Jamaican
Spices
Ginger
The spices grown on this island give its cuisine the distinctive flavors
that make Jamaican meals a special event. Pimento (allspice) is the best
known and one of the most used, creating the distinctive taste of jerked
fish, pork, and chicken.
Allspice. The common term for what in Jamaica is known as pimento (see
pimento).
Annatto. This spice, a derivative of a shrub, is used like saffron in
soups, stews, and other dishes. It gives food a red color.
Bayleaf. These dried leaves flavor many soups and stews; they are also
used to make Jamaica's most common men's cologne: bay rum.
Cinnamon. Cinnamon comes from bark on a tree imported to Jamaica in the
late 1700s.
Curry. This combination of many spices (turmeric, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon,
mace, and others) flavors many dishes in Jamaica. It is a reminder of
the Indian heritage of this island.
Escallion. This member of the onion family frequently appears in Jamaican
recipes. If you can't find escallion, substitute green onion tops.
Ginger. The taste of ginger is the taste of Jamaica: sweet with a burn.
Ginger is a showy plant, with bright green leaves and long, conical flowers
like a colorful plume. The spice ginger itself is the root of the plant,
used to flavor dishes, make ginger beer, and even create ginger wine.
Nutmeg. Order a rum punch in most island bars and you'll have a look
at a popular use of nutmeg: sprinkled on top of the potent drink. Nutmeg
is a popular spice on this island. The tree grows naturally throughout
the island and produces a seed, called the nutmeg. A red, stringy covering
around the seed is called mace.
Pepper. Both black pepper and white pepper play an important role in Jamaican
dishes.
Pimento. Pimento, called allspice in other parts of the world, is a star
among Jamaican spices. Without the pimento, Jamaica would not have jerk,
that delightful side-of-the-road dish that has moved from fast food to
gourmet status in even the finest of restaurants.
Jamaica is the world's largest producer of pimento, a tree that grows
naturally in the Caribbean. Even the first Spanish explorers in the early
1500s commented on this tree which produced aromatic berries and leaves.
Those first explorers gave the tree its name which comes from the Spanish
word pimienta, pepper or peppercorn. The wood of the evergreen tree is
used in the cooking of jerk and the berries are crushed to create a marinade
for the spicy dish.
The berries of the pimento are often usually called allspice outside the
Caribbean, a name given to the spice because its taste combine the flavors
of many spices.
Saffron. The world's most expensive spice, this Asian native is used in
curries. Often turmeric is substituted.
Tania. This tuber, part of the same family as dasheen, is used like a
potato in soups and stews.
Turmeric. Not a native plant of Jamaica, turmeric is part of the ginger
family. It is often a substitute for saffron for flavoring and coloring
curries. Turmeric gives curries its distinctive bite and also its yellow
color. Because it is sensitivity to light, turmeric should be stored in
a dark place.
Vanilla. The vanilla bean comes from the vanilla plant, an orchid.
|