The history and tradition of eating bun and cheese at Easter is not a discussion that most Jamaicans have, it’s a practice that has over time become naturally ingrained into the culture to the acceptance and enjoyment of most. I guess it’s like the Easter bunny, egg, egg hunt and basket or a Christmas tree ornament. Yes, there is the history of how it came to be, but no attention is ever given to the origin. In fact, many eat “bun and cheese” year round. However, Easter bun is slightly different as it is baked with dried fruits; raisins, cherry and currants. The year round version of Jamaican spice bun is typically without the dried fruits. 

It is interesting to note that the Easter tradition of bun and cheese is not accompanied by a special drink, time of day to enjoy or even at any given time over the course of the two-week Easter celebrations. It’s there to enjoy whenever one desires, as a snack, an offering to house guests, lunch or after-dinner munching. Due to its high demand and its limited availability during the season, enjoying Easter bun and cheese is often not the most affordable pleasure for some families. As such, the Easter bun is usually purchased the Thursday before Easter, “Holy Thursday,” for not only freshness, but also to ensure the household is not without over the Easter weekend. And even then, it is rationed throughout the weekend. The one tradition that is still practiced from its origin and introduction to Jamaica is that the Easter Bun is to be consumed on Good Friday. In the superstitious folklore past in Britain, our colonizers ate hot cross buns on Good Friday. While the tradition has faded, Jamaica made it her own. After church service on Good Friday, the family enjoys Easter bun and cheese as a snack and then fish is served for dinner.

I enjoyed eating Easter bun and cheese growing up, it’s tasty! Today, I sometimes find myself intuitively partaking in the practice because it’s just something that we do. Once Easter celebrations are over however, so is the Easter bun and cheese. Not even if it’s on sale for 70% off. Once Christ has risen, there is no need for the Easter bun anymore. 

Around the world, Easter is marked as the celebration of the beginning of spring, but in Jamaica, it’s the beginning of the season we’ve all been waiting for, when the first blossoms of the mango trees begin to bare new fruit.

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For the past five years or so plantains have been having a moment. It is the talk of the town and “food porn” on all the social media platforms. The latest Tik Tok recipe video I saw used plantains as the crust for a pizza and ackee prepared with bell peppers for toppings! That actually sounds good. It’s not necessarily new and/or unique, but it’s nice to switch things up a little. Ackee is a breakfast dish in Jamaica and is at times accompanied by plant-tin. Thus, this Tik Tok “discovery” is not at all far-fetched. However, with the cultural phenomenon of its newfound fame, plantains are in everything. I’m not complaining, I just want to know why it’s suddenly not categorized as a breakfast dish, as I’ve always known it to be. 

Plantains are mainly from the tropics and Southeast Asia  — where the fruit is largely an accompaniment to a main meal. In Jamaica, it’s also served as a side dish for breakfast and at times as a snack or weekend breakfast choice when it hasn’t yet ripened — because it usually takes more time to prepare. Fried plant-tin doesn’t make its way past the breakfast table as, while it is popularly enjoyed, it is viewed poorly as a meal outside this time of day. Fried plant-tin and bread hits the spot every time, but this is only acceptable at breakfast. It’s not regarded as a complete meal and if you’re eating past the culturally appropriate time, it’s not only considered a poor choice, but it’s also not in keeping with tradition and that is often worse. In Jamaica, we’re serious about complete meals — a protein, starch and the occasional vegetable. A fruit for dinner, that’s nonsense. 

The only time plant-tin is available at dinner is when it’s boiled or roasted as a vegetable with other ground foods. It doesn’t sound too appetizing, but it’s really a sweet vegetable. This generally happens when the season’s harvest is plentiful and to avoid waste we start to prepare it with evening meals. Why all the rules? What can I say, but slavery. Centuries-old traditions manifest themselves in new ways. We choose to pass on a food that we view as “common” and thus, too poor for the family’s main dish, to now happily accept it when others find value, but on their terms. 

I am happy to report that the next day the resort righted their wrong and plant-tin was available specially for me at breakfast. Lets all break all the self-imposed rules; plant-tin morning, noon and night.

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The idea of “fast food” restaurants is lost on Jamaica and a complete oxymoron to be honest. Yes, you’ll find the well known and a few local brands operating in this arena, but waiting and waiting for extremely long periods is not uncommon at these franchises. In fact, if it is a Friday or a Saturday night, good luck. Take it as a sign that it is time to start dieting and sit this one out because they will either not have what you wanted due to high demand and/or you’re eating well past 10pm. It’s baffling because these incidents are weekly occurrences and almost accepted as a part of the dining-out experience. This is partly due to the meticulous character and nature of Jamaicans. We are thorough in all that we do and so the natural process of fast food to precook and then reheat will not stand with Jamaican consumers. I remember when the popular golden arches arrived in Jamaica, only to close its doors ten years later. Whatever the reasons, one was largely due to lack of research of how Jamaicans enjoy food. I believe my family might have visited a handful of times during its tenure. That’s a lot of Friday nights spent eating elsewhere. It is quite comforting though, to be known and be of value, and uphold high standards even when the rest of the world falls at their feet. Also, the burgers were simply too small for the oftentimes insatiable Jamaican appetite. 

Now eat-in, server, and reservations-required dining is becoming more popular, but mostly in resort towns and on resort properties. Lets just say, all things are possible here. I can’t say I have had much experience outside the resorts to fully provide an honest and current critique. The resorts of course, hands down, are where top notch service and accommodations are to be expected. Outside the resorts it is likely a hit or miss. Dining out is not one of our strong points, at least not as it should be. However, things are changing and I’m not giving up just yet and neither should you. One thing for sure that Jamaica is never short on, and that is a good meal.

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The preparation begins the night before, yes, after a very long day’s work on Saturday. The meat is seasoned and the peas are soaked in water to soften up for cooking. On Sunday morning, tea and toast will not do, it’s a big breakfast morning. Ackee and saltfish is always a leading favorite, but callaloo, mackerel, kidney or liver with ground foods are frequent choices as well. Breakfast and dinner are prepared simultaneously. This is because the household members will attend Sunday church service and dinner must be ready or close to being ready upon returning. 

The star of the meal is the rice and peas. It is also the most delicate in its preparation. Not only is the use of fresh coconut expected, but the peas must also be tender and cooked eveningly with the rice. Please take note that your rice and peas should never be white. I can’t stress this hard enough. It’s an intricate balance; the best cooks never use standard measurements and or recipes. I’ve used a measuring cup and canned beans and my family wouldn’t eat it. The most common option to accompany rice and peas is chicken — fried, roasted, baked or BBQ. A little bit more than the average, weekly browned stew chicken. Oxtail (emphasis on no plural “s”) or cow foot — yuck — I mean, yum, come close as second options. Beef, fish and curry goat could make Sunday dinner appearances, but most likely do not. If any does, it’s in conjunction with another holiday and/or celebration that has a two-meat to multiple protein option for the dinner spread. Then the Sunday vegetables — grated cabbage and carrots — are added. I can firmly state that Jamaicans don’t eat vegetables willingly on any other day of the week. On Sundays however, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Lastly, the beverage is added and that too is special, and stands out from the rest of the week. Options include fruit punch, guava (my favorite), soursop, carrot or some other concoction. 

The day wraps up with the family gathered around the television, a drive to the best ice cream parlor in town and then getting busy preparing for the week to come. Jamaican Sundays are the embodiment of the song title Easy like Sunday morning, just not if you’re a woman. Yet, we do it every single week.

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What we almost always all agree on though are the items in the pantry. I picked these six — browning, hard-dough bread, crackers, rum, tin mackerel and hot sauce — at random, but they are also what I found in my sister’s pantry. Our culture never sleeps. Browning because, as discussed, Jamaicans are afraid of white meat. If browning is absent, it’s curry for dinner or no meat. Though, a good Jamaican is never caught without browning (I have browning in the pantry that I don’t even use). Bread because the Lord said so. And when it’s warm, straight from the oven, it’s devoured in a day. Tough crackers are great for the in-between, with your tea or morning porridge. It’s best paired with something else, but is consumed alone when one is famished and can’t wait for a meal. It’s also a great teething “ring” for babies. Rum for its various medicinal purposes, including teething. I kid. Tin mackerel is always around. I believe this stems from hurricane anxiety and preparation. Once you’ve lived through one hurricane, “hurricane season” stretches far beyond the Farmer’s Almanac. And of course, everything tastes better with hot sauce, but remember, we are jerk spice kings and queens. The fundamentals are as such so as to never be caught by surprise. Food is important to Jamaican culture, but even in a crunch, taste and customs will not be compromised.  

In Jamaica, home is not only where the heart lives, but also in the contents of your pantry. I’m currently 1,714 miles from our island and I have five out of the six staples in my pantry. I don’t eat tin mackerel. I choose comfort. 

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Hellshire was a place for us, close to home, full of life, great food (home of the Jamaican festival) and one of the most beautiful beaches you’d ever seen. Mounds of white sand dunes that gave you a workout to the shore. Before I ever saw snow, I would pretend to ski down the slopes and at times, with friends, sled in tube sleighs between the shore and where we were parked on the sand. Today, all that is left is the parking lot as the shore has been eaten away by the sea and the sand used to mitigate its changes. They say it’s climate change. I say it is mismanagement and lack of care. Hellshire simply wasn’t a Jamaican tourism priority. 

I find it ironic how today we often find ourselves fighting with the amount of time we spend on our phones, taking pictures and recording the experience instead of living it, but I must say, I wish we had such access back then to preserve the image that once was. I just thought it would always be there when I needed it. Now it is gone. I haven’t visited Hellshire in over a decade because selfishly, I want it to remain as I remembered — nostalgia works best with distance.

As much as it was a place of adventure and refuge, Hellshire was also a place of fear and, although I didn’t have the word for it then, anxiety. We didn’t know how to swim and thus, the fear of drowning took precedence over pleasure. Then there was the ritual of being “baptized,” in the ocean, emulating our elders in the church. One would be dragged waist to shoulder deep into the ocean and dipped backwards, all the while crying for it to be over. It was meant to be fun or funny, but it was traumatic and still is. We didn’t know any better. Needless to say the experience didn’t create a community of olympic swimmers. There is a lot we didn’t know and that I can accept, but today what is it we’re choosing not to know? What else are we willing to lose? 

I’ll accept the mismanagement of Hellshire beach as “we didn’t know better.” In turn, we must accept and commit to investing in us, especially the places and things the tourists will not see. I’m grateful for the beach that kept my 2020 sane, but it was no Hellshire. It’s funny to witness how much private beaches on the island imitate what once came so naturally.

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First and foremost, it’s all in the method. Officially, jerk chicken, often referred to by Jamaicans as “pan fowl,” is prepared on an open fire (BBQ grill) fueled by a mixture of coal and wood from the allspice tree. The most authentic BBQ are of a makeshift carved out oil steel barrel and a special curated wood mixture cementing the style of the chef and his or her personal tradition. Further offerings and preferences take place in the ingredients that make up the rub or seasoning of the chicken. The basics of these ingredients, next to the quartered chicken, salt and black pepper are fresh ginger, thyme, scallion, pimento and scotch bonnet pepper, which offer a sweet, salty and spicy to very spicy flavor to the dish. This is why this spicy dish is most commonly paired with hard-dough bread to balance out the flavors and the burn. 

I personally don’t enjoy my jerk chicken when it’s overly spicy, but it’s not jerk chicken without a little kick. Forgo the added pepper for a milder experience. I should also add that jerk chicken is not merely a sauce. Though, ready-made jerk seasoning, available for sale in local supermarkets, is commonly used as jerk sauce for stove top cooking. While I find this method to be better than none, make no mistake — oven roasted chicken in store bought “jerk” rub is spicy roasted chicken. It’s still good, but it’s not jerk chicken, which has to have that smoked  flavor and then be chopped up into bite-sized pieces before being placed into aluminum foil. Jerk chicken tastes better when served in aluminum foil. It’s not the foil paper per se, but the foil gives us some insight into the method and process of the preparation. 

Traditionally, jerk chicken is purchased for Friday night dinners, road trips, fairs and outdoor functions. The strangest part about cooking jerk chicken is that it never seems to have a start and end time. Many marinate the quartered chicken parts in the rub overnight and then cooking starts at dawn to be ready for lunch or late in the afternoon in preparation for Friday night dinners at 8pm. The chicken doesn’t leave the grill until it is ready to be consumed. It’s simply moved from the scorching fire to little or no fire and back, absorbing and cultivating the aromas of the pan.  

If there were a scent to truly capture Jamaican Friday nights, it’s pan fowl, sunsets and seabreeze. Simple and free. A most appropriate addition to year 2020 indeed. 

Happy National Jerk Chicken Day!

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While the beginning of the Fall season isn’t what initiates us having soup for comfort on the island, the dish still masterfully tells us what is happening by its presence and that, I find comforting. And we take comfort seriously as there are only five soup options. Five. Most times it’s simply referred to as “soup” — no surprises. It’s beef, chicken/chicken foot (yes it’s feet), red peas (salt beef), mannish wata and fish tea. OK six if you separate chicken and chicken foot — both have a slightly different taste and texture. If you’re up for the challenge, try our Saturday best today!

Beef Soup recipe for 4–6 “servings” 60–90 mins

• 24 cups water
• 1 lb soup bone/meat
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/2 lb carrot, cubed
• 1/4 lb turnip, cubed
• 1 lb pumpkin, cubed
• 1/2 lb chocho, peeled and cubed
• 1 lb yellow yam, peeled and cubed

FOR DUMPLING MIXTURE:

• 1 lb flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water

SEASONING FOR SOUP:

• 1 packet Cock Soup Mix
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 sprig(s) thyme
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose seasoning
• 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 whole pimento berries

Saturday Soup/Beef Soup Directions

1. In a large pot bring water to a boil. Clean and chop soup bone/meat and add to the pot along with crushed garlic.
2. Add carrot, turnip, pumpkin, chocho and cook until the meat is tender.
3. Peel and add yellow yam.
   For Dumpling Mixture:
4. Combine flour with 1/8 tsp salt and 1/2 cup water and knead to form a smooth dough. Cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Cut dough in about 12 pieces and shape into dumplings and add to the soup.
   
   Seasoning for Soup:
6. Stir in cock soup mix, beaten scallion, thyme, all-purpose seasoning, scotch bonnet pepper, salt and pimento berries.
7. Allow to simmer for 20–30 minutes.
   
   Enjoy!

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Both can be enjoyed on its own, especially sweetsop, which is my most favorite. It’s a close tie to a St Julian (“Julie”) mango. I wouldn’t say it’s rare, but when you see one, you grab it. The season sneaks up on you sometimes and unless you personally harvest the variety, it might be awhile before you’re able to find this fruit without having to go on a deliberate hunt. It’s also appropriately nicknamed “sugar apple.” It is sweet like no other, at first it’s fragrant, then smoothing to a chasing memory. Don’t be surprised if it’s not to your liking on the first go. Many may find the sometimes gritty texture off-putting. 

Soursop on the other hand is popular and is sometimes prepared as a Sunday dinner beverage, which at times camouflage and counter when it’s indeed sour. 

Traditional Jamaican Soursop Juice Recipe (serves 10 cups)

• 1 large (ripe) soursop
• 4–6 cups water
• 4–6 tbsp condensed milk, sweeten to taste
• 1 tsp nutmeg, grated
• 1 cup milk (optional)
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1–2 tbsp cane sugar, sweeten to taste
• ½ small lime or lemon (optional)
• 1 tsp Jamaican white rum (optional)

No, it’s not a typo. There is in fact more sugar and dairy than rum in this drink recipe. Why?! To be fair, this is traditionally paired with Sunday dinner — a sacred family gathering enjoyed by all ages. Soursop juice is also labor intensive, nurturing and special, which is why it’s regarded as a part of Sunday dinner. It encompasses us all. It reminds us to enjoy the season, whether sweet or sour. If it is sour, it just takes a little work and togetherness to sweeten it up. If that doesn’t work, try the Jamoji remix. 

Jamoji Remix to serve over ice

• 1 large ripe soursop
• 4–6 cups water
• 1–2 tbsp cane sugar, sweeten to taste (optional) 
• ½ small lime or lemon 
• Jamaican white rum to your liking 

Instructions 

1. Peel soursop and remove the core.
2. Place the soursop pulp (fleshy part) w/o seeds into a large bowl.
3. Blend soursop pulp (no more than ¾ full).
4. Add water to the blender to completely cover the pulp.
5. Stir and loosen the mixture.
6. Blend on high until pulp liquefies. If the blender is struggling, add some more water, stir and resume blending. 
7. Strain the soursop juice into a large bowl. 
8. Use a large spoon to stir and press the juice through the strainer adding more water as needed.
9. If any unblended soursop pulp remains, repeat the process.
10. Choose whether you would like soursop juice with lime or milk, then use the relevant ingredients in the recipe above to flavor.

Enjoy responsibly! 

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I don’t know a Jamaican that doesn’t enjoy a juicy hot patty. As my dad once said, “Patty hot like a one day love.” Patty is the first, second, third and last meal I have upon arrival and prior to departure. It can be enjoyed as a snack, but if you add a second serving and coco bread it’s a meal and daily lunch for some. Two patty and a coco bread have saved many lives. Hence, “superfood.” I’m not at all picky about which of the two popular franchises on the island that I enjoy a patty from, but I do secretly have a preference when given the choice. However, a less than perfect patty is better than no patty. 

Jamaican beef patty is best described as a “beef turnover,” with a flaky, crisp shell filled with meat. A close cousin to the Argentinian empanada. It is at times presented as “fast food” for its readiness, but far from it in its preparation. And like any other bakery, it’s prepared daily. Patty is a superfood not for its nutrients or lack thereof, but for its power to unite us all. Beyond being a popular favorite, it’s fairly inexpensive, easily accessible and travels well. It’s our peanut butter and jelly, your mac and cheese and more, making it the obvious and comforting choice in a jam especially when catering to kids.

Patty is a crowd pleaser at summer day camp, at school fairs, as a friday school lunch and at family outings. One of the funniest things about Jamaicans and patty is that it’s at times a meal before a meal. On the way to a function where a meal is being served it’s very common to pick up patties on the way to the function. In the event the meal prepared is not enjoyable, ready or has run out. It’s as if we’re preparing our stomachs for disappointment, but if we’re proactive we will not be disappointed. While this is less than ideal for many reasons, it illustrates how reliable and trusted a patty is to us. 

I would go as far as saying my family and I have had some of our best meals and biggest smiles over sharing a patty. No fuss, no muss, just contentment all around. Many have suggested that I now try the callaloo, “veggie” patty to satisfy the new limitations of my diet — no thanks. I’m sure it’s good, but my love for the original will never waver. I’ll allow my memory to serve me best. 

Enjoy!

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