What makes Jamaican food so popular?

The Jamaican National Flag 

The National Motto of Jamaican is “Out of Many, One People”, and this applies to all aspects of our culture. Our local dialect, Patois, is a mixture of words from all the people who have inhabited the island from it was first discovered to this day. This is also true of our cuisine which sees influence for the first people to inhabit the island, the Tainos, this is evident in our tradition of jerking meats. The various groups that have heavily influenced our cuisine include the Tainos, Africans, Indians, Chinese, and to a lesser extent the English and Spanish. This has resulted in a fusion of cooking methods and the consumption of foods that are seen as bizarre to visitors to the island. However, no matter how bizarre, it will be tasty. 

Mango Season in Jamaica

It is that time of year again, Mango season. In Jamaica, mangoes are very popular and the Mango season is one that is regarded second to maybe only Christmas. Everyone has their favorite types of mangoes and their least favorite. 

The types range from Common or stringy mangoes, which are the cheapest and most available types, to the East Indian(pictured above) and Julie mangoes, which are less available and more expensive. The Mango season generally lasts from March to July each year.

Fry Plantain 'n' Bread

Fried plantains with bread and crackers

This is a very common breakfast choice here in Jamaica and I even had it a few days ago. Normally we will add scrambled eggs but, fried plantains are so sweet that we normally just make a sandwich and call it a day. Although your sandwich is filling, unfortunately, fried plantains and bread do not constitute a balanced meal because plantains belong to the staple group. Plantains do belong to the Banana family, but due to the high content of starch, it is classified as a source of carbohydrates and therefore a staple.   

Buy Jamaican, Grow Jamaican?? Update

Eat Jamaican every time! - What's Cooking

Below is a  link showing the Governments' response to the surplus of organic foods grown by our Farmers with no markets in which to sell. I applaud this initiative and I most certainly hope to see it continue. Please follow the link to view the article after the jump.

Jamaican Favourite : Steam Fish and Bammy

Why is Flour so expensive?

With the news stating yesterday that the price of flour is set to rise steeply in the coming days, it stands to reason that there will be an increase in flour products.
The majority of our diet includes a lot of flour and flour-based products, from our boiled and fried dumplings to our bread, bulla, bun, and crackers.
These foods are included in our Staples food group. What are we going to do when this price increase takes place??