“What’s for breakfast?” you ask.
“Ackee and saltfish, mon,” your Jamaican host replies. “Plantation breakfast and matrimony, okay?” “Matrimony? Wait a minute, I’m too young to get married . . . “
“This is matrimony,” he laughs, pointing to a large bowl of sliced tropical fish soaking in sweetened cream. “Tonight, we feast on Solomon Grundy and bammy [BA-mee].”
“Solomon Grundy? Who’s he?”
To nyam, or eat Jamaican-style, is both a delicious—and humorous—experience. Homegrown Jamaican cuisine is a mixture of African, Chinese, Indian, and European influences combined with a bountiful assortment of the island’s fruits and vegetables.
The Taino were the first Jamaicans to grill fish and meat over open flames. Taino boats carried cassava, corn, yams, callaloo (a spinach-like plant), and several tropical fruits to the island.
Spanish and…