Traditional Jamaican Food Recipes

Jamaica is an island nation in the Caribbean. Located in the Greater Antilles chain, it is in fact the most populous English-speaking island in the region. The island is particularly known for its contributions to the fields of literature, music (including ska and reggae), as being the birthplace of the Rastafarian movement, and for its interesting and exciting cuisine.

Many Jamaican dishes make use of spices, and can even be quite fiery. Jamaican dishes are not only eaten in Jamaica itself, but also have been taken overseas, particularly to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom by Jamaica emigrants - and as a result become known in those countries too.

The most famous of Jamaican dishes are probably jerk dishes. These are meat (or nowadays also fish or even tofu) that has been prepared by marinading in a mixture of hot spices (principally pimento and Scotch bell peppers) before cooking. Jerk dishes are often cooked over a charcoal barbecue grill, but when this is not possible they can be cooked in a normal kitchen oven. In Jamaica itself, the traditional meats for jerk are goat meat or pork, but overseas you may perhaps more commonly encounter jerk chicken.

There are many other Jamaican dishes that you may also want to try. These include saltfish and ackee (salted cod together with ackee which is a kind of fruit - but note, ackee must be properly prepared, as if not properly prepared it is poisonous), fried plantains, and curried goat. If you are looking for a taste of the exotic or enjoy spicy food, why not try Jamaican cuisine?

Enhancing the Flavor of Your Food With Mustard Recipes

We all have heard of mustard seeds, but we probably have not taken time to think of how they can be put into use. They can be used in our day to day recipes to enhance the flavor or to add garnish to the food we consume on a daily basis. The mustard seeds are easy to grow and take care of, and you can do so in your backyard. There are many mustard recipes that people have come up with and you could try your hands on a few of them and the outcome will just be amazing. Some of the recipes do not require heating or cooking, but some will need to undergo heating.

To mention just a few of such recipes, have a look at the following;
1 tablespoon of dry, crushed mustard seeds
1teaspoon of onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 cup of pure honey
1 tablespoon of parsley finely chopped.
A pinch of salt to taste
This is among the recipes that need no heating. The procedure is as simple as mixing all the ingredients together, preferably in a blender. The resultant mixture can be served with lettuce or any other light meal.

The second recipe makes two cups and also requires no heating either.
2 medium cups of dry and crushed mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 cup of brown sugar
A bottle of ginger ale or vinegar
For the instructions, pour all the ingredients in a blender, apart from the ginger ale. Bend until they are well mixed. As the blender continues to run, pour in the ale little by little. Keep adding the ale until you have acquired the desired paste. The resultant mixture should be poured into a clean tightly closed jar and stored away in the refrigerator. It is always best served chilled.

Here is a sample of a recipe that requires heating.
2 cups of yellow mustard
1/2 cup pure honey
1/2 cup vinegar
2 cups of wheat flour
½ cup of whiskey of your choice
2 eggs
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 bottle of horseradish cream sauce

For the procedure, take the honey, sugar, eggs vinegar and flour and put them in a blender. Blend them together for a few minutes until you have a smooth paste. In the meantime, heat a sauce pan and transfer the contents. Cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking to the pan and burning. As it continues heating it will thicken to a thick paste. As it begins to boil, add the mustard and the whiskey as you continue to stir. Leave it for 30 seconds and then remove it from the heat. Add the horseradish and stir thoroughly. Leave it to cool and put the mixture in a bottle. If refrigerated, the mixture can last for about 2 months.