Buzzfeed explores Classic Jamaican Dishes

When diners think of Jamaica they often think of jerk spices especially as applied to chicken, but there are other classic dishes from the island that can tempt the taste buds of the most discerning foodie. Buzzfeed has helpfully compiled a list of these traditional Jamaican offerings.

The Christmas Cake recipe from Jamaicans.com was featured on Buzzfeed’s list, ranked at Number 20. Christmas Cake is a rum cake, also known as Black Cake, and is a traditional strongly flavored and sweet dessert that includes ground raisins, currants, dates, and prunes soaked in rum and port wine among its ingredients. The fruits soak for several months before being added to the cake and baked in time for the holidays. Enjoyed with friends and family at Christmastime. Sometimes, the cake is frosted with marzipan frosting spiked with rum.
Among the other lesser-known dishes from Jamaica are:

1. 1. Ackee and Saltfish, the official national dish of Jamaica, which is made with ackee, the national fruit of Jamaica, and a dried and salted version of cod
   2. Sorrel, a red drink made from hibiscus and usually associated with Christmas, but available year round
   3. Festival, a popular fried dough dish
   4. Bammy, a round flat bread made with cassava flour; one of the oldest dishes in Jamaica
   5. Sweet Potato Pone, a type of pudding made with sweet potato, cassava, or cornmeal mixed with spices, sugar, and coconut
   6. Chicken Foot Soup, a soup made with chicken feet, carrots, yams, and boiled dumplings seasoned with Scotch bonnet peppers, thyme and garlic
   7. Cornmeal Porridge, served at breakfast and made of cornmeal mixed with sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and milk or coconut milk
   8. Rice and Peas, one of the most popular dishes in Jamaica, it is made from rice cooked with beans – either pigeon peas or kidney beans- coconut milk and seasonings
   9. Gizada or Gizzada, a pastry filled with spiced and sweet coconut shreds
   10. Oxtail Stew, a hearty stew made from oxtail, lima beans, and flavored with allspice, thyme and garlic
   11. Irish Moss Drink, a drink made of a red seaweed known as Irish Moss that is washed, dried, and bleached before being flavored with rum, nutmeg, Sinnamon, and coconut milk or condensed milk; a popular superfood on the island that is known for its healing properties
   12. Fried Dumplings, fried dough balls usually eaten at breakfast and made of flour or other starch like cassava flour, cornmeal or grated plantains
   13. Callaloo, popular throughout the Caribbean, this leafy vegetable is prepared by steaming and cooking with salt fish or mackerel, onions, scallions and salt
   14. Stew Peas, the ultimate comfort food, this stew is made from kidney beans and pigtail simmered with coconut milk and spices, then served with dumplings
   15. Grater Cake, a dessert made from grated coconut and sugar, sometimes flavored with ginger
   16. Saltfish Fritters, a breakfast staple in Jamaica made with saltfish coated in flour and fried with onion, garlic and peppers
   17. Peanut Punch, sometimes made with Guinness stout or oats, its main ingredients are peanuts, nutmeg, vanilla extract and choice of milk
   18. Ital Stew, a vegan stew linked to Rastafarian dietary rules, which define ital foods as those that are unprocessed, vegetarian and from the earth; usually made without salt
   19. Jerk Pork, pork meat prepared with jerk seasonings and cooked on a wooden grill or covered pit
   20. Christmas Cake
   21. Escovitch Fish