Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor
Left: Talk to our farmers and vendors, get to know your land. Right: The Arosa plant produces great smoked meats and sausages. - CONTRIBUTED
WHEN THE Spanish arrived they brought cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and poultry. Today Jamaica has bred its own Jamaica Red cattle - an excellent breed created from a mix of English Red Poll and a touch of Zebu - the latter introduced to improve our local milk. Jamaica Red, when bought in the
markets, is best wrapped in a damp cloth and placed in the refrigerator (can be messy so put into its own area) and leave for three days for aged, tasty, tender beef like no other.
Local pork is sweeter than those found in Europe, we all know that. But did you realise that Montego Bay's name
purportedly came from the word Manteca, which means lard, and lard was a big export from this port when the Spanish were here? And by the way, Jamaica produces some of the finest smoked meats - Hamilton and Arosa have that island taste that no imported product imparts.
The Jamaican goat is a mixed breed of English Nubians and South African Boers with a little of the original Alpines and Toggenburgs that were here before. This totally local goat meat is what makes our curry goat the best in the Caribbean; its entrails, skin and feet are key ingredients for Mannish Water that keep Jamaican men happy, thinking that "it puts it back for them" (has aphrodisiac qualities)!
The St. Elizabeth Sheep is a Jamaican cross-breed from the Criollo brought in by the Spanish from South America and other American and European types. It produces a lamb leg that if you are lucky to get hold of one, you would not care to eat the imported variety again! Have you ever taste-
tested chicken abroad against those produced here by Best Dressed, Caribbean Broilers or householders? There is just no comparison. We have chicken that tastes like chicken. And as for eggs, you can't find a richer, yellower yolk than ours.
SHELLFISH
Let's talk fish and shellfish. The Amerindians ate these with relish, and after all these years we are still enjoying same. Our fish 'nyam' better than anything from those seas up north; where the salt water is not as strong and clean as ours. The Caribbean spiny lobster is different from the northern lobster and cannot be compared for deliciousness - same can be said for our queen conch - the royalty of the sea. Understand why there's a lobster season (now in full force) and why there should be a conch one too - to give these creatures time to recreate so we can enjoy them for many more years to come.
The Caribbean Sea brings us cockles, sea beef (boiled in water, its high level of protein is a natural pick-me-up) and fish with names like parrot, snapper, grouper, rock hind, yellow fin tuna and even the revered marlin. Spend a day with fishermen, learn to identify fish - they have a wealth of information and love to talk about their catch. Has anyone given a thought to sea moss - a natural ocean weed abundant on our shores? Once dried in the sun, it produces carbohydrates, is high in protein, amino acids and minerals - so easy on the digestive system it's used by those who have problems in assimilating complex sugars and is an invaluable source of food for older people and invalids.
We have pond Tilapia - a nourishing fish that when soaked in a little salt water before cooking, makes a fine meal. And what about rivers - still filled with 'swimps', janga and crayfish - even certain types of edible fish. Do you know the difference between a janga and a crayfish? The former has a hard shell and looks like an alien; the latter's shell is slightly softer, still looks like an alien but its meat is more tender. And bussu? The tiny mollusk that makes a mean soup, a great pizza and once the meat is removed you can make yourself a pair of earrings or a chain with the shells? Without clean rivers and marsh lands these fine morsels will disappear.
The Jews who many moons ago flooded Jamaica to flee persecution in Europe produced a legacy of foods with names like Solomon Gundy, Gizzadas and Escoveitch Fish. The Portuguese threw in salted cod, commonly called saltfish. Saltfish first brought by the Portuguese was considered 'food for the unfortunate' but today it is a mainstay of our diet. Do you know that if we salt fish, a very easy thing to do - merely scale, clean, cut open flat, salt and leave in the sun - we have a delightfully different saltfish that can be readily used at quarter of the price of the imported one with ackee for breakfast?
GINGER
Did you know that ginger was grown for some 3,500 years in Asia and once brought here, Jamaican soil gave it the added quality required to be named one of the best ever. Sugar cane was thought to have come from the Pacific brought here by Columbus but again once planted in the Caribbean; this commodity produces the best sugar ever. Brown sugar is sold for huge amounts of money in health food stores abroad and we are blessed with it in our backyards.
Did any of you know we have a vanilla farm that sends all their produce abroad? Does anyone care that we go overseas to buy vanilla beans at excessive prices to bring it back home? Or that we have to use vanilla extract, a synthetic product instead of the real thing? Jamaican vanilla is revered overseas and is a vine that can grow wild here. Why do we not have it on every tree trunk?
DESERVE OUR REVERENCE
Tamarind was brought in from India. It is now in abundance around the island and is considered to be of excellent quality. We make the traditional tamarind balls and use it as the base for the famous Pickapeppa Sauce that every Jamaican takes on a flight to anywhere. Busha Browne and Walkerswood use tamarind (as do many other brands) to produce excellent quality sauces of a different kind. Visit the latter's factory and learn all about processing. Walkerswood's organised tours teach the joys of agri-tourism. Get out there and visit farms. Pay attention to this very necessary, ancient and respected career. Jamaican farmers, the salt of the earth, deserve our reverence. Go to the markets, talk to them, take visitors there and buy their produce. Local is great must become our mantra.
Next week we touch on Africa's influence. And then we still have the Germans, Chinese, Indians and still a few more titbits about our indigenous fruits and vegetables. And then I will surprise you with some nutrition facts that will boggle your mind.
