Jamaican Cuisine

Jamaican cuisine combines the influences of African, European and Asian cuisines and adds native dishes and ingredients.

Jamaican cuisine usually is rich and spicy hot and uses many native fruits and vegetables as well as fish and shellfisch. Jamaicans also love pork, chicken and goat. Curry-powder is often used to season stews. Favourite snacks in Jamaica are soups, fried bananas, patties (meat pies) and Johnny Cake (fried bread or pancakes). Of course the native fruits such as pineapples, melons, mangoes, papayas and bananas are also staple meals for the Jamaicans. Ginger, garlic, allspice and hot peppers are basic seasonings used in Jamaican cuisine.

Jamaican Specialities

• Jerk (Marinated pork or chicken, traditionally slow-roasted for several hours over allspice-branches)
• Rice and peas. (Made of rice and either peas or beans cooked in coconut milk and spices. In Jamaica the preferred “pea” is the red kidney bean).
• Saltfish and Ackee (Salted cod with cooked ackee)
• Pepperpot soup (Peppery soup with callaloo as the main ingredient is callaloo. Along with the spinach-like callaloo, pepperpot soup includes pig tails or salt pork, coconut milk, okra and plenty of spices.

Jamaican Beverages

Jamaican rum is world-famous as is Tia Maria, a coffee liquor. Jamaica also produces a wide range of liquors and spirits that are mainly rum-based. Jamaican locals usually drink tea or coffee like the famous Blue Mountain Coffee or Jamaican beer, with Red Stripe and Dragon Stout being the most popular.