Sweet and savory, Jamaican food is primarily home cooking of foods native to the Caribbean. If you're craving a bowl of conch stew or a plate of jerk pork, you don't need to fly to Kingston. Learn how to make authentic Jamaican food at home to feed your family and friends.

Sweet and savory, Jamaican food is primarily home cooking of foods native to the Caribbean. If you're craving a bowl of conch stew or a plate of jerk pork, you don't need to fly to Kingston. Learn how to make authentic Jamaican food at home to feed your family and friends.

• Jamican cuisine reflects the cultural history of the island. The cultural heritage of the Arawak Indians, Spanish conquerors, African slaves, British merchants, and Chinese and East Indian laborers all influenced the preparation of locally available foods, combined to produce a rich and diverse native cuisine.

Jerk Chicken with rice and beans (Creative Commons photo by jetalone)

• You may be able to most most of the spices and seasonings used for traditional Jamaican food in your local grocery store, but if you want to venture beyond jerk chicken or pork, you'll probably need to shop at a Jamaican grocery store for the more exotic ingredients. If you can't find the ingredients locally, you can order most of them from an online Jamaican food store.

• Traditional Jamaican cooks prepared food in containers such as an African yabba, a large earthenware pot, a calabash, which is a gourd used for cooking, or a woven basket used to steam fish. Spices were usually mixed in a mortar and pestle. Modern Jamaican cooks make use of dutch ovens, large stock pots, vegetable steamers, and cast iron skillets. Food is commonly fried, stewed, or boiled.

• A typical Jamaican meal would include a meat or fish dish, a rice dish, boiled bananas or plantains, and a soup. Carrot or sorrel juice may be served as a beverage. Sunday dinners are generally the most elaborate of the week.

• Food Network: Traditional Jamaican Meal

• Jamicans.com: Jamaican Recipes

• IslandFlave.com: Jamaican Food Recipes

• Jamaica Travel and Culture: Recipes for Jamaican Meals

• CaribbeanChoice: Recipes From Jamaica

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