.Heading to Jamaica anytime soon? Skip the bland burgers and fake pizza at your resort and eat like a local instead! Jamaican food is as unique as the island’s history and culture. I’ve collaborate with a few other bloggers to put together a list of dishes and flavors that we absolutely LOVE!
Ackee and Salt Cod.
Contributor: Lori, TravlinMad
Considered the national dish of Jamaica, ackee and salt cod is unique to this West Indies island, and is one of the most traditional foods around the world. It’s also one of the most interesting examples of Jamaican food as well.
Ackee can be found throughout Jamaica, hanging in clusters from the tree, which actually resembles a cherry or walnut tree from the outside. But the rough exterior belies the edible black and yellow fruit inside when it bursts open — and you must wait until it opens on its own. Eating the ackee fruit before it is ripe can be poisonous.
Surprisingly, once the fruit is ripe and prepared, it looks exactly like scrambled eggs with a mild flavor and creamy texture.
Ackee is often eaten for breakfast, and it is traditionally cooked together with salted codfish. Sometimes the addition of stewed tomatoes, garlic, onions, bell pepper, and spices make it extra-hearty and it becomes the perfect Jamaican comfort food.
Ackee and codfish is also a popular filling for Jamaican patties, little pastry turnovers made from bread dough and sometimes sweet potato dough, that are filled with meats and veggies. If you see this kind of patty in a restaurant or from a street vendor, be sure and give it a try.
Scotch Bonnet Peppers.
Contributor: Stephanie, Wandering Why Traveler
Don’t try these unless you’re absolutely sure that you can handle the heat! 100,000 to 350,000 units of heat according to the Scoville scale, to be precise. Scotch Bonnet Peppers are used in a variety of dishes, and sometimes they are pickled or used to make sauces as well. If you can withstand the heat, you might detect a subtle “sweet” taste. The name of “Scotch Bonnet” comes from the fact that the pepper apparently looks like a “Tam O’Shanter” hat.
Fry Fish and Festival.
Contributor: Daniel, Layer Culture
If you are looking for some of the best Jamaican food to try, you can’t miss out on fry fish and festival. This signatory dish is usually sold by the beachside and can be found in various different forms. Firstly, if you find yourself on the west coast of the island and on the lookout for things to do in Negril, you can head down to Seven Mile or Bloody Bay beach. On most days, if you arrive early enough you’ll see the fisherman out at sea. At some point before lunch, a local from one of the beach huts (known as cookshops) or restaurants will present you with a plate of freshly caught fish.
If you decide to stay on the beach for lunch, they will cook and carry you over to you your chosen fish which is unusually accompanied with a festival (sweet fried dough), bammy, and some onions, plus scotch bonnet pepper. If you don’t like fried fish you can always ask them to steam the fish instead. Either way, these finger-licking fish dishes can be enjoyed on the beach without moving a muscle. So get yourself down to the nearest beach wherever you are in Jamaica and you’ll likely find some variation of this dish nearby.
Jamaican Rice & Peas.
Contributor: Stephanie, Wandering Why Traveler
While many cultures serve a variation of this dish, Jamaicans gives a unique, tropical flair to the way in which they prepare it. Typically we might think of “peas” as those little round things that we were forced to eat as children. In Jamaica, these are actually considered beans, and either filling red kidney beans or “pigeon peas” are used. Rice is added to the peas and everything is stewed and mixed with a handful of spices including Jamaican jerk seasoning, scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, and more. What gives the dish that distinctive Caribbean taste? Ground coconut and/or coconut milk, of course.
Jerk Chicken.
Contributor: Lindsey – Have Clothes, Will Travel
Jerk chicken is by far one of the best Jamaican foods to try. This dish is famous throughout the world now, but nothing beats eating it right in Jamaica!
Jerk is a cooking style where the main ingredient is coated in spices and slow-cooked over a fire or grill. Normally, the main ingredient is chicken, but it can also be beef, pork, goat, boar, seafood, or vegetables. The smoke from cooking it this way is a key factor in giving this Jamaican dish its delicious flavor, as is the use of allspice and scotch bonnet peppers. So, you’ll have to like a bit of spicy food to enjoy Jerk chicken!
There are many great places to eat Jerk chicken throughout Jamaica, such as Scotchies and Pepper’s Jerk Center. Even most resorts have awesome Jerk chicken on-site, such as Sandals Montego Bay Resort’s Jerk Shack.
Fun fact: The word “jerk” is said to come from the Peruvian word “charqui”, a word for dried strips of meat – like what we call jerky in much of the world.
Jamaican Callaloo.
Contributor: Stephanie, Wandering Why Traveler
I’ve had my share of “greens on the side,” but my absolute favorite is callaloo. When I tried some while visiting Jamaica, I simply could not get enough. The first reason is the texture. It wasn’t stringy, and it’s very easy to eat, unlike some greens which are long and choke you on the way down. It was creamy and juicy without being saturated with butter or other cream sauces. Instead, it’s loaded with the flavor of tomatoes, onion, garlic, scotch bonnet peppers, and other spices. I would eat callaloo every day if I could!
Jamaican Patties.
Contributor: Isabella, Boundless Roads
After having traveled around the Caribbean Islands for about 10 years I can honestly say that Jamaica is the best Caribbean destination when it comes to food. In fact, they have an authentic culinary tradition and an array of delicious dishes and snacks of all sorts and for all kinds of diet.
When I was living in Negril, Jamaica, my absolute favorite among Jamaican food was the Jerk chicken. I wasn’t vegan at the time, clearly. In the following years when I returned to Jamaica for work, several times as a vegetarian or vegan, I indulged in the local patties. Delicious snacks that consist of a sort of half-moon shaped bread dough filled with all sorts of stuff, you can have red meat, chicken, vegetable, or callaloo, a delicious vegetable that looks like spinach which I have only found in Jamaica.
The traditional patties are usually fried, but nowadays you can find healthy shops that sell them cooked in the oven. Much healthier.
Patties are quite rich and fulfilling but Jamaicans also love to eat them inside a coco bread, which is another kind of bread that looks like focaccia. They make a sort of sandwich with the patty as a filler and it makes a rich lunch.
My favorite patty place was a shack on Negril Beach that was called Naja Patty. It was run by a lovely couple who were making the most delicious patties ever. They were huge and fried at the moment.
However, patties in Jamaica are just as common as hamburgers or sandwiches in the US. You can find patties in convenience stores, at gas stations, or in restaurants. They even have a local fast-food chain called Jucy Patties, which specializes in patties and coco bread. Definitely a must try!
Curried Goat.
Contributor: Stephanie, Wandering Why Traveler
I’ll be honest, I have a difficult time eating anything that I presume to have a “personality.” I didn’t grow up eating goat, and so it felt most unnatural to me to consume it while on my trip to Jamaica. However, I love immersing myself into new cultures, so I tried it. If you can get past the idea that you’re eating a goat, the dish is freaking DELICIOUS. The meat is tender and the silky texture. The taste reminds me very much of a mix between lamb and short ribs. Many places might serve it “spicy style” so be aware of that.
Oxtail.
Contributor: Stephanie, Wandering Why Traveler
Oxtail in Jamaican food is usually prepared as a stew and mixed with scotch bonnet peppers, butter beans, and a smattering of spices. It has a deeply rich taste when prepared in stew. Texture-wise, it reminds me of short ribs, similar to curried goat above.
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