Shelly-Ann Thompson, Freelance Writer
A slice of Black Forrest Cake garnished with a cherry from Susie's Bakery and Coffee Bar, Shop 1, Southdale Plaza, St. Andrew. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
THIS CONCLUDES our series of Black History Month stories on food that have the word black in their names. This week we highlight Black Forest Cake, black mango and black pudding. We also feature the illustrious 'king's' rice
- black rice.
Black Forest Cake
This very eye-catching cake that tastes just as great when properly made, is reportedly originally called Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte in Germany. Black Forest Cake is made of dark chocolate, black cherries between the layers and preferably icing of whipped frosting. Decorative styles vary as some persons may do a jagged edged with milk chocolate curls or shavings for garnish.
Black Pudding
The main ingredients are: dried pig's blood, pork sausage, pork fat and suet. It might sound nauseous to us Jamaicans. However, for many of our Caribbean neighbours such as Guyana, The Bahamas and Antigua, black pudding is much loved.
Blood sausage, black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking down the blood of an animal with meat, fat or filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. Pig or cattle blood is most often used, sheep and goat blood are used to a lesser extent, while blood from poultry is very seldom used.
"The flavour is quiet nice and it tastes good. You don't get the impression that you are eating blood. In Antigua it is more often called rice pudding as the rice is cooked, stuffed into the pig's intestine and then it's boiled. Rice pudding is a Saturday delicacy back home and you can find it anywhere on the road on a Saturday afternoon," says Antiguan Sharon Josephs.
Black mango
Very popular throughout Jamaica black mango (Mangifera Indicaca) can be found in several rural areas in St. Thomas, Clarendon and Portland. Difficult to determine where it got its name, black mango is known for its sweet tart taste for its small size. Tiny in size (smaller than the size of a fist) it still retains a green skin when ripe. However, when the climate is cold small black spots will sometimes appear on the skin. "Black mango is very sweet but close to the seed is often sour in taste," says housewife Shermaine Lewis.
Black Rice
It is said that Asians have been eating black rice for more than 3,000 years, particularly in China. It gained prominence as the king's rice due to its scarcity and only people in the Imperial family were allowed to eat it.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Black rice is high in nutrition being rich in anthocyanin that is important to suppress oxidation in the body. Black rice also contains more Vitamin B, niacin, Vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc than white rice. Today,
black rice is widely available and you don't have to be an member of an Imperial family to enjoy it. Sadly, black rice is hardly found locally.
Some information taken from: http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/ newsATemp.aspx?
articleid=13068&zoneid=45; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki Blood_sausage"
