Local Jamaican influences

Due to the extreme diversity in Jamaica food is drawn from all sorts of sources. Some of the most common ingredients in Jamaican food is Ackee, Escallion, Scotch bonnet  and Sorrel. Ackee is found in west Africa and is popular in many Jamaican foods and is usually served with either rice or cod. Ackee is extremely toxic and must be used very carefully in order to allow it to be edible and not poison the consumer. Ackee is also a major money maker for Jamaica as they export it to several countries across the world. Escallion is commonly known as the welsh onion and is used across Jamaican foods but mainly shows up in salads. Escallion is usually mixed with thyme, scotch bonnet, garlic and pimenta. Escallion is also used in various spice mixtures and a few soups. Scotch bonnet is a type of chili pepper found on the Caribbean Islands. Scotch bonnet is primarily used in foods such as jerk chicken in order to give it a unique flavor. Scotch bonnet is one of the hottest peppers on the island and is used in a lot of traditional Jamaican cuisine. Sorrel is a festive plant that is dried and used mainly for the festive drink ironically called sorrel as well in Jamaica. Sorrel is made by extracting the leaves from the plant, drying them over a few hours and then cooking with other ingredients. Sorrel is a popular drink in Jamaica and is almost exclusively made at Christmastime to celebrate the occasion.

Jerk chicken recipe

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to prepare enough jerk chicken for 4 people:-

 One 3 1/2 lb chicken (3lb of chicken breasts may be used if preferred)
 6 sliced scotch bonnet peppers (jalapenos may be used if scotch bonnet peppers are unavailable)
 2 Tbsp. thyme
 2 Tbsp. ground allspice
 8 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
 3 Medium onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tsp. ground black pepper

1 to 2 Tsp of the following (to taste)-ground cinnamon-nutmeg-ginger
1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup soy sauce of one lime cup orange juice cup white vinegar.

Ackee and Saltfish recipe

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to prepare enough ackee and saltfish for 4 people:-

 1/2 lb Saltfish (dried, salted codfish)
 12 fresh ackees or 1 (drained) can of tinned ackees
 1 medium onion
 1/2 tsp black pepper
 3 tbsp of butter
 1/2 a hot chilli pepper (ideally Scotch Bonnet)
 1 sweet pepper
 1 chopped tomato
 1 sprig fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme



Optional ingredients:-
2 cloves of garlic
4 Scallion (or spring onions)
6 Slices of bacon

Sorrel recipe

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to prepare 2 litres of sorrel:

 1 lb Sorrel sepals
 1" of ginger
 5 tbsp sugar
 2 litres of water
 A splash of rum (ideally Jamaican white rum) Optional spices
 1 tsp cloves
 1 tsp ground pimento
 1 tsp cinnamon
 1 tbsp orange peel
 1 tbsp lemon peel
 1 tsp mace
 Optional alcohol
 Wine
 Sherry
 Rum

http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink.htm