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Ackee and saltfish
Ackee and saltfish, served with coleslaw
CourseBreakfast
Place of originJamaica
Associated cuisine Jamaican
Main ingredients Ackee and salt cod
Ingredients generally usedOnion, Scotch bonnet pepper, tomato, spices

Ackee and saltfish is the Jamaican national dish prepared with ackee and salted codfish.

Background

The ackee fruit ( Blighia sapida) is the national fruit of Jamaica. [1] It was brought to the Caribbean from Ghana before 1725 as 'Ackee' or 'Aki', another name for the Akan people, Akyem. The fruit's scientific name honours Captain William Bligh who took the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England in 1793 and introduced it to science. [2] Because parts of the fruit are toxic, such as the arils prior to the opening of the husk at the ripening stage, there are shipping restrictions when being imported to countries such as the United States. [3] Salted codfish, on the other hand, was introduced to Jamaica for enslaved people as a long-lasting and inexpensive protein source. [4] In west Africa, ackee is mainly used as medicine or an ingredient for soap and is not consumed as food. [5]

Preparation

To prepare the dish, salt cod is sautéed with boiled ackee, onions, Scotch bonnet peppers, tomatoes, then seasoned with spices like pepper and paprika. [6] It can be garnished with bacon and tomatoes, and is usually served as breakfast alongside breadfruit, hard dough bread, dumplings, or boiled green bananas. [7] [8]

Ackee and saltfish can also be eaten with rice and peas or plain white rice. [9] [10] When seasonings (onion, escallion, thyme, garlic) and saltfish are combined with plain rice it is often called "seasoned rice", which can be a one-pot meal including ackee. [11]

In popular culture

Ackee and saltfish is widely regarded as the national dish of Jamaica. [12] [13] [14] According to The Guardian, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt often has ackee and saltfish for breakfast. [15] Harry Belafonte's 1956 hit song " Jamaica Farewell" declares, "Ackee rice, saltfish are nice". [16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Fruit – Ackee – Office of the Prime Minister". Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. ^ "ACKEE". Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  3. ^ "Import Alert 21-11".
  4. ^ Wilson, Korsha (21 June 2017). "The History of Jamaica Tastes Like Ackee and Saltfish". Vice.
  5. ^ Sainsbury, Brendan. "Ackee and saltfish: Jamaica's breakfast of champions". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  6. ^ Heather Arndt Anderson (11 July 2013). Breakfast: A History. AltaMira Press. p. 74. ISBN  978-0-7591-2165-2.
  7. ^ James Newton. Jamaican Cookbook - Classic Jamaican Cuisine. Springwood emedia. p. 13. ISBN  978-1-4762-3118-1.
  8. ^ John DeMers (13 March 2012). Authentic Recipes from Jamaica. Tuttle Publishing. p. 66. ISBN  978-1-4629-0536-2.
  9. ^ Rashid, Adnan (18 October 2019). "Take a sneak peek at the exciting new menu at this Burton pub". Derbyshire Live.
  10. ^ Keith Lorren (July 2012). Caribbean Soul Cookbook. Lulu. p. 24. ISBN  978-1-105-91549-9.
  11. ^ Dr. Milicent J. Coburn (3 November 2017). Treasures of the Tropics. Trafford Publishing. p. 74. ISBN  978-1-4907-8462-5.
  12. ^ Dunne, Daisy. "Interactive: How climate change could threaten the world's traditional dishes". Carbon Brief. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  13. ^ Washington, Bryan (1 July 2019). "Coming Back to Ackee and Saltfish, Jamaica's National Dish". The New Yorker.
  14. ^ "Top 10 National Dishes -- National Geographic". Travel. 2011-09-13. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  15. ^ Seal, Rebecca (18 April 2015). "Breakfast of champions: Usain Bolt's ackee and saltfish". The Guardian.
  16. ^ Harry Belafonte – Jamaica Farewell, retrieved 2021-10-19
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