No matter how much you love to cook, there is no doubt that on Christmas Day the kitchen can be quite hectic and time is never on your side. Over the years, processed food companies have been making life easier for some of us by pre-packaging some of the ingredients for the day's meals. A Christmas family meal is no exception and the choice is yours; save on time, or stick to the authentic way of having a meal made from scratch.

Rice and peas made with green gungo is a must for all tables. A tin of Linstead Market red peas in coconut milk costs $133.56 plus tax while a tin of Grace red peas (without coconut milk) is $85.50 plus tax. Bulk peas is approximately $231 per kilogram.

Both green and dry gungo are getting pretty pricey as the season progresses. A tin of Grace gungo costs $80.95, while green unshelled gungo is $140 per pound. Shelled gungo ranges from $400 to $700 per quart.

Ham

HiLo is one of the supermarkets that will prepare your ham for you if it is purchased from them. Ham at HiLo costs $732 plus tax per kg. It costs an additional $300 per kg to have it cooked and $570 to cook and dress each kg.

Larson Ham is $632 per kg. It costs $300 per kg to cook and $570 to cook and dress.

Sorrel

No Jamaican Christmas is complete without sorrel. A two-litre bottle of True Juice sorrel is $566.95 plus tax. In most markets across the island sorrel ranges from as low as $50 per pound to $80 per pound plus the cost of sugar, wine and ginger.

Chicken

A whole rotisserie chicken is $742.10 plus tax while uncooked whole chicken from Caribbean Broilers is $152 per pound ($340 per kg) frozen. In the tray it is $151. Best Dressed chicken is $140 per pound ($280) per kg while in the tray it is $166 per pound.

We hope you found these prices useful. The choice is up to you - make dinner the traditional way from scratch or go for convenience.

NB: Prices will vary slightly from supermarket to supermarket.

lifestyle@gleanerjm.com