This coal pot is one of the many things that make us uniquely Jamaican. The pot is filled with coal and 'young' smoke curls into the air as the bits are slowly ignited, The coal pot is ready for use when coals are red hot. Charcoal is still used for cooking islandwide. - PHOTO BY SHELLY-ANN THOMPSON
IN JAMAICA, the use of charcoal for cooking has decreased but there are still many housewives who prefer a good home-cooked meal that has been done over a coal fire. But why do we cook with charcoal? The method seems labour-intensive and involves stacking wood and charcoal in a stove, setting it alight and constantly watching the food in the pot so it does not burn.
Perhaps it's because of the belief that food prepared this way tastes sweeter. Celia Shakespeare, a housewife in Milk River, Clarendon still uses her coal stove. Her six burner gas/electric stove sits unused in her kitchen. "For years we have been using the coal before gas came in. A coal stove can be used to bake anything just like the gas stove and it comes out fine. Plus a coal stove is better when roasting yam and breadfruit," Mrs. Shakespeare says.
SUNDAY RICE AND PEAS ON COAL STOVE
Gloria Williams, a mother of five who lives in St. Thomas, prefers cooking her Sunday rice and peas on a coal stove. Religiously, before heading off to church, on a Sunday morning Mrs. Williams hunts down her coal man (vendor), cleans out her coal stove, looks for coconut husks or sticks, and catches a coal fire with kerosene oil. "The rice and peas tastes better when it's cooked on the coal, the rice even more 'shelly' (grains do not stick together), says Mrs. Williams who also notes that it saves her on gas.
Today, coal is even sold in transparent drawstring bags at the supermarket. Many persons outside of the rural areas buy coal for barbecue events.
HOT BREAD
"Coal sells like hot bread. People come look for you when they know you sell coal," says Paul Collins, a coal maker. At his charcoal kiln on East Avenue in Kingston, persons stopped by asking for coal before the kiln was completed. One customer even came by requesting the dirt from the charcoal kiln to use in her garden, as she says it is a good filler for her plants.
