Question: Why Do Jamaican Side Dishes Mirror African American Side Dishes?

[Akae Beka]

Im glad you said alot because the area i grew up in we eat rice with everything, also we eat alot of seafood im talking full fish head on and all.

Of course. I know that AA are very diverse and spread out around the country, so . I know a lot of enslaved people came from inner niger delta and were taken for their ability to crop/grow rice. But from my experiences though. I see a lot more candy yams and mac n cheese side dishes(nowadays) from people who sell plates online and than rice/red beans.

 

[Nkrumah Was Right]

Here is an example of a West African sweet potato dish called Yabeh.

Yabeh is a West African dish made with cassava, sweet potatoes or yams in a spicy tomato broth.

Sweet potato in a spicy tomato broth may be foreign to some AA palettes.

In Brazil they have Moqueca.

Which is a fish and sweet potato stew including tomato, peppers, coconut milk, and cilantro.

Again, same West African roots but different cultural variation.

Jamaican side dishes, or at least those served in American restaurants are a 1-1 parallel with Soul Food.

Moqueca is delicious. I made it a lot last summer. The key is getting the right fish stock.

 

[ogc163]

Weird isn't it? It's almost as if African Americans and Jamaicans share an ancestral homeland or something...



Tomatoes are native to Central and South America.

Is that true of Cuba, PR, and DR? Them being relevant since they have the most famous tomato based rice recipes (Congri, Arroz con Gandules)

 

[s@n]

if you mean WEST AFRICAN, sure.

Hell, all my Nigerian and Ghanian friends ate the same shyt I did growing up with Jamaican parents

Jamaican and Nigerian, can confirm

 

[Nkrumah Was Right]

Is that true of Cuba, PR, and DR? Them being relevant since they have the most famous tomato based rice recipes (Congri, Arroz con Gandules)

Go to Cuba and eat Cuban foods. Or just look at Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican cuisine. There are cuisine folkways that are common across the Americas for a reason. They're of African origin.

 

[RARI_Godwind]

 

[invalid]

*Not Jamaican*

Outside of the Mac and cheese. I don't see the parallels that much. Well we eat similar foods but A lot of AA don't eat rice as much Jamaicans. I know my wife family(AA) jokes with me about what sides am I going to cook, knowing it's likely rice. In the areas I've lived and the few soul food restaurants I've visited, I've yet to taste the rice and peas that taste similar to Jamaicans. Taste good yeah but it's seasoned different. Not to mention, a lot of people prefers boiled provisions with their poultry, beef or fish. That's generally offered at Jamaican spots

Would you say this is accurate from Wiki?

Side dishesEdit​

• Bok choy
• Breadfruit (boiled, fried or roasted)
• Callaloo
• Cooked rice
• Dumplings (boiled or fried)
• Festival
• Fried plantain
• Fried rice
• Green banana
• Ground provisions
• Macaroni pie
• Potato salad
• Rice and peas – Otherwise known as "Jamaican Coat of Arms".
• Seasoned rice - pumpkin or Callaloo plus spices
• Stir-fry or steamed vegetables
• Stew peas
• Turned cornmeal

So most of the side dishes served in restaurants: rice and beans (not rice and peas), candied sweet potatoes, greens, cabbage are for the American consumer?

 

[1thouwow]

ADOS being insecure again

 

[Spade]

yams are african
Mac and Cheese came from the slave masters.
Cabbage: slave masters
......

Isn't there a difference between a Yam and a Sweet Potato? Because a Sweet Potato is of the Americas.

 

[Fill Collins]

It's almost as if human chattel were transported from parts of coastal West Africa by Europeans to their multiple colonies in the Americas at nearly the same time

 

[MajesticLion]

 

[Will Ross]

everyone takes from black Americans.

 

[oGTRFG]

Mac and cheese ain’t Caribbean, are you talking about the Caribbean restaurant that cater to African Americans? I never seen Mac and cheese on menus in actual Caribbean restaurants in the islands

 

[invalid]

are you talking about the Caribbean restaurant that cater to African Americans?

This is my whole question while everyone is running in here to demonstrate they’re the biggest pan-Africans.

Are they catering to AA or are these authentic Jamaican dishes.

 

[Low End Derrick]

Is that true of Cuba, PR, and DR? Them being relevant since they have the most famous tomato based rice recipes (Congri, Arroz con Gandules)

Not sure