How to Cook Jamaican Cuisine

Jamaican cuisine is the product of hundreds of years of cooking food gathered from the island. Some of the main foods are coconut, sugar, rice, beans, plantains/bananas, fish, chicken and citrus fruits. Over 100 years ago, the Jamaican people created their own grills by building a wooden grate over the fire pit. Four legs raised the wooden grate high enough from the flame to keep it from catching fire but close enough to cook the food. This slow roasting method is known as "barbacoa" in Jamaica and is still prevalent today in the many "jerk" dishes people cook throughout the island.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hammer
• Chisel
• Blender
• Coconut
• Water
• Strainer
• Pita bread
• Cookie sheet
• Butter
• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Baking powder
• Cooking oil
• Frying pan
• Milk
• Cornmeal
• Eggs
• Pimento, Jamaican preferred
• Nutmeg
• Mace
• Thyme
• Black pepper
• Escallion
• 1 cup dried onion
• 2 scotch bonnet peppers

1. Make your own coconut milk to use in authentic Jamaican cuisine. Punch a hole in the eye of the coconut to release the milk. Crack open the coconut to remove the meat. Grate the coconut flesh in a blender with the milk and a little water. Blend together and strain to get your coconut milk. Adjust the amount of water used to taste, with more water weakening the coconut flavor.

2. Cook pita bread toast to go with soups. Heat your oven to 300 degrees F. Cut 2 pita breads into 12 wedges and apply butter to the rough side of the bread. Place buttered wedges on the cookie sheet and cook until crisp, but not brown.

3. Make the famous "Johnny Cakes" from Jamaica. Collect 2 cups flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tbs. baking powder, 2 tbs. butter, 1/2 cup cooking oil and 1/2 cup milk. Mix together all of the ingredients, except the milk and cooking oil, until blended smooth. Slowly add milk as the firm dough is created. Take out small balls of dough and knead for 30 seconds. Flatten the dough ball and fry in the cooking oil.

4. Prepare "Spinners" to add to your soups. Gather 1 cup flour, salt and just enough water, about 1/4 cup, to make a stiff dough. Mix water, flour and a pinch of salt until a stiff dough forms. Take out 1/2 oz. of dough and knead it for about 30 seconds. Then shape the dough into a long, thin dumpling. Make all of the spinners and stew them in the soup for around 15 minutes before serving.

5. Create your own Jerk seasoning for fish, chicken, pork and beef. Gather the ingredients: 2 tsp. ground Jamaican pimento, 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. mace, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. sugar, 2 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. black pepper, 1 1/2 cup escallion, 1 cup dried onion and 2 scotch bonnet peppers. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix.

Tips & Warnings

• Use fresh ingredients as often as possible for all of your Jamaican cuisine to get the flavors as close as you can to those found on the island.
• Try using a hammer and pointed chisel or a strong Phillips-head screwdriver to poke a hole in the coconut.