Let's Eat

On the Menu
Protein: Fish, Chicken
Starch: Cassava Root (used to make Tapioca), Potatoes, Yams, Dasheen (usually boiled and cut up to use as a thickening agent in soups)
Fat: Butter, Lard, Nuts, Oily Fish
Veggies: Beans (Peas), Yams, Callaloo (dark leafy green), Calabaza (pumpkin squash), Scotch bonnet peppers, Plantain
Fruits: Starfruit, Breadfruit, Ackee, Coconut, Guava, Sour or Sweet sop
Spices: All spice, Jerk rub, Curry, Nutmeg
Beverages: MangoLada, Rum, Carrot Juice, Sweet sop juice, Sugar and Water (poor man's drink)
Desserts: Banana bread, Rock Cake, Shamshuku (grated boiled coconut made into a paste and serves on a banana leaf), Gizzada

Mealtime
Jamaica is very family-oriented. Mealtime in Jamaica is a fun and social time. They eat three meals a day and also have snacks in between. Breakfast is usually a large meal. Ackee and Saltfish is the main dish and served with fried plantains, cornmeal porridge, and dumplings. Lunch is something easy and on-the-go, maybe from vendors on the street. Dinner, again, is a large meal shared with the family each night of the week when possible. Most meals are served family style, with each dish on the table so everyone can get whatever they want.

Holidays
Because the majority of the Jamaican population are Christian, they celebrate holidays similar to the ones we have in America. Christmas is the major holiday with a big feast. The food is normally jerk chicken, rice and peas, sorrel ( a festive drink mixed with rum and served over ice). They begin preparing for the Christmas feast 2 or more weeks before enjoying the dinner by soaking desserts used in the traditional
Black Jamaican Christmas Cake:
Ingredients
1½ cups flour
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt ½ cup cherries
1 cup prunes, chopped
1 cup wine (or substitute water)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lemon or lime rind, finely grated
2 Tablespoons browning (see below)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. and grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
2. To make browning: in a saucepan, add ½ Tablespoon water to brown sugar and heat over medium to high heat until the sugar is burnt. Let cool.
3. With a beater, beat butter, sugar and browning until soft and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, to butter mixture. Add wine or water and mix well. Add fruits.
5. Add dry ingredients, stirring just to comine. Do not over-beat when mixing. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch round cake pan.
6. Bake for 1½ hours, checking after one hour. Cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Independence Day
Like America, Jamaica also celebrates Independence Day. This started in 1962 when the Island separated from Great Britain to become an independent nation. This day is celebrated with many aspects of the island's culture. They sing and dance to Reggae music, eat traditional cuisine, and also enjoy native artwork. Some popular foods eaten are boiled corn, sugar cane, jerk meat, and fish.

They also have rituals that consist of preaching, singing, drumming, dancing, and spirits usually preformed at Thanksgiving and memorials. Funerals are one of the most important rituals in Jamaican tradition.