Jamaican Jerk Cuisine: Mouth-watering, spicy delight
With tantalising spices, a mouth-watering aroma and a scrumptious taste, Jamaican jerk has become a savoury delight in international cuisine, making it a ‘must-have’ for all visitors to the island.
Jamaica's jerk method of cooking dates back to the Maroons who had escaped to the Blue Mountains in the 1700s. Their diet consisted mainly of wild boar, and they used a blend of herbs, spices, hot peppers and pimento leaves to preserve the meat. The spiced meat was then covered on a barbacoa of heated pimento wood and left to smoulder.
With more than 80 jerk pits and centres across the island, jerk has extended from wild boars to chicken, pork, lamb, beef, fish, conch and lobster, etc. The cuisine has quickly become part of Jamaica’s heritage and culture, which is embraced and celebrated across the world.
After gaining attention of foreigners across the world, in 1995, the Jamaican delight was adopted in New York City by the ‘Jamaican Jerk King’, Allan Vernon. He capitalized on the lack of jerk available in the city, and opened a restaurant in Manhattan that served the mouth-watering, spicy delight, and attracted the rich and famous.
After creating his own jerk sauce, Vernon wrote his first book, Vernon’s Jerk Paradise Cook Book, featuring authentic jerk cuisine. The book has been sold at leading bookstores in the United States and the Caribbean.
According to restaurateur Anna Chin, who has over four decades of experience in the food industry, true authentic jerk comes from the penetration of the smoke into the meat.
“The jerk cuisine is a unique flavour that will not come from just the adding of jerk seasoning and sauce to meat. You can cook it in an oven but the authentic taste is so intense that it takes up to four hours to cook the jerked chicken and pork. Presenting this depth of flavour to the world cuisine makes Jamaica’s presence strong across the world,” Chin shared.
To date, Jamaican jerk cuisine is loved and cherished across the world. You name it, Jamaicans can jerk it.
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