them. There was a superstition that slaves allowed to eat red meat would develop a taste for their masters. Small-time agriculture, however, prospered in this way, producing a surplus the slaves were encouraged to sell among themselves. This produced the Jamaican tradition of Sunday as market day—a swirling scene in the center of a town, the air alive with shouts of higglers (street vendors) hawking their wares.
Jamaican markets were the social gathering place for the country folk to meet to gossip and exchange news. Both the buyers and the sellers came together to partake in this weekly event, which could be likened to a country fair.
On her way to the market near Port Antonio, this woman has stopped to show us her freshly picked mangoes. The traditional way to carry a bundle is on one’s head.
In those days, the country folk would set out very early in the morning, or often the day before, with their donkeys laden with produce. Drays drawn by mules would create a mighty traffic jam as they weaved through the throng of people.
Inside and outside the market there would be an abundance of colorful fresh fruits and vegetables—red tomatoes, mangoes and pawpaws; purple eggplants; a green abundance of chochos and callaloo; bunches of green and ripe bananas, breadfruits and plantains—all arranged to catch the eye of the passerby.
Part of the noise and bustle were the loud cries of the higglers, who, as Martha Beckwith wrote in Black Roadways, “had their own musical cry which rises and falls with a peculiar inflection.
“‘Buy yu’ white yam!, Buy yu’ yellow yam!, Buy yu’ green bananas!’
“‘Ripe pear fe breakfast—ripe pear!’”
Peddlers or higglers, like the one pictured, are usually female, a tradition that has predominated since it was brought over from West Africa during the colonial period.
Not many itinerant vendors are to be found in towns today. The higglers have established themselves in market stalls and now often sell on the roadsides, asking prices that are higher than those in the supermarket. The produce they carry, however, is usually of superior quality.
Today’s markets have changed with the times; very rarely are donkeys and carts used for transportation. The market people now arrive via bus, track or van. There are rarely live chickens for sale. Markets are not as vibrant as they were in the presupermarket days, but the market is still the place to find the widest selection of fresh produce.
Much of the vegetables and fruits in Jamaica are grown by small farmers. There are very few large fruit orchards. Instead small farmers mix their fruit trees with vegetables so that the standard Jamaican backyard is thickly planted with mangoes, limes, sweet and sour sops, ackees, sugar cane, bananas, avocados and whatever else the land will hold.
Vegetables are grown both in the cooler mountains and on the plains. The Santa Cruz area of St. Elizabeth is known as the breadbasket of Jamaica. The industrious farmers here manage to produce an abundance of food, in spite of a lack of irrigation, through heavy mulching, which helps the soil retain moisture. The largest quantities of scallions, thyme and onions are grown in this area. The mountain regions produce excellent lettuce, bok choy, cabbage, scallions and thyme.
Starches and root crops consisting of breadfruit, cassava (bitter and sweet), sweet and Irish potatoes, cocos, yams, plantains and bananas both ripe and green—the latter being eaten as a starch—are grown both in the mountains and on the plains.
The island is blessed with an astonishing variety of fruits—some indigenous, others introduced over the centuries. Summer is, of course, the most abundant season for fruits such as pineapples, mangoes, otaheiti apples, sweet and sour sops, plums, naseberries and so on.
Both dairy and beef cattle are raised in Jamaica. Beef cattle were usually bred by owners of large sugar estates and other landowners who had enough acreage of pangola grass to support the cattle. Pigs were introduced into Jamaica as early as the sixteenth century by the Spaniards and became wild in the mountains. They were notably hunted and barbecued, or “jerked,” by the Maroons, using a method that was uniquely their own. Originally, goats were reared by the peasantry strictly for their milk. However, with the influx of Indian immigrants, the demand for goat meat has escalated to such an extent that this meat is often more expensive than beef. Poultry was introduced in waves to the island by the Spaniards, the English, and the Africans. Many households also raise chickens on a small scale.
Fish and crustaceans were once abundant but have become scarce owing to overfishing. They now come mainly from the Pedro Banks to the south of the island, and commercially produced pond fish now fill the demand for wild fish.
The astonishing array of ingredients available on the island has been the source of inspiration for many a newcomer to Jamaica, who, eager to recreate recipes from home, has created new dishes that are at the root of today’s Jamaican cuisine.
Eating and Cooking
Goat feeds and wedding cakes—new traditions displace the old
By Norma Benghiat
Jamaica’s cuisine has changed over time, and new traditions have displaced some of the old. But eating customs and dishes exist there today that are both remnants of Jamaica’s colonial history and the result of its many immigrant contributions.
One cannot say enough about the influence of immigration on the food of Jamaica. Since the English had already acquired a craving for curry in India, Indians found a ready audience for their contributions to the great Jamaican cook pot. They brought from home the technique for blending fragrant curry powders and using them to showcase local meat and fish. When traditional lamb proved hard to find, they drafted the most convenient substitute. The dish curried goat was born, turning up now and again with a side of chow mein.
The Chinese and, in smaller numbers, the Syrians and Lebanese added tremendous complexity to Jamaica’s culture and cuisine. The island’s very old Jewish community was joined over time by migrant Arab traders from Palestine. These groups all prepared traditional dishes from their homes—curried goat and sweet and sour pork, to name a few of the many—that have become an integral part of Jamaica’s cuisine.
Plantains, which like bananas were brought to the island by the Spanish, are eaten by the locals in a variety of ways—green or ripe, salty or sweet, fried, baked or boiled. This stuffed plantain is one of the best variations.
Eating traditions hark back to the days of Britain’s control of the island. During the eighteenth century on the plantations meals were copious for the residents of the grand plantation houses. The day began with a cup of coffee, chocolate or an infusion of some local herb, all equally called “tea.” Breakfast was served later in the morning, a “second breakfast” was served at noon, and dinner was served in the late afternoon or evening. Both the breakfast and “second breakfast” were substantial meals, as was dinner.
Today’s Jamaican breakfast varies considerably depending on where one lives. Farmers, who rise early to tend their fields, start the day with a cup of “tea.” Late in the morning they may eat a substantial breakfast of callaloo and saltfish (salted cod), ackee and saltfish accompanied with yams, roasted breadfruit, dumplings or green bananas.
