Jamaican Food Research Paper

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, located in the Northwestern Caribbean Sea. The island has a total population of 2.7 million people (“Jamaica”, 2016). Some of the major cities in Jamaica include its capital Kingston, Ocho Rios, Negril, and Montego Bay. Jamaica’s uniformities and diversities concerning their food, as well as their unique religious functions, geography, economics, and technology contribute to their distinctive foodways. Jamaican cuisine is a true mirror image of a society which could be described as a melting pot of people and cultures. Just like its people, Jamaican cuisines are blends of cooking techniques, flavors, and spices tried and tested that result in unique food dishes. The impact of colonial movement

The place that I decided to eat at is known as Lee's Kitchen, a small Jamaican restaurant located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The foods included in my meal were jerk chicken, rice and peas, brown stew chicken, and a beef patty with cheese. Specific cooking techniques and ingredients gave each of the dishes that I ate their own unique flavor and taste, making them identifiable as a Jamaican cuisine. Rice and peas are Caribbean staples, and one of the most widely eaten dishes in Jamaica. Other countries have their own versions of this dish, but Jamaican rice and peas has a distinct taste, thanks to the flavors of coconut milk, Scotch bonnet pepper and other seasonings such as thyme and crushed escallion boiled together in one large pot. Traditionally, it is eaten with any kind of chicken, pork and beef, as well as curry goat, steamed fish, or oxtail. The Jamaican patty is a pastry most recognized for its various fillings and spices baked inside a flakey shell, often tinted golden yellow with an egg yolk mixture or turmeric. It is traditionally filled with seasoned ground beef, but fillings can include chicken, vegetables, shrimp, lobster, fish, soy, ackee, mixed vegetables or cheese. The dough is loaded with butter and colored with curry to ensure it bakes up flaky and vibrantly hued resulting in its yellow color (“Jamaican Food”,