Do You Know Jamaican Food?

Question 1

What does this word mean? Cassava

Accepted Answer

A starchy root crop — one of the island's oldest foods — ground and pressed to make bammy…

Answer

A smooth, hearty breakfast porridge made from grated or blended green (unripe) banana…

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A thick soup built on gungo (pigeon) peas, boiled down with ground provisions, yam…

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The warm, aromatic spice grated fresh into porridges, drinks, puddings, and 'sea moss' — a…

Question 2

Which word fills the blank? Buy a ______ from di man pon di roadside.

Accepted Answer

Roas corn

Answer

Escovitch fish

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Wash meat

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Grater cake

Question 3

Which Patois word means this? A sweet steamed pudding of grated sweet potato or cornmeal mixed with coconut, sugar, and spices, wrapped in a banana leaf and…

Accepted Answer

Duckunoo

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Spice

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Spinner

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Fry dumpling

Question 4

What does this word mean? Overproof rum

Accepted Answer

Very high-strength white rum — 'over proof', well above standard strength…

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Mint — the fragrant herb (often peppermint or the local 'mint bush') grown in the yard and…

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The avocado. In Jamaica 'pear' means the rich, buttery, green-fleshed fruit — not the sweet…

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Pestle — the heavy wooden club used with a mortar to pound and grind: spices, coffee, corn…

Question 5

Which word fills the blank? Granny bwile a big pot a ______ pon Saturday.

Accepted Answer

Pepperpot soup

Answer

Breadkind

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Duckunoo

Answer

Green banana porridge

Question 6

What does this word mean? Curry goat

Accepted Answer

Goat meat slow-cooked in a rich curry of Jamaican curry powder, onion, garlic, thyme, and…

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A stiff, moulded cornmeal or flour porridge, cooked thick and 'turned' (stirred hard) until…

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A soft, soothing porridge of rice boiled slowly in plenty of water and milk until it breaks…

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The beloved sweet tropical fruit, of which Jamaica boasts dozens of named varieties…

Question 7

What does this word mean? Nyam

Accepted Answer

To eat — especially to eat heartily, hungrily, or greedily

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A rich soup made from the bull's genitals ('cod' = the male organ/testicles), boiled long…

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The classic Jamaican quick meal: a hot beef (or chicken, or vegetable) patty tucked inside…

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A cheap sweet drink sold frozen in a small plastic bag — you bite off a corner and suck out…

Question 8

Which word fills the blank? Wi drink ______ Friday evening dung by di beach.

Accepted Answer

Fish tea

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Oats porridge

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Oyster

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Tambran ball

Question 9

Which Patois word means this? Yam roasted over an open fire or coals until the skin chars and the inside turns soft and smoky — a roadside and country…

Accepted Answer

Roast yam

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Snow cone

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Tambran ball

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Mint

Question 10

What does this word mean? Banana fritter

Accepted Answer

A sweet fried cake made from mashed overripe banana beaten into a spiced flour batter with…

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The warm, aromatic spice grated fresh into porridges, drinks, puddings, and 'sea moss' — a…

Answer

A dense, firm, slightly sweet white loaf — the everyday Jamaican bread, sold sliced or…

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A ball or flat round of flour dough, boiled or fried, that goes with soups, stews, and…

Question 11

Which word fills the blank? Pass mi a cold ______, nuh.

Accepted Answer

Red Stripe

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Breadfruit

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Gizzada

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Coconut water

Question 12

What does this word mean? Chicken foot soup

Accepted Answer

A hearty soup made with chicken feet — the cleaned, scaly feet simmered until they give up…

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A dense, sweet baked pudding — most famously 'sweet potato pone', made from grated sweet…

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A rich baked pudding made from cornmeal, coconut milk, sugar, and spices, often finished…

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To brown meat in hot oil, or in burnt/caramelised sugar, to build colour and deep flavour…

The 12 words this quiz covers