Yes Mon - Jamaican Cuisine

The cuisine of Jamaica is unique and very tasty, bringing with it a mixture of local collection and island spices. Food The island of Jamaica is the motto, "Out of Many, One People". Jamaican inhabitants have come from all over the world, including the British, Dutch, French, Spanish, Indian, West African, Portuguese and Chinese, who brought with them their own unique cooking techniques, flavors and spices, mixing of generous 'island harvest.

The original inhabitants of Jamaica were the Arawak Indians, who died after the arrival of the Spaniards in 1509, due to illness and overwork. The Spanish then began importing slaves from Africa to replace the workforce. The Spanish brought with them their culinary influences. Thus, many Spanish Jews also arrived during the Spanish rule and contributed their influence to the cuisine of Jamaica, such as a pot still popular, fish escovitch.

In 1655 the English took Jamaica from the Spaniards and transformed much of the land in the sugar plantations. The British influence on the development of one of the most popular foods of Jamaica, the Jamaican Pattie, a turnover of spicy meat, which is the equivalent of burgers on the island. Many variety of Jamaican burgers are found in many supermarket freezers now.

A century later, learning of Chinese and Indian workers replaced the East African slaves after emancipation. These immigrants influenced curry dishes that grace nearly every Jamaican menu today, such as curried goat, chicken and fish.

A point of interest in the population of Jamaican Maroons. The Maroons are people descendant of slaves who fled the Spanish, fierce fighters who took to the hills and were never recaptured. They settled in a remote hilly region south of Montego Bay in Cockpit Country. The Maroons are now living in a completely self-sufficient lives off the land are known as the great herbalists of the island.

As seen from above, the food of Jamaica is influenced by its history. "Bammie," a toasted flat cake eaten with fried fish today, was made from cassava cultivated by the Arawak. The Maroons, slaves who were always on the run, devised a way of flesh "torn" (through spicing and slow cooking pork) that is popular in Jamaica today. The tree of bread, potatoes, root vegetables and ackee were brought from Africa to feed the slaves cheaply. It is said that the bread arrived with Captain William Bligh of the Bounty. And, as mentioned, the Chinese and East Indians brought with them their contributions in their exotic flavors of curry and other spices.

Added to the contributions of foreign influences, indigenous vegetables, such as cho-cho (a squash-like vegetable) and Callaloo (similar to spinach) are very popular in Jamaican cuisine today, along with the fruits of the island of bananas, coconuts, mango and pineapple. Among the more exotic fruits are popular in Jamaica guineps, papaya, star apple and sweetsops.

The Christmas tree brings allspice allspice to many Jamaican dishes, such as ginger, garlic, nutmeg, pepper and Scotch Bonnet, which are considered some of the hottest peppers on earth. The Scotch Bonnet is essential for the jerk pork, chicken and fish for which Jamaica is famous. The Maroons marinated meat for hours in a mixture of peppers, chili beans, shallots, thyme and nutmeg, then cooked slowly over an outdoor pit lined with pimento wood. Jerk stands can be found on all of today's tourists and residents of the island that offers equally unique taste spicy famous throughout the world.

Negril, located on the west coast of Jamaica, it was famous for his "hippie". Hippies found a colony and we enjoyed a relaxed lifestyle and "ganja". From here, vegetarian meals abound.

Quarters East, an area of ​​the south coast, offers dried shrimp in pepper that is sold by the bag. Stamp and Go (codfish fritters eaten as an appetizer) and mackerel Run-Down (marinated fish cooked in coconut milk seasoned until the fish just falls apart or literally "falls"), as well as boiled green bananas and potatoes desserts are served the whole island.

Jamaica is also quite famous worldwide for its Blue Mountain coffee, which takes its name from the Blue Mountains where the coffee beans are grown. The coffee industry in Jamaica began in 1725 when the governor brought seedlings from Martinique and planted them on his estate. Mountains cover about four fifths of Jamaica, the Blue Mountains, which reach a height of 7,400 feet. Coffee is planted on terraces along the mountain slopes, from 1,500 to 5,000 meters above sea level, and is often shaded by avocado and banana.

Jamaica's national dish is ackee and codfish, a plate breakfast island. Ackee, when cooked look and taste much like scrambled eggs. Ackee is poisonous until it is mature and is always served cooked.

Rice 'n peas is also a popular dish island, but it's really green peas, but beans (usually kidney beans). Other favorite dishes include Jamaican red pea soup (again, beans, salted pig tails, meat and vegetables), bread, hard cheese, fish tea (fish soup), Johnny Cakes (fried or baked bread), water masculine (a spicy soup made from goat's heads), Bulla (a sandwich spicy), stew peas (pea soup and red peas gungo), Solomon Gundy (an antipasto with marinated fish) and festivals (a type of bread).

As you can see, Jamaica offers a wide variety of dishes influenced by the island's history. By British, Spanish, African, East Indian and Chinese cuisine of Jamaica is very flavorful and often spicy and is a dining experience that everyone will enjoy .......