17 Jamaican Foods And Drinks You Should Try At Least Once

Jamaica measures 146 miles from end to end and 51 miles at its widest point — slightly smaller than the State of Connecticut. To the average American, this may seem small in terms of land, but the culture that comes from this Caribbean island is huge. Rastafarianism, the sounds of patois, not to mention dancehall and reggae music, have all made their mark on the world, and if you haven't noticed, so has the food.

There's nothing like the smell of jerk chicken or the rich, spice-filled sauce of curry goat, the patties whose turmeric-dyed dough tints your fingertips as you tear into the warm interior, the tart sorrel and brightly colored selections of juices to wash your meal down with. Many of these dishes are as legendary and far-reaching as the sounds that originated in Jamaica, the size of the plates, and the smell of the spices that draw in a crowd.

We've interviewed two experts to find out which dishes from the island you absolutely have to try. Ladanna Lawas grew up in Jamaica, where she learned to cook with her grandma, and is now the Executive Chef at Big City Tavern in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Dr. Samara Sterling is a nutrition scientist and director at The Peanut Institute and Veggie & Soul. She specializes in the use of plant-based nutrition for the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Both Dr. Sterling and Chef Lawas have shared their favorite dishes, drinks, and meals from Jamaica.

Versions of porridge or oatmeal appear on breakfast menus around the world, from quinoa porridge in Peru to British versions that use rolled and steel-cut oats. In Jamaica, this breakfast staple also pops up in a variety of different forms. Cornmeal porridge is perhaps the most common, but it's anything but basic — Jamaican porridge comes heavily spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, and a touch of vanilla. It's often sweetened with condensed milk, giving it a creamy consistency and inviting taste. 

Dr. Samara Sterling says that "porridges like [...] banana or peanut porridge are also common." For banana porridge, the green bananas might be blended with coconut milk, spices, and condensed milk, and cooked low and slow until thick and creamy. Peanut porridge is a similar recipe, using raw peanuts as a base and a touch of flour to thicken. 

If those Jamaican porridges are sounding a bit too sweet for your tastes, just know that breakfast in Jamaica isn't typically that sugary. Dr. Samara Sterling explains: "In traditional Jamaican culture, breakfast meals tend to be hearty, savory, and filling. An example would be callaloo with dumplings and plantains."

Callaloo is a leafy green also called amaranth or "Caribbean spinach." It's loaded with vitamins and fiber, and once the stalk is sliced thin and the leaves trimmed, it's stewed into a delicious bowl of veggies that resembles collard greens. Ladanna Lawas says callaloo is generally sauteed with onions, garlic, and tomato for added flavor.

While callaloo is a common breakfast item, it's also a side dish that you're likely to see throughout the day as a fibrous addition to many meat-based dishes. Its flavor being so savory (the stalk is quite similar in flavor to that of broccoli), it can be used as a companion vegetable for many different plates.

For the coffee enthusiast who enjoys savoring a freshly brewed cup of jet-black joe — noting the flavor profile, the single origin source, the acidity, and roast — Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is a must-try. Just like a good wine, coffee is the product of the environment it grows in, and the Blue Mountains in Jamaica create a unique terroir. As Ladanna Lawas notes: "The rich land and tropical climate provide an abundance of fresh, flavorful ingredients [...] especially [...] our famous Blue Mountain coffee."

To be considered Blue Mountain coffee, beans must be harvested between 3,000 and 5,500 feet above sea level, the elevation at which a cooling fog hovers over the growing plants and allows them to ripen slowly in the rich soil. For Lawas, these beans are a prime example of all Jamaica's rich land has to offer, and the perfect beverage to enjoy alongside your breakfast.

Jamaica's tropical climate produces an abundance of unique fruits. The country's national fruit, ackee, is alien to those residing in the United States (who have never visited Jamaica), not just because of the different climate but because importing raw ackee is actually illegal in the U.S. due to a chemical in the fruit that's potentially toxic. Don't let this deter you from trying some ackee and salt fish, though — canned versions are typically FDA certified, and the chemical is only toxic when the ackee is eaten before it's properly ripened. 

Dr. Samara Sterling says, "[Ackee] is our national fruit and is typically eaten like a vegetable with saltfish. When combined, ackee and saltfish is our national dish." Ladanna Lawas describes the dish as "buttery ackee fruit sauteed with salted cod, onions, peppers, tomatoes, thyme, and Scotch bonnet pepper for a kick." While ackee may be a fruit, it leans more toward a creamy or nutty texture, rather than sweet and floral, and when combined with savory ingredients like cod, it tastes more like a vegetable.

Like any cuisine, Jamaican food centers around community, memory, and culture just as much as nourishment. For both of our experts, rice and peas is the dish that brings them the most nostalgia. "This meal brings back memories of weekly family gatherings, when everyone would come together to cook and share food. The smell of thyme, scallions, and coconut milk filling the kitchen created a sense of comfort, familiarity, and love that makes this dish especially meaningful to me," says Ladanna Lawas.

Jamaican rice and peas is really rice with red kidney beans (not peas). It's cooked with loads of spices, herbs, and aromatic coconut milk, resulting in a fluffy, filling side dish that's often paired with proteins like oxtail and goat and veggies like stewed cabbage or callaloo. It's one of those dishes that defines Jamaican cuisine and always has a place at the table.

Who doesn't love handheld food? Something you can buy on the street or from a small corner shop and comfortably eat on the go. The Jamaican patty, which consists of a flaky dough dyed yellow with curry powder and stuffed full of various meat or veggie fillings, is one of the world's great handheld foods. Whether you're on the way to work, trying to make the most of a quick lunch break, or returning home from the bar, a patty provides something warm and comforting with spiced aromas that draw you in with each bite.

For Dr. Samara Sterling, patties are a go-to snack. "I don't think you should go to Jamaica or a Jamaican restaurant and NOT try a patty, whether beef, chicken, or veggie," she says. The benefit of patties is that if you can't find them freshly baked, you may be able to find someone who sells them frozen and stock up your freezer with these tasty snacks.

When it comes to Jamaican proteins like chicken or goat, the magic happens in the sauce. Flavor after flavor is built up in the pot — spiced, sweet, herbaceous, tangy, robust. There are a few steps to achieving this kind of flavor — such as using the right spice blends — but one secret ingredient is the browning sauce. Browning sauce is a caramelized brown sugar sauce that has a greater depth of flavor because of the extra cooking time, and can be bought in a bottle or made at home. Used in many Jamaican dishes, it's one of the ingredients that make brown stew chicken so good.

Beyond the browning sauce, brown stew chicken is made of thoroughly marinated chicken thighs that cook in a long list of spices and alliums until tender. It's a delicious protein to have with a side of rice and peas, as you'll need something to soak up all that leftover gravy. Dr. Samara Sterlings says if you're visiting a Jamaican restaurant for the first time, "go straight for the rice and peas, cabbage, plantains, and a curried or brown stew dish."

Relaxing by the Caribbean Sea and soaking up the sun with your toes in the sand calls for a meal in tune with the environment, and what better dish to match the experience than fried seafood? Ladanna Lawas recommends a plate of "fried fish with bammy, which is a flatbread made from cassava." The fish of choice is typically snapper (although other lean white fish will do just fine), which are cleaned, thoroughly dusted with a blend of spices and herbs, and fried whole until crispy.

The dish isn't complete without an escovitch topping — thinly sliced onions, peppers, and carrots that have been soaked in a pickling liquid. It's vibrant, filling, and as with any Jamaican food, packed with flavor — the perfect plate to enjoy as you recline in the sea breeze.

Curry spices and goat meat are a genius pairing. The goat becomes tender when seared and cooked low and slow, any gamey flavors being overshadowed by the rich blend of spices. This is a dish that, while similar to the Indian version it originated from, has been tweaked to have its own Caribbean twist. "Our famous curry dishes were introduced through the West Indians and have since become a huge part of Jamaican cooking," says Ladanna Lawas.

Jamaican curries are distinguished by the use of allspice as well as Scotch bonnet peppers, making these Caribbean sauces a bit hotter with more baking-spice aromatics. Curry goat is the perfect dish to order when visiting a Jamaican restaurant — your plate will be loaded with steaming meat and sides like peas and rice or stewed cabbage. Although if you're thinking about cooking up some curry goat at home, Costco has got you covered in the meat department.

Jamaica's tropical climate and lush fauna make the island abundant with different fruits. For Dr. Samara Sterling, these are a must-try when visiting, as you won't be able to get the same experience elsewhere. "My favorite is the Otaheite apple when it is ripe and juicy. Others like guava, june plum, nesberry, mango, and passion fruit are all amazing fruits."

In a tropical island climate, it's crucial to have something refreshing to sip on, and Jamaica has no shortage of life-giving drinks. "Common drinks include fresh coconut water, sorrel (especially during the holidays), carrot juice, and Irish moss. Usually, natural fruits and ingredients are used to make our traditional drinks," Dr. Sterling adds.

In the U.S., if you're visiting a Jamaican restaurant, it's not uncommon for them to have a fridge full of colorful bottles of freshly squeezed juice. They come in blends like carrot and mango or guava and strawberry, and provide the perfect balance to the heaping portions and strong flavors of your Jamaican dinner.

There is perhaps no Jamaican dish more well-known than jerk chicken. In Jamaican cities, you may be lucky enough to smell its unmistakable fragrance on outdoor barbecues in the summertime, where you can buy a dozen wings fresh off the grill. Ladanna Lawas says, "One of the most iconic Jamaican street foods is jerk chicken or jerk pork, slow-cooked over pimento wood and served with a fresh loaf of bread. When they are cooking jerk chicken or pork, the smoky heat, spices, and aroma alone will draw you in."

Marination is key with jerk meat, which uses brown sugar, allspice,  and an abundance of other seasonings to achieve its signature dark color and intense aroma. If you're cooking at home, you can make your jerk chicken really stand out with the addition of banana ketchup.

A list of Jamaican foods isn't quite complete without mentioning a cocktail to go with them, and the Bob Marley cocktail has just the right balance of flavors (not to mention photo-worthy presentation) to fit the bill. Ladanna Lawas says: "Popular beverages in Jamaica include Ting, a refreshing grapefruit soda, and the Bob Marley, a layered rum cocktail featuring the red, gold, and green colors of the Jamaican flag."

Each layer is different — red made with strawberries and grenadine, gold made with pineapple or mango, and green made with lime and melon liqueur or sometimes blue curaçao. The drink is sometimes served blended with each layer using a different fruit, or served in a glass with the liquors carefully layered over ice.

Oxtail was once a cut of beef you could find for an affordable price — the boney pieces and tough meat being largely unappealing to the masses. But dishes like Jamaican oxtail stew with butter beans quickly convinced the general population that oxtail just needs some extra time in the pot to unlock its tender potential, and the formerly humble cut is now sought-after.  Ladanna Lawas says: "For any newbie visiting a Jamaican restaurant for the first time, I would recommend them to try [...] oxtails with butter beans."

Keeping on-trend with other Jamaican proteins, oxtails with butter beans uses browning sauce, Jamaican curry powder, and a host of additional seasonings to achieve the incredible color and taste. It's aromatic, protein-heavy, and unforgettable. Once you try this dish, you'll understand why it's now impossible to find oxtail at a good price.

As big as the portions can be when you visit a Jamaican restaurant, you'll need to do your best to save room for dessert. Jamaican cuisine offers many delicious proteins and sides, but the desserts are just as noteworthy. Coconut drops are perhaps the most infamous, a sticky concoction of fresh coconut and ginger that's grated into slivers and cooked together with brown sugar. Dr. Samara Sterling says: "There are so many wonderful sweet treats in Jamaica including coconut drops (which my mother would make on banana leaves when we were growing up)." One can almost justify the sugar consumption with all that fruit and digestion-aiding ginger.

Gizzadas are small coconut tarts with a signature star-shaped design that's created by pinching the sides of the dough before baking. While the dough is made in a traditional pie-crust fashion with flour and cold butter, the filling is unmistakably Jamaican. Dr. Samara Sterling notes that "common spices used in our desserts include coconut, ginger, and nutmeg," and gizzadas incorporate all three, along with some brown sugar for sweetness.

With origins in Portugal yet a distinctly regional flavor profile, these tarts are an example of the multi-cultural influences on Jamaican food, which is reflected in the country's own motto: "Out of Many, One People,"  a phrase that perfectly captures the storied history of this Caribbean island.

Dr. Samara Sterling says that "[Jamaican desserts] can sometimes be an involved process but [are] very much worth it," a statement that perfectly sums up the labor of love that goes into many of these regional sweets. The involved process seems to be mostly grating — shredding coconut, grating ginger, and, in the case of the sweet potato pudding, grating sweet potato. But once you've done that bit of manual labor, the resulting treat is so fresh, perfectly textured, and spiced that it makes all the work worth it.

Jamaican sweet potato pudding is akin to a crust-less sweet potato pie, although it's distinctly Jamaican in its use of coconut milk and rum. The spices, coconut milk, and rum are mixed together with sweet potato to achieve the perfect consistency, and baked until set, the sugars caramelizing at the top, bottom, and sides. The only real problem with Jamaican desserts is choosing which one to order.

If you're one of those people who's had one too many bites of grocery-store birthday cake and come to the conclusion that cake just isn't for you, this might be the one to change your mind. Jamaican rum cake, also called black cake, is incredibly moist, with a deep, spiced flavor that is strong enough to hold its own without frosting.

Brown sugar, browning sauce, molasses, baking spices, and red wine are where the cake gets its rich taste from, but the real kicker in terms of flavor comes from a pureed blend of rum-soaked fruits mixed into the batter. Raisins, prunes, and cherries drowned in rum until their wrinkles fade are whipped into a smooth concoction and folded into a batter full of love. It's a must-try Jamaican dessert, according to Ladanna Lawas — one slice of this cake is all you need to become a cake-lover forever.