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Authentic Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge With Condensed Milk

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Cornmeal porridge known in Jamaica as pap  is one of our most traditional and beloved breakfast dishes. Many Jamaicans prefer their cornmeal porridge thick rather than runny, which is why we call it pap. Traditionally, babies are introduced to cornmeal porridge from as early as six months old when they start using the cup and spoon. The porridge is boiled thick, poured into their little cups, and fed to them with a spoon. In Jamaica, we grew up believing that cornmeal porridge helps babies grow healthy and strong. But as with all foods, the health benefits depend on what you put in it especially the sweetener. Coconut milk gives the porridge a beautiful bold flavour, but did you know coconut milk was not the original ingredient? According to my great-grandmother, fresh cow’s milk was what Jamaicans used traditionally. Every morning the local cow farmer would pass through the community supplying fresh milk whether a pint or a gallon. My great-granny would scald the mil...

How to Make Jamaican Tin Beef (Corned Beef) Fry-Up + Boiled Dumplings

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  👉 Jump to Recipe Backstory Growing up in Jamaica, tin beef or what many of us call bully beef was one of those meals you always knew about, but not every household could afford it as often as people think. My parents could afford it because both of them had working, middle-income jobs, but trust me, plenty households still couldn’t buy it regularly. And even if they could scrape up enough to buy one tin , that still wasn’t enough when the family big, because realistically one tin can only share for about three people the most. Back then, tin beef was cheaper, but the problem was never just the price it was the amount of people living in one home. And you would be surprised how many families in Jamaica couldn’t buy as freely as others assumed. Plus, the choices we have today never existed back then. Today you see all sorts of brands and different tin sizes small, medium, large, reduced salt, imported brands but when we were growing up, there was ...

Naseberry fruit health benefits (Sapodilla)

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  Naseberry season is technically over, but the sweet, brown-sugar flavor of this tropical powerhouse is hard to forget. While you might know this fruit as Sapodilla or Chikoo , here in the Caribbean, we know the superior variety as Naseberry . And it is, without a doubt, a premium fruit: the perfectly sized, smooth-skinned ones you see in this post cost me $800 a dozen to secure. Sapodilla (Chikoo) is more than just a delicious sweet treat it’s a powerhouse of nutrition that offers a wide range of health benefits. Whether eaten fresh, blended into smoothies, or used in desserts, this sweet and fiber-rich fruit can be a great addition to any healthy diet. The $800 Sapodilla: What Makes the Naseberry Variety So Special? Most of the fruit sold internationally as Sapodilla is small, but the pristine, large fruit that commanded a premium price tag is a unique variety. This superior quality which locals identify as the Naseberry  is prized for its immense size, clean skin, and...