Ackee breakfast

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Only a few hundred meters from Michael Fabulous’ house in Boscobel there is a tiny beach, we are really talking about five meters between the rocks and the concrete wall of a hotel, so it was possible to take a swim before breakfast. Without the hotel this would probably be a pretty nice beach.

View from the sea towards the beach.

To get to the beach I had to walk through somebody’s backyard. The backyard was filled with chicken and goats. All I could think was: “curry goat”.

Ackee breakfast with roasted breadfruit

The day before we roasted a breadfruit from the garden on the gas stove. The roasted breadfruit is sliced, put in salted water to enhance the taste, then simply fried in oil.

Ackee and saltfish is considered the national breakfast of Jamaica. Ackee is the fruit of the Ackee tree, native to West Africa. The name also has its origins in West Africa. In the Akan language the fruit is called akye fufo. But in Africa the fruit is commonly not eaten because it is toxic. The unripe fruit contains hypoglycin A and hypoglycin B, which are converted in the body to methylenecyclopropylacetic acid. This compound is potential lethal. But when the ackee ripens the concentration of hypoglycin A and B may be 100 times less than the unripe fruit. After picking the ripe fruit the outer shell and the black arils are removed. The soft yellow seeds are then boiled for a short time before the ackee is ready for use.

The taste of ackee and saltfish is mainly provided by the saltfish. Ackee has a beautiful texture and what makes ackee and saltfish so appealing is the mouthfeel of the ackee.

The dish is very easy. Heat some oil and fry saltfish, or tinned salted mackerel, with onion, bell pepper and hot pepper. Then you mix everything with the prepared ackee fruit. The ackee doesn’t need to cook long. Simply serve the ackee with fresh fruit, crackers and fried breadfruit. It is a very satisfying breakfast.

Sun Valley Plantation

I became curious when I saw the name Sun Valley Plantation on the map. I tried to arrange a visit but they emailed me the following: We are closed on Thursdays but since you don't mind doing a half tour let's see what can happen. So yes you may come.

I arrived at the right time, because the owner just started a tour for a group which turned up last minute. The plantation commercially produces coconut for the local market but they have a garden showcasing many different plants. Sun Valley is owned by Lorna and Nolly Binns. Nolly's father bought the property in 1966 to grow bananas for export. The banana export isn’t economically viable anymore.

Lorna Binns, I presume.

Bamboo is not native to Jamaica but was imported by the British to use as supports for banana trees so they won’t fall over.

In 1988 Hurricane Gilbert destroyed the plantation. Only by the grace of special low interest loans the lost trees could be replanted. Gilbert was the second most intense tropical cyclone to hit Jamaica. The mysterious invasive reindeer who roam Jamaica’s forests are actually just six white-tailed deer, who escaped from a tourist attraction during Hurricane Gilbert. Now the population is an estimated 6.000 deer and hunting is encouraged.

A nutmeg and mace, the reddish seed covering.

Annatto is native to the Americas. The seeds can be used for colouring and flavouring food and is used in many parts of the world, as far as Vietnam and the Philippines. In St. Mary is a town called Annotto Bay, because of the abundance of Annatto trees in the area.