the colonial era, which favored cheaper items that could be kept without refrigeration. Canned meats and fish are also popular, such as canned corned beef, canned sardines, and canned mackerel containing salt and added fat. Fresh meats are mainly prepared at dinner time; for some, these meats consist of chicken necks and backs, chicken feet, cow feet, pig feet/trotters, cow tripe, cow skin, cow tongue, and offals (especially beef and chicken liver). The upper classes enjoy the prime parts of a pig (along with the fat), chicken, goat, oxtail, and, to a lesser extent, beef. Curried goat, also called curried mutton, is a favorite, especially on special occasions such as at weddings, funerals, and other social gatherings (10-13).


Whole, processed cow’s milk has not been much used in recent years, but those who live in rural


communities may drink fresh cow’s milk. Imported dried skim milk (DSM) is the cheapest milk source for the population; it is traditionally flavored with syrup or other flavoring such as chocolate/coco mixtures. Canned sweetened condensed milk is heavily used, especially in place of sugar to sweeten porridge and hot and cold drinks. Eggs are used mainly in baking pastries, and cheddar cheese is primarily eaten with spice bun (10-13).


Fish is a source of protein that Jamaicans like at any meal; fresh sea fish prepared fried (such as


snapper) is popular, but for breakfast, more common choices are salted fish such as cod, herring, mackerel, or canned sardines or mackerel. Salted codfish is the favorite. It is served with greens called callaloo (similar to spinach), cabbage, or broad beans, or with ackee to make the national dish “ackee and saltfish.” Jamaica is the only country in the world where the ackee (sometimes called poison fruit) is regularly eaten. The ackee has to be properly harvested and prepared to avoid ackee poisoning. Ackee and saltfish are good substitutes for meat without the saturated fat. Other favorite fish dishes are mackerel rundown, made with pickled mackerel and coconut milk, and escoveitched fish (whole fish or fish steaks, drained, fried dry, and soaked in a vinegar mixture seasoned with pimento and onions). Pickled herring is shredded, bottled, and called Solomon Gundy. It is served as an appetizer with crackers (10-13).


Jamaicans eat rice and peas (a category that includes both beans and peas) daily, though beans alone


in a dish is rarely eaten. The primary peas are red/kidney beans, but at Christmas, the green gungo (pigeon) peas are prized despite the high price. Blackeyed peas are also used for rice and peas, but more so they are used in the preparation of soup. Dried peas and beans are traditionally used in combination dishes with bony meats to stretch the amount and supplement the protein. Stewed red kidney beans with salted beef or salted pig’s tail is a popular dish. Other rice and pea dishes include oxtail and broad beans and peas in soup with chicken feet (10-13).


Adding nuts to cooking is a Chinese practice served in restaurants. Nuts are also eaten alone as a snack.


Groundnuts eaten raw with the red skin intact and cashew nuts, grown locally but commercially processed, are the most popular. Salted nuts are also available. Other nuts and seeds are eaten if the plants are accessible, such as almonds, pumpkin seeds, and jackfruit seeds (10-13).


Vegetables are preferred fresh from the ground, but in dishes they are preferred cooked rather than


eaten raw. They are mainly seasoned and steamed until soft. These include amaranth callaloo (similar to spinach), pakchoi, cabbage, carrot, and string beans. Pumpkin is probably the most popular. Pumpkin is included in the one-pot soups along with chocho (similar to chayote), carrot, and turnip. Raw salads, when eaten, are preferably made from shredded carrot and cabbage with a dressing made of lime juice or vinegar, salt, and sugar. A salad can be made from lettuce leaves, sliced cucumber, and tomato slices. There is a distinction between the larger salad tomato and the smaller plummy tomato used for cooking along with onions and garlic. In fact, the word salad often refers to one or two tomato slices eaten as the sole vegetable with the main meal. Vegetable juice may be made from callaloo, beetroot, or carrots. Vegetable juice is sweetened with canned sweetened condensed milk or whole evaporated milk with sugar; lime juice and salt are added for flavor (10-13).


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