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Sweet Sweet Jamaica

Grater Cake, Coconut Gizzadas, and Coconut Drops. Photo by Ray Chen/ The Real Taste of Jamaica (New Edition)Courtesy of Ian Randle Publishers

"TO SAY that most Jamaican's have a sweet tooth is an understatement," writes Enid Donaldson-Mignotte in her book 'The Real Taste of Jamaica'. "This seems to have been a recognized fact from the time of the Second World War when Jamaican airmen got extra rations of sugar, rum and coffee, courtesy of the Colonial office."

In celebration of our sweet history, here are a few old-fashioned and well liked Jamaican recipes.

Matrimony

Matrimony is not a marriage for which you can get a licence after only 24 hours in Jamaica, but also a delicious dessert combining star apples, oranges and condensed milk. Perhaps after tasting it you will discover other reasons why it is called matrimony.

4-6 ripe star apples
4 ripe oranges
1 1/2 cup condensed milk (tins are 14 oz.)
grated nutmeg

METHOD

1. Cut star apples in halves. Remove seeds and scoop pulp from inside being careful to remove only soft pulp.

2. Place pulp in a bowl.

3. Peel and remove sections from oranges and mix with star apple pulp.

4. Sweeten with condensed milk and chill.

5. To serve, top with grated nutmeg.

Serves 6.

Coconut Drops

One of the first fast foods sold at the school gate. Popular whether you call it drops or chip-chip or cut cake.

2 cups diced coconut
1 tsp. powdered ginger or
1 tbsp. grated root ginger
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. brown sugar
1 pinch salt

METHOD

1. Combine all ingredients adding sufficient water to cook coconut (about 1/2-3/4 cup)

2. Boil until very sticky (about 20-30 minutes).

3. Beat a little and drop by spoonfuls onto a greased tin sheet.

Yields 12.or discoloured for decoration

Serves 12.

Instant Coconut Ice Cream

Jelly from 1 coconut (not too hard, not too soft)
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
3 tbsp. powdered milk
about 8 ice cubes (refrigerator cubes)

METHOD

1. Blend coconut jelly, sugar and powdered milk together.

2. Continue blending, adding enough ice cubes until creamy.

3. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Coconut Gizzada (pinch-me-round)

This coconut tart is well liked, but most persons use a different recipe, although the method is similar. A mixture of grated coconut and sugar is put in a pastry shell.

Grater Cake, Coconut Gizzadas, and Coconut Drops . Photo by Ray Chen/ The Real Taste of Jamaica (New Edition)Courtesy of Ian Randle Publishers.

PASTRY

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 ozs. butter or margarine
1 1/2 ozs. shortening
1/4 cup ice water

FILLING

1 large coconut, grated
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. butter

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Sift flour and salt for pastry shells. Add butter and shortening and cut in flour. Pour in ice water to form a dough.

3. With a pastry blender, two knives, or fingers, blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. With hands, shape into a ball and wrap in foil, waxed paper or plastic.

5. Allow to rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes (not the freezer).

6. Divide pastry in 8 pieces.

7. With hands roll each piece of pastry into a ball then use a rolling pin to roll balls flat to make a 3 inch circle 1/4 inch thick.

8. Pinch edges to form a ridge to hold in coconut and sugar mixture.

9. Put on greased tin sheets and partly baked shells.

TO MAKE FILLING

1. Mix coconut, sugar, nutmeg and water and cook over a low flame for about 20 minutes.

2. Add butter.

3. Fill shells with coconut mixture and bake for a further 15-20 minutes.

Yields 8

Ripe Banana Fritters

If you can count to 1, you will remember the ingredients for these banana fritters.

1 ripe banana
1 tbsp. sugar 1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 nutmeg
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. flour
pinch of salt
oil for frying

METHOD

1. Crush ripe banana and add sugar.

2. Add egg, vanilla and nutmeg.

3 Mix baking powder, salt and flour and add to banana mixture.

4. Drop by tablespoon and fry in oil or on a hot griddle.

5. Drain on paper towelling and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Yields 10

Sweet Potato Pudding

(Two pans)
Hell a top, Hell a bottom
Hallelujah in the middle!

This is a Jamaican riddle and most people know that the answer is a delicious sweet potato pudding, baked in an iron dutch pot or dutch oven with live coals in the bottom of the coal stove and also on the top of the dutch pot. The pudding cooks at the top and at the bottom at the same time. The delicious hallelujah is best liked when the top, called a 'sof pon top', is softer than the rest of the pudding.

2 lbs. sweet potato, grated
1/4 lb. yam, grated
1/2 cup flour
1/4 lb. raisins
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tin evaporated milk
5 cups coconut milk (2 coconuts)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup rum
1 oz. butter

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix grated potato, yam, flour, raisins and baking powder.

3. Mix evaporated milk, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, sherry, rum and butter.

4. Pour milk mixture into potato mixture and beat until smooth.

5. Pour into a greased 9-inch pan.

6. Rest mixture about half hour.

7. Bake at 350°F about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until centre is set. 8.Serve hot or cold.

Serves 12 to 16.

Enid Donaldson-Mignotte recipes

See Also A Tribute To Miss Lou