This is what I'm reading these days. It’s a fascinating look at Jamaican History through the Rastafari movement. I would highly recommend this book.
If you’ve been to Jamaica, then you are aware of the nuances of Jamaica. If as a visitor you left the safety bubble of the inclusive resorts and ventured out into the real Jamaica, then you know the wisdom of dressing to blend as opposed to dressing to impress. It is far easier to make friends as peers rather than subordinates. And as you ventured out into the countryside, you were confronted with remarkable beauty of the land and the kindness of the people. Having given praise to the land of wood and water, I must hasten to add that you should use some degree of caution when traveling in Jamaica as you would in your own major city.
There are no venomous snakes in Jamaica but the underbrush so to speak does contain people with venom, if you know what I mean. Be smart and travel in areas that you’ve been warned about and don’t leave common sense at home when you travel throughout Jamaica, but enough about common sense. After all, you are an adult and while you're in Jamaica, if you're brave enough to wean yourself from such comfort foods as cheeseburgers and French-fries, then be brave all the way and explore the exotic and exquisite fairs of Jamaican food. You will be richly rewarded, which of course this video is all about. It’s about Jamaican foods.
Now, shall we play a game? As you watch this video, how many of the foods and fruits did you recognize? Share this video with your friends and see if they did any better. In Jamaica, there are really about 30 Jamaican food types but most people are familiar with the barbeque, that is the jerk pork and the jerk chicken, some are even familiar with the rice and peas, the culinary herbs and spices, and the desserts and sweets, and some may even be familiar with the exotic fruits and of course there is always the seafood and the vegetables. In Jamaica, there are a lot of exotic fruits and food. Of course, when we speak of Jamaican food, we’re talking about such food as the Ackee which by the way is poisonous. A lot of the neighboring countries simply will not eat it because it is poisonous and you really need to know how to prepare that. Then you have the avocado pear, the common banana of course, the breadfruit. Do you remember watching Mutiny on the Bounty? Then you know the history of the breadfruit.
Then there is the Callalloo, the cashew, cassava, the Cerasse. Cerasse really is used as a medicine in Jamaica. It’s a very distinctive tea that a lot of Jamaicans drink. You may like it. Then there is the Chocho, the coco, which by the way is not the coco beans that you're familiar with but it’s a coco which looks like yam. Coconut of course, the jackfruit, jimbelin, do you know what a jimbelin is? The June Plum, the mammy fruit, the mangoes. Oh my God, there are so many mangoes in Jamaica. As the Jamaican would say, “There are enough mangoes in Jamaica to stone a dog”. Then there is the Naseberry, the okra which you’re familiar with, the Otaheite Apple, papaya of course, the passion fruit, pimiento, pineapple. Pimiento you are familiar with as allspice or all seasoning. Then of course the coffee, you're probably familiar with the blue mountain coffee which has to be grown above a certain altitude in Jamaica to be classified as blue mountain coffee.
Then there are the different sweetsop and the soursop and the duppy soursop. Of course, grapefruits, and that’s quite a history, grapefruit is a combination—it’s a combination of the orange and a fruit called the Ugli fruit. That by the way, the grapefruit was a creation of the Hope Botanical Gardens in Jamaica, quite a history there. Then we have the guava, Ginep, Gungo peas, Irish moss, the plantain which I love, pomegranate of course, rose apples, scotch bonnet peppers, sorrel, star apple, tamarind and the common yam.
Did I leave any of your favorite fruits or foods out of the list? Then I apologize. Let me close by saying this. Fortunate is the man or woman with friends in Jamaica. First of all, with this high price of the hotels, but the real value is in sharing the amazing Jamaican culture.
If you're a wholesaler or an owner of a restaurant or a grocery store and you want to have Jamaican food shipped directly to you, then you need to call Maureen at the number right there on the screen. She can arrange to have Jamaican food shipped directly to your place of business.
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