Mention Jamaica to any non-Jamaican and immediately he or she will respond Bob Marley! Reggae music! No problem man! Or Jerk cooking.
Is Jerk the name of a dance? Maybe!
Is jerk the name of a person? Maybe!
Then what is jerk?
Jerk seasoning is made up of various herbs and spices. Jerking is using this seasoning on various meats and cooking slowly on medium heat. The term herb is also used to describe “Jamaica Ganja” a potent illegal weed, or illegal substance or drug. Jerk was a method used by the maroons to prepare wild pigs in their fight in the hills of Jamaica against the British.
Jamaicans now jerk fish, jerk pork, jerk chicken and all types of meats. The combination of herbs and spices called jerk seasoning is centuries old and is now a culinary delight, a well guarded secret recipe now used in international dishes.
Jamaican recipes have culinary influences from various cultures which result in a wide range of ingredients….Arawaks, Caribs, Chinese, Indians, Dutch, English, French, Africans, Jews, Syrians and Spanish. The Jamaican patties have also captured the pallets of most; spicy or mild, regular or cocktail sizes, veggie, beef or chicken.
Overproof white rum was born in Jamaica; one or two tablespoons full in a little water is the panacea for whatever-ails-you whether it be toothache, headache, stomach-ache, abrasions or depression. There are various flavors of beverages, big bamboo, sour sop juices, popular sodas…
The vegetarian diet is now becoming a large force to reckon with because of the Rastafarian’s cooking style called ital….including the Rasta Pasta. This excludes salt, chemicals and meat. Shellfish and pork are unholy foods.
No comments yet.