 3,000 and 5,500 ft. Coffee does not grow properly above that height and below it lacks that special magic. There are only 18 plantations/companies certified by the Coffee Industry Board.

Read more about the Blue Mountains at Jamaica-Allspice.com

Now here’s the thing: Stew Peas is not made with peas of any kind but rather with red kidney beans. In Jamaica when we refer to peas, we mean red kidney beans and nothing else. So, let’s make a pot of Stewed Kidney Beans. Not quite the same, is it?

Stew Peas
(Make this quantity & freeze remainder)

2 pks (1½ lb) red kidney beans
2lb stewing beef (shin is ideal)
1lb pickled salted pigs’ tails, salt pork or beef or combination
4-6 stalks scallions
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp allspice berries or ½ tsp ground allspice
1 whole unbroken green Scotch Bonnet pepper or chopped ripe pepper to taste
2 cups or 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 recipe spinner dumplings
1-2 lb yam, cut in wedges
4 or more peeled whole medium onions

Soak or scald the pickled meat to remove some of the salt.
Wash beans & soak for a few hours to soften slightly.

Put all ingredients except whole pepper, coconut milk, dumplings, yam & whole onions in 6 qt pressure cooker, cover with water & cook until peas are tender. Check after 20 minutes & add more water if necessary.

Remove about 2 cups of the beans & put through blender or mash with a wooden spoon & return to pot along with remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Stew should be very thick.

Cook for 10-15 minutes more until onions are tender. Monitor carefully as it burns very easily.

Serve with plain rice, fried plantains and avocado salad. Serves 6-8.

*Note:
Yam is not sweet potato. Yam is dioscoreaceae dioscorea, sweet potato is ipomoea batatas. There are many varieties of yam, some with a soft texture like potatoes and some much harder. It is not uncommon to find yam tubers up to 20lb in weight. Yellow yam, one of the firmer varieties, is my preferred type.

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com

The Indians brought with them the exotic spices of their homeland. The former slaves kept chickens and goats, livestock which did not require either a lot of money or a great deal of space to rear. Behold, Curry Goat was invented!

Here’s a How-To video from the UK Food Channel:

I think my recipe is better than the Anglicised one:

Curry Goat
1½ lbs. goat or mutton, cut into small cubes
3 large onions, chopped
3 stalks scallions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 large potatoes, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon salt
2 sprigs thyme
½ Scotch Bonnet pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Pickapeppa Sauce (optional)

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other large heavy pot over medium heat, and brown the meat in batches. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Sauté the onions and garlic in the fat remaining in the pot until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the curry powder and cook for about 3 minutes to release the curry flavour.

Return the meat to the pan, with remaining ingredients and water just to cover, cover and simmer for 1½ -2 hours. Add more water as necessary.

Serve with plain rice. Serves 4.

Don’t feel like cooking Curry Goat, then laugh at it instead; this video is hilarious!

Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com

]]> http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/2009/10/21/how-to-cook-curry-goat/feed/ 0 http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/2009/10/09/the-tree-of-life/ http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/2009/10/09/the-tree-of-life/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:47:14 +0000 BettyB http://blog.jamaica-allspice.com/?p=88 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 dried coconut in packages here’s something mind-boggling. In ancient Sanskrit the coconut palm was called kalpa vriksha, which translates as “the tree which provides all the necessities of life.”  No modern language could describe it better. Were you stranded on the proverbial desert island with a few coconut trees you would be provided with food, clothing, shelter and medicine. The juice of the young coconut, coconut water, contains vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and anti-oxidants. The high electrolyte content makes it a better sports drink than any commercial product. This coconut water can also be used as intravenous fluid. The sap from the flowers can be fermented into wine.

Antique print by Koehler

The dried meat, known as copra, is used as livestock feed and to make the oil used in manufacturing commercial soap. A more refined oil is produced by boiling coconut cream, great for cooking and cosmetics. The dried husks can be used, like gourds, as small bird houses or, cut horizontally, for household brushes. They also make pretty decent drinking vessels and orchid pots and are used as musical instruments in the Philippines. The dried husks also make excellent kindling.  The shredded husk, coir, is woven into ropes and mats and used in flower baskets just as other countries use sphagnum moss. A woven-looking fabric which grows on the tree under the fruit was used in ancient times as loin cloths.

The tree trunk provides excellent lumber and is now gaining popularity as a sustainable wood. The stumps are used in some parts of the world as drums.

The leaves or fronds are thatch and most of the huts on tropical hotel beaches are thatched with coconut. The thatch is also woven into hats and baskets. The centre ribs can be used as arrows, skewers or fishing spears. In times past many a Jamaican child was disciplined with a coconut switch.

An infusion of the roots is used as mouthwash and as a treatment for dysentery.

And when you get sick of your desert island, hollow out the trunk of a tree into a canoe and get the hell out of there!

Read about more Jamaican plants at Jamaica-Allspice.com