Jamaican Cuisine, Art Form or Voodoo

Think Jamaica think the unknown and a bit of the occult, Jamaican food embraces both.  The cuisine, borrowed from the far reaches of the world, be it the Breadfruit imported by the infamous Capt Bligh of Bounty fame, from west Africa or the spices carried by the original Arrowack marauders inhabiting the lush Islands eons ago.  Slaves from Africa brought their influence and use of spices with local flavors as did the Captains and crews of the English, Spanish and Portuguese Sailors, with just maybe a side dish from the mainland natives. Do not; of course, overlook the unlikely seasonings attributable to the Cannibals.

Jamaican cuisine is healthy for the fact it is mainly unprocessed foods, and learning about Jamaican cuisine is embarking on an adventure of sumptuous delights.  Jamaican gastronomy is known for its use of spices such as ginger, hot peppers and garlic.

Jamaica's food is a healthier diet than most for reduced usage of red meat and furthermore, for using fish, vegetables and beans breadfruit, also introduced by Captain Blight, Yams,  Ackee, a toxic and colorful fruit that becomes eatable only when it opens when ripe with the interior three berries removed as well as the red inner layer. Jamaican cuisine is the product of hundreds of years of gathering and cooking coconut, sugar, rice and beans from their island.

The country’s Jamaican delightful fare is so diverse across the 14 parishes that make up the country it is almost astounding to understand how this happens. Jamaican cuisine is similar to most other Caribbean Cuisines, rich in the use of fish, vegetables, and fruits, yet uniquely, exclusively their own.

Jamaican cuisine served up with imaginative names for many local dishes. Home Style Jamaican Cuisine is where one will find curry goat, lobster, and jerk chicken, many firm fleshed fish done in many exciting ways. Jamaican cuisine is definitely an art form, not a domestic task.

Jamaican cuisine is perhaps known for its use of spices, and Caribbean cuisine is multi-cultural combining traditional ingredients such as chili peppers, taro root, corn, yams, cassava, black-eyed peas, lima beans and peanuts with foods from West Africa (okra, breadfruit and plantains) and ingredients from India, China and Europe. The islands each have varied influences, for example, the cuisines of Puerto Rico and Cuba are distinctly influenced by Spanish cuisine, the cuisines of Guadeloupe and Martinique bear French influences and Jamaican cuisine is largely African influenced.

Jamaican cuisine is a complex mix of all the cultures that have come to her shores. The native Arawak Amerindians, the Chinese, the Spanish, the English, the Native Indians and slaves all brought their own culinary staples and cooking techniques when they settled on the island. Even the Rastafarians, the local religious cult,  upholding the ideals of vegetarianism; presenting the theories before the mainlander discovered the wisdom of the diet, placing new emphasis on natural food, these tropical islands all conspire to realize a delightful eating experience. Jamaican cuisine, art form or is it voodoo to the palate.