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Guessed our good oLd stirfry bean sprouts with saLted fish wouLd a best seLLing dish no sooner, after such scintiLLating performances from the Jamaican athLetics in the OLympics :
Jamaican Cuisine
There are many popular Jamaican specialties like jerk chicken and pork, curried goat, yam, ackee, brown-stew fish, rice and peas, and many more. But there is one item that plays a major role in much of Jamaica's cuisine and that is salt fish. It is often served with staples like yam, both roasted on an open fire, as the salty taste of the fish is a perfect complement to the dull taste of the starch. It is a vital ingredient in many other Jamaica dishes, like soups, stew peas, and the national dish, ackee and salt fish.
What is Salt Fish?
It is dried and salted fish, usually cod from the North Atlantic. In recent years, as cod has become scarce and more expensive, other fishes, like pollock, have been substituted.
How did Salt Fish Become a Staple Food?
It was once widely regarded as poor people's food and indeed, in some circles, this stigma still holds true today. During the days of slavery, sugar plantation owners in the Caribbean imported this product to feed their slaves as it was a very cheap source of protein. For many it was their only source of protein.
And when slavery was abolished, salt fish still remained the cheapest available protein for ex-slaves with no money. The indentured labourers, who were imported from India and China to replace the slaves, also embraced this ingredient into their diets. For Indians, the blandness of rice and dahl is greatly improved by a piece of fried salt fish on the side. For all these poor people, salt fish was the only protein they could afford. And of course, it did not need refrigeration, in those days a high-priced luxury.
Salt Fish Today
As the masses of people in Jamaica were of low income, for a long time, this food item continued to be an important part of their diets. Generation after generation grew up with it and so what was a bare necessity became a much craved-for desire for Jamaicans. Its role as a staple became so strong, that when cod fish prices escalated in the twentieth century, successive Jamaican governments were forced to subsidize the price to keep it within reach of the poor masses or risk the wrath of the electorate on polling dates.
In more recent times, as economic conditions have deteriorated and Jamaica faces massive budget deficits, subsidies have been removed, and the price has sky-rocketed. Yet, salt fish remains as popular as ever, its unique taste being so in tune with the Jamaican palette.
Visitors to Jamaica may not realize it, but many of the dishes that they grow to love during their stay will have been made or served with salt fish, at one time the food of the slaves and the poor.
Prem Chadeesingh is an authority on vacation rentals in Jamaica. He writes for Mysilversands, a company dedicated to providing quality accommodation in Jamaica villas, cottages, and apartments by the sea.
Prem lived at Silver Sands Jamaica for over seven years. He holds a BASc degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA in International Business from City University of New York.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6087110
Oh, pLease remember to have the Jamaican Rums before & after your meaLs too..
Jamaican Cuisine
There are many popular Jamaican specialties like jerk chicken and pork, curried goat, yam, ackee, brown-stew fish, rice and peas, and many more. But there is one item that plays a major role in much of Jamaica's cuisine and that is salt fish. It is often served with staples like yam, both roasted on an open fire, as the salty taste of the fish is a perfect complement to the dull taste of the starch. It is a vital ingredient in many other Jamaica dishes, like soups, stew peas, and the national dish, ackee and salt fish.
What is Salt Fish?
It is dried and salted fish, usually cod from the North Atlantic. In recent years, as cod has become scarce and more expensive, other fishes, like pollock, have been substituted.
How did Salt Fish Become a Staple Food?
It was once widely regarded as poor people's food and indeed, in some circles, this stigma still holds true today. During the days of slavery, sugar plantation owners in the Caribbean imported this product to feed their slaves as it was a very cheap source of protein. For many it was their only source of protein.
And when slavery was abolished, salt fish still remained the cheapest available protein for ex-slaves with no money. The indentured labourers, who were imported from India and China to replace the slaves, also embraced this ingredient into their diets. For Indians, the blandness of rice and dahl is greatly improved by a piece of fried salt fish on the side. For all these poor people, salt fish was the only protein they could afford. And of course, it did not need refrigeration, in those days a high-priced luxury.
Salt Fish Today
As the masses of people in Jamaica were of low income, for a long time, this food item continued to be an important part of their diets. Generation after generation grew up with it and so what was a bare necessity became a much craved-for desire for Jamaicans. Its role as a staple became so strong, that when cod fish prices escalated in the twentieth century, successive Jamaican governments were forced to subsidize the price to keep it within reach of the poor masses or risk the wrath of the electorate on polling dates.
In more recent times, as economic conditions have deteriorated and Jamaica faces massive budget deficits, subsidies have been removed, and the price has sky-rocketed. Yet, salt fish remains as popular as ever, its unique taste being so in tune with the Jamaican palette.
Visitors to Jamaica may not realize it, but many of the dishes that they grow to love during their stay will have been made or served with salt fish, at one time the food of the slaves and the poor.
Prem Chadeesingh is an authority on vacation rentals in Jamaica. He writes for Mysilversands, a company dedicated to providing quality accommodation in Jamaica villas, cottages, and apartments by the sea.
Prem lived at Silver Sands Jamaica for over seven years. He holds a BASc degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA in International Business from City University of New York.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6087110
Oh, pLease remember to have the Jamaican Rums before & after your meaLs too..
