Category: Food

The Breadfruit, Bligh’s Gift to Jamaica and the Mutiny it Caused

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Looking up at a breadfruit tree laden with fruit, I heard an older gentleman remark to no one in particular, that it’d be a rough year. Breadfruit, he continued, as if revealing some truism that was lost to this younger generation, is always plentiful during hard times.

His words echoed in my head each time I noticed tree after tree that was covered in the slightly oval fruit that grows to the size of a large grapefruit. And as the value of the Jamaican currency fell to unprecedented levels against the US dollar this month, I began to wonder whether this abundance of breadfruit might really be a harbinger of hard times.

Maybe now, I thought, that prices on basic food items begin to creep upwards and salaries that have stayed flat buy less and less at the supermarket, its time to turn to this nutritious, and often overlooked food.

Lone breadfruit on a tree
Breadfruit

How the Breadfruit Came to Jamaica

The breadfruit was brought to Jamaica in 1793 by Captain William Bligh of the unfortunate HMS Bounty, precisely because it was considered an inexpensive and nutritious way to feed the large number of slaves who worked the island’s then numerous sugar plantations.

Bligh, an experienced navigator, who had lived near Lucea, Hanover from 1784-7, had sailed ships of sugar and rum from the island to England while he was in his uncle-in-law’s employ.

His ill-fated expedition to the South Pacific to bring back breadfruit and other plants ended in the now infamous mutiny in which Bligh not only lost his ship, he also lost the specimens he had collected.

He and 18 of his trusted crew were given a small boat which Bligh piloted 3,618 miles to Timor aided only by a quadrant and pocket watch, and his memory of charts he had seen. On his return to England, he was promoted to captain and in 1791, returned to Tahiti on the Providence for more fruit.

It was from this shipment that Bligh delivered specimens to the island of St. Vincent and Jamaica’s Bath Botanical Gardens in St. Thomas, and Bluefields in Westmoreland.

How the breadfruit caused the Mutiny on the Bounty
Breadfruit storyboard, Hanover Museum, Jamaica

Today, hundreds of varieties of breadfruit can be found in nearly 90 countries from the Pacific Islands, to Southeast Asia to the Caribbean and Central America. Left untouched, a tree can grow to about 85 feet, and yield between 150-200 fruits each year. One hundred grams of fruit has 27 grams of carbohydrates, 70 grams of water, as well as vitamins, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and other minerals.

Fried roasted breadfruit, ackee, saltfish, Johnny Cakes, avocado
Traditional breakfast, a slice of fried roasted breadfruit on the right. Max Jamaica Restaurant, NJ

While the easily grown trees, with its distinctive large, cut leaves, flourished in Jamaica, it took more than 40 years for the breadfruit — the taste is sometimes described as a cross between a potato and a plantain — to become popular to the local palate. Now, every household has at least one tree in its backyard and breadfruit or breshay is a staple of our diet, eaten at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even as a snack.

It is baked, fried, boiled, jerked, roasted and juiced. We also make chips, porridge, dumplings, salads, fritters, cakes, muffins and puddings from this almost year-round fruit all the while being mostly oblivious to the story behind their introduction to the island.

Given a choice, I take breadfruit over rice every time. A few slices of the young breadfruit give soups ‘body.’ The ‘fit’ breadfruit, when boiled is soft enough to be mashed like potato and eaten with butter. The ripe or slightly ripe better yet a yellow heart breadfruit is mandatory for roasting.

For the unlucky few who don’t have a tree in their backyards, breadfruit can usually be found in local markets. Roasting breadfruit is typically higher in price. Depending on location, they are between $0.50 and $1.00, and between $0.30 and $0.70 for boiling.

One of my favorite breadfruit recipes is baked breadfruit stuffed with ackee and saltfish.

Baked Breadfruit Stuffed with Ackee and Saltfish

Prepare ackee and saltfish, as shown below, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the stem from a medium breadfruit, rub with butter or brush with olive oil, and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake breadfruit for 35-45 minutes or until tender. Test whether a knife or skewer inserted into the breadfruit comes out clean.
Remove the breadfruit’s core (heart), stuff with salt fish and ackee. Rub more butter or olive oil on the outside and return to the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool then cut breadfruit in half. Garnish and serve.

Ackee and Saltfish

1/2 lb Saltfish (dried, salted codfish)
12 fresh ackees or 1 (drained) can of tinned ackees
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 Scotch Bonnet pepper
1 sweet pepper, for garnish (optional)
1 chopped tomato
1 sprig fresh thyme
Oil for frying

Soak saltfish overnight or boil to remove the salt. Drain. If boiled, let it cool before removing and discarding the skin and bones. Flake the fish. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Saute onions until transparent then add chopped tomato, pepper and thyme. Add saltfish and mix with onions, tomato, pepper. Fold in ackees and stir gently so the ackees stay whole. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, garnish with sweet pepper or use as stuffing for baked breadfruit.

 

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos and stories from locations around the world.

 

 

 

Last Lobster Meal Before Close Season

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Lobster lovers, take note: if you visit Jamaica between today and June 30th, there will not be an ounce of lobster on any menu anywhere on the island.

The close season started officially on April 1st and coincides with the peak breeding period. If you’re lucky enough to arrive before April 21st, you might be able to find some lobster as the government allows businesses to register by March 31st any stocks they might have. That stock can be used until April 21st.

Jamaican spiny lobster
Jamaican lobster

During the close season, it is illegal to catch, buy or sell lobsters. And any lobsters caught unintentionally in fishing traps must be returned to the sea. It is also illegal to be in possession of lobster parts or products, whether they are fresh or frozen. The penalties include 6 months in jail or a fine of J$100,000 (about US$1,000).

The Jamaican lobster is really a large crayfish. (A few weeks ago, I left a comment at A Taste of Travel.  They have the same crayfish in Australia that we call lobster here.)  It doesn’t have big claws like lobsters from Maine and the meat is a bit firmer. However it is prepared in the same way you would a regular lobster: grilled, steamed, curried, jerked, or used in soups and salads.

Until my neighbor reminded me, I’d totally forgotten about the few pounds I’ve had frozen since last December. Since I didn’t want to run afoul of the law, I decided to fix the lobster for dinner on Sunday, the last day we’re allowed legally to have it in our possession. Here’s how I prepared it.

Coconut Lobster
Coconut Lobster

Coconut Lobster

3 lbs. lobster
4 stalks escallion (spring onions), chopped finely
3 sprigs of thyme
1 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 small tomatoes, diced
1 small Scotch Bonnet pepper (leave whole. Remove seeds and cut into small pieces, if you want more fire)
1 can coconut milk
Oil
Salt, pepper to taste

Preparation

Hold the lobster body firmly with one hand, the tail with the other. Turn the tail until it separates from the body. Take a pair kitchen shears or a sharp knife and cut down the center of the tail. Use your fingers or the knife to pry the meat from the shell.
Remove the vein from the tail. Wash, cut into 1” pieces and set aside.
Sauté chopped onions, shallots, tomatoes and pepper
Add lobster, and salt and pepper to taste
Sauté until the pieces become white
Add coconut milk, whole Scotch Bonnet pepper and thyme
Let cook for 3 minutes or until done

Serve over your favorite vegetables

What foods do you look forward to eating when you travel?

The Jamaican Cherry

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

The Jamaican Cherry has red, sometimes yellow skin, is yellow inside and has two to three small oval seeds. It is slightly sweet, slightly tart and juicy, and is used to make juices, or washed and eaten just picked from the tree. The cherries are low in carbohydrates and are packed with vitamin C, vitamin A and folate.

Lone garden cherry on a tree Jamaica
Jamaican Cherry

The Jamaican Cherry is native to the Caribbean, southern Mexico, Central America and south to Peru and Bolivia. But it has also been found as far away as India and the Philippines. The Jamaican Cherry is known by several names, including Panama berry, Singapore cherry, and manzanitas.

Garden Cherry Jamaica
Jamaican Cherry
Cherry pits Jamaica
Pits

Flesh of a garden cherry Jamaica

The Jamaican Cherry is also a flowering tree. The flowers can be used as an antiseptic and also to relieve headaches and colds.

I took this flower, which I’ve magnified several times, around November. Since then, there has been two crops of fruit – cherries are in season again.

Flower of a cherry tree, Jamaica
Cherry flower

The trees are beautiful in season with specks of red peeking out from among verdant green leaves. The fruit can be picked individually or shaken from the tree, which typically grows no more than 6 or 7 feet tall. And since the trees are not very large, they can be found in the backyard gardens of most Jamaican families.

Cherry Drink, Jamaica
Jamaican Cherry Drink

During the season, it’s possible to get dozens of cherries – more than enough to juice. I usually freeze them and use them sparingly until the next crop. For color, I add some to my homemade fruit juices.

The Jamaican cherry is in season now so if you’re visiting or planning to visit soon, you should try the fresh juice. Ask at your hotel or guest house if there’s some on the menu, or if they can get some. I know some of the smaller establishments will gladly oblige.

The juice is quite easy to make. Put cherries in a blender, add enough water to cover the fruit and blend. (You can also add a bit more water if the juice is too thick.) Strain, add a little nutmeg, lime or ginger, and sugar to taste. Serve over ice or chill before serving.

 

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.

 

It’s Mango Season in Jamaica

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Jamaicans have a passion for mango and during mango season, everyone gets to indulge, sometimes eating enough of the fruit to replace a meal.

Mangoes are so loved here, there’s even a folk song, called appropriately, Mango Time, that celebrates the delicious fruit, and up to a few years ago, there was a mango festival in the parish of Westmoreland.

Mango season starts around April or May and ends about July, though there is at least one variety, the Tommy Atkins, which comes in around September or October.

Blossoming Mango tree, Jamaica
Blossoming Mango tree

If you’re a mango lover and are planning to visit Jamaica in the next few months, you’ll be in mango heaven. Trees are laden with mangoes; they’ll be on sale at almost every roadside stall, and included in the breakfast buffet at your hotel. In the height of the season, the aroma of the ripened fruit will hang in the air.

Mangoes on a tree
Mango tree

Mangoes are native to South Asia, where they have been grown for more than 6,000 years. They were introduced to Jamaica in the 1700s after several varieties were discovered on a French ship that was destined for Hispaniola. The ship was captured at sea by Lord Rodney and the mangoes brought to the island.

Ripe Julie and Graham mangoes
Julie and Graham mangoes

Continue reading “It’s Mango Season in Jamaica” →

The Jamaican Pineapple

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

I’ve been eating pineapples all my life but it wasn’t until about a year ago that I discovered that there are different varieties. On a recent visit to Croydon Plantation (more on that later), I tasted the Cowboy, Ripley and Sugar Loaf.**

Ripley Pineapple
The Ripley

Some Pineapple Facts

The pineapple was brought to Jamaica from South America by the Tainos, the island’s first inhabitants. The Spanish took it to Spain, then to Hawaii and the Philippines, and other countries.

Five golden pineapple can be seen on the red cross on the Jamaican Coat of Arms, which has been in use since the 1600s.

Jamaica Coat of Arms, pineapples
Jamaica Coat of Arms

Pineapples are cultivated island-wide but the main growing areas are in the parishes of St. Elizabeth, St. James, Westmoreland and Portland, and the main reaping time is from May to July. Most of the pineapples grown here are consumed locally.

Besides being delicious, the pineapple is an excellent source of Vitamins C, B1, B6, copper, manganese and dietary fiber. It can be eaten fresh, baked, juiced, or even grilled.

Fresh pineapple juice can be used as a meat tenderizer.

The pineapple can also help to prevent inflammation.

All of the fruit, except for the top, which can be replanted, is eaten here. We combine the peel with ginger to make a delicious drink (recipe follows).

**Del Monte scientists have developed a new strain of pineapple variety, the MD2, which is sweeter, grows to a uniform size, ripens evenly, and has a longer shelf life.

How to Peel a Pineapple

Using a sharp knife, cut from top to bottom.
Remove the eyes by cutting a long V-shaped channel diagonally down through the centers of the diamond
Remove the crown and the bottom end.
Cut into slices and remove the core from each slice, or leave the core in. (I eat the entire slice, core included.)

Pineapple Ginger Drink

Peel of a fresh pineapple, washed. You can also use the fruit but the peel holds more of the flavor.
2-4 ounces of fresh peeled ginger
4-5 cups water
Reserve a few chunks of pineapple to garnish
Maraschino cherry to garnish

Bring water to boil. Add pineapple and ginger to a metal pot or large pitcher that can withstand heat (you don’t want to use anything that would leach into the drink). Let steep overnight. Strain off the juice and add sugar to taste. Add ice. Garnish with pineapple chunks or a Maraschino cherry.

Did you know that there are different varieties of pineapple?

 

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.

This week, I’m also linking up with the Friday Daydreaming series organized by Becca at Rwethereyetmom. Hope to see you there!

Street Food, Jamaican Style

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

We don’t call it street food here, though that’s what it is and it’s been around for a while. When I was about 6 or 7, and we only used to jerk pork, there was a man who’d go from house to house selling pork from a metal pan that was attached to the front of his bicycle. The pan was like a portable barbecue with smoldering pimento coals at the bottom and another pan which contained the pork. You could smell it long before he arrived at our gate.

Back then, the economy was mostly agrarian and families prepared their meals at home.  Women would send their men off to the fields with lunches that were packed in “carriers,” aluminum containers that had compartments to keep the components of the meal separate. It also had a handle that made it easy to carry — I suspect that’s how it got it’s name.

If they had further to go, say to Kingston, the capital, there’d be stalls that sold seasonal fruits, like oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, otaheiti apples, etc., and a few that sold roasted yam and salted cod fish – inexpensive, popular and easy enough to make over an open fire.

To supplement the household income, some women would make baked goods – coconut drops (called drops for the way the sugary coconut mixture was dropped from a spoon and baked), cut cake, grater cake (a coconut and sugar reduction that is cooled and cut into small squares), peppermint candy, gizzadas (grated coconut in a crunchy shell), etc., that they sold as snacks, mostly at schools.

With more Jamaicans working further from home in the service based sector, few have time to prepare home cooked meals and stalls selling a variety of foods have become ubiquitous. Here are a few that I’ve eaten at.

Street Food, Jamaican Style
Food Stand

Despite its name, not all the food here was roasted. We stopped for a breakfast of green bananas and mackerel.

Street Food, Jamaican Style
Food Stand

Food stalls can be as elaborate or as rudimentary as the owner wishes. Some are small enough that they can be placed anywhere. At this stall in Clarendon, our lunch consisted of soup, roasted yam and codfish.

Street Food, Jamaican Style
Crayfish soup

At festivals, the number and variety of food stalls are sometimes overwhelming. I get food overload and can’t decide what to eat, like the day I took this photo at the Accompong Maroon Treaty Celebration.

The operator at this stall didn’t want anyone taking photos of his dressed up pigs but I couldn’t resist.

Street Food, Jamaican Style
Jerk Pork
Street Food, Jamaican Stye
Roasted Yam

Roasted yam is still quite popular maybe because it’s relatively easy to prepare. All you have to do is put the yam over the fire and the heat does the rest.

Street Food, Jamaican Stye
Coconut

On hot days, a drink of cold coconut water is refreshing.

Street Food, Jamaican Style
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!

My friend, Karen, is taking her coconut with a shot of Jamaican rum – a delicious combination. We were laughing at how decadent it was to be drinking so early in the morning. It might have been about 11 o’clock.

Here, the stall was the back of this guy’s car. He also had straw bags, change purses made from small calabash gourds, banana chips, knitted caps with locks and frozen jelly coconuts – one stop shopping.

Street Food, Jamaican Stye
It must be the rum that’s making her laugh so much

Do you try street food when you travel?

 

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.

This week, I’m also linking up with the Friday Daydreaming series organized by Becca at Rwethereyetmom. Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamaica: Keeping Alive the (Almost) Lost Art of Making Peppermint Candy

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

It was faint at first then as I trained my ear, a rhythmic slap-slap-slap sound filled the spaces within the noise of the festival. Was someone chopping wood? Curious, I moved quickly towards the direction of the sound. That’s when I spotted her.

Standing in front of a board that was hung about arms’ length above her head, she was wrapping a brown, sticky mixture around a nail that protruded some 6 inches from the board. Each time she folded the mixture over the nail, she slapped it against the board — that was the sound that had caught my attention. I inched closer and watched, fascination spreading over my face. What was she doing?

The crowd around her stall grew larger as more people were drawn to her stall. Using smart phones and digital cameras, they recorded her movements as she stretched, slapped and wrapped the mixture for several more minutes. When she stopped, it had turned from brown to beige. A whiff of peppermint floated through the air as she added a few drops to the mixture and continued to stretch and fold  until it glistened. Finally, she took it off the nail and added a few dollops of red that produced vibrant swirls as she stretched and twisted the mixture. Cutting off small pieces, she shaped them into canes and laid them on a small table.

Peppermint Candy swirl
Peppermint Candy

My excitement at seeing the Peppermint Candy Lady, as I started to call her, turned to pride. I had no idea that peppermint candy was ever made from scratch, let alone here in Jamaica. In a country that is often quick to embrace the new, I was thrilled to see someone who was carrying on the tradition.These are the kinds of experiences that, for me, make travel rewarding.

I was to learn something else that night: peppermint candy making was an art that my paternal grandmother had practiced. I never knew my grandmother and as I watched the Peppermint Candy Lady, I imagined, for a moment, that I was watching her.

After she finished and everyone had walked away, I approached. We didn’t get to talk long as Fay, that’s her name, had to set up her booth for the independence celebration that would begin the following day in Kingston. I wanted to watch her again and promised I’d meet her at the festival. I arrived just as she began setting up and we talked as I captured these photos of her at work.

Fay Thomas, 52, learned to make peppermint candy by hand from her great grandmother. She was 13 or 14 when her great grandmother brought her into the business saying she was getting older and needed her learn and eventually take over.

Back then, her grandmother used to turn 12 lbs. of sugar — boiled in two pots — into candy. Now, Fay does 6 lbs. and mostly displays her art at fairs and festivals. It’s a laborious process that she carries on for the love of it; it’s not enough for her to make a living at.

Continue reading “Jamaica: Keeping Alive the (Almost) Lost Art of Making Peppermint Candy” →

Pigeon Peas

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

One of the sure signs that Christmas is around the corner is the flowering of the pigeon peas. Also known as gandules, they are called gungo or pigeon peas here in Jamaica and are the essential ingredient in the rice and peas dish most families prepare on special occasions and, in particular, on Christmas Day.

Pigeon Pea plant
Pigeon pea plant

The pigeon pea originated in eastern India and was brought to east and west Africa, and eventually to the Americas by African slaves probably around the 17th century. It has been cultivated for at least 3,500 years.

Small in size and light green or white in color, the pigeon pea takes on a light brown hue when it’s been dried. Besides its use in rice and peas, pigeon peas can also be used in soups.

Pigeon pea plant
Pigeon pea plant

Pigeon peas are rich in protein, fiber and essential amino acids.

What fascinates me about the pigeon pea is the plant. The leaves look velvety and the ‘flowers’ are so colorful, they look as if they could be cut and put in a vase. These ‘blooms’ will last about a week then will be replaced by pods that are long and have individual pockets that hold each pea. Each pod can hold up to 8 peas, and grow in bunches of 5 to 7.

The green pigeon peas can be frozen for later use. When cooked, they have a slightly different taste from the dried ones.

Have you tried pigeon peas?

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.

Eating Lionfish

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

I love fish, especially red snapper and salmon but I’ve found a new love lately: the lionfish. I’d been hearing about the lionfish since I arrived here last year but I was nervous to try it.

From news reports, I learned that the colorful spiky fins of the lionfish are full of venom and that makes them deadly to other fish and potentially dangerous to fishermen and swimmers. If stung, the venom can cause a variety of illnesses from numbness, pain, nausea, headaches, redness, dizziness, difficulty breathing, fever, and vomiting to, in rare cases, heart failure and death.

No, there was no way I wanted to endanger my health by eating lionfish.

But I kept hearing more and more from people who’d eaten lionfish, without ill effects, and my curiosity began slowly to overcome my initial apprehension. A few weekends ago, I decided to give it a try.

Continue reading “Eating Lionfish” →

The Jamaica Visitors Rarely See

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Less than 20 minutes from the Montego Bay International Airport, we ditch the car and begin what turns out to be a 50-minute hike up into the hills overlooking the second city.

Within minutes of leaving the main road, we are surrounded by dense vegetation. All around are mahogany, cedar, mango and other trees, many of which no one in my party recognizes, small clumps of sugar cane, succulent and creeping plants, moss and vines. The trees grow close together and straight up in an effort to find the sun. Their leaves form a protective canopy.

It is cool here – at least a degree or two below what it is in town. The air is fresh and clean.

We leave the feeder road and take a path that is wide enough for one person, or a donkey, the only mode of transporting heavy loads in these remote areas.

Pipes taking potable water stop at the road. There’s no electricity, and the only people we see are the ones in our party.

Each careful step takes us higher into hills, further away from the noise of the city. Except for the sounds of the birds chirping above, it is peaceful here. I have to remind myself that another Jamaica exists just beyond the trees.

We spot a neat little house, fronting a lush vegetable garden, its doors and windows open but not a soul, not even a dog is in sight. Sometimes, when his farms is in a remote area, a farmer will build a hut nearby with a bed and a kitchen in case he gets trapped by rain, but this isn’t a hut. I wonder how people find these places and how they decide to build where there are no modern conveniences. Not even cell phones work.

But it’s the view that captivates. Through the clearing, we can see directly out to the airport and the hotels at Freeport. It feels like you can just reach out and touch them. We watch a plane descend slowly over the Caribbean Sea until it comes to a stop on the tarmac.

Freeport and Mobay airport, Jamaica
Freeport (in the foreground) and Montego Bay Airport

Men Are in Charge of the Cooking

By the time we arrive at our destination, cooking is well underway. It’s the men who typically do the cooking here in the bush. It’s their domain.

There’s curried goat, (the goat had been killed a few days before, cut up into chunks and left to marinade in curry, onions, thyme, garlic, pimento, salt and Scotch Bonnet peppers), rice and peas, roasted yam and breadfruit, dumplings, fried chicken, boiled green bananas, and yellow and white yams. All this will be washed down by copious amounts of JB (affectionately called, Jamaica’s Best) over proof rum, that promises to ‘come in like a lion but leave like a lamb, a Trojan horse in reverse.’

Between now and the end of the year, the bush around the island will come alive with events like these as Jamaicans begin to celebrate the holidays.

This is the Jamaica that visitors rarely see.

Mango tree with few leaves, Jamaica
The largest mango tree I’ve ever seen
Yellow Slipper, a tree with spikes Jamaica
Yellow Slipper
Green bananas, Jamaica
Bananas
Three large pots with dinner, Jamaica
Dinner’s on!
Cleaing the rice, Jamaica
Preparing the Rice
Chopped vegetables for the soup, Jamaica
Preparing the soup
Man checking curried goat, Jamaica
Curried Goat
Man checking saddle on a donkey, Jamaica
Saddling the donkey to leave

Hiking or running shoes are advisable here. We also wore long pants, and packed hats and mosquito repellant but there were no mosquitoes or bugs, and the trees provided shade.