Meaning
Breadfruit roasted whole over an open fire or coals until the skin chars black and the inside turns soft, smoky, and starchy. Peeled and sliced, roast breadfruit is a beloved staple, the classic partner to ackee and saltfish, eaten too with fried fish or simply with butter. The smell of one roasting on a wood fire is pure country comfort, and the smoky, golden heart within, charred skin cut away, is one of the great everyday pleasures of the Jamaican table, humble, filling, and deeply satisfying.
Examples
-
Roast breadfruit an ackee a di perfect Sunday breakfast.
Roast breadfruit and ackee is the perfect Sunday breakfast.
-
Him roast di breadfruit pon di coal pot till it black.
He roasted the breadfruit on the coal stove until it was charred.
-
Slice di roast breadfruit an spread butter pon it.
Slice the roast breadfruit and spread butter on it.
Origin
Breadfruit was brought to Jamaica in 1793 (famously by Captain Bligh) to feed the enslaved; roasting it over fire became a cornerstone of local eating.
How it’s used
A staple starch, classically paired with ackee and saltfish or fried fish.