Thyme

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The ingredients most Jamaicans use in their cooking are: 

Scotch bonnet pepper

I sometimes use a whole one. 

When it used to burst in our dishes, like our mackerel rundown or soups, as kids, mercy. 

It is fiery, and hot, hot, hot.  

Pimento

We usually have pimento in our savoury dishes, also called all-spice. 

We had a pimento tree up country in St Ann, Jamaica. 

My mum, her friend Miss Hazel, and her son Omar, who lived nearby, and us kids would spend the day collecting pimento from our tree. 

We would shake the tree branches with the long stick used for the clothesline.

The pimento would fall on sheets spread out underneath. 

We would sit, and talk, and talk, and talk while we picked out the debris and get them ready for sale.

A man with a van used to park up at the local shop in the district and spend all day buying pimento from the community.

I love the smell of pimento.   

Ginger

Ginger with mint is one of my favourite teas. 

Minty-ginger deliciousness. It’s great in the mornings and after meals too. Refreshing and opens the senses.

We grew mint under the kitchen window, one of my dad’s favourite spots where we would often find him leaning while drinking his life medicine. 

Scallions

I love rubbing scallions between my fingers. The texture is calming, and the smell reminds me of my childhood Saturday soups:

Chicken and pumpkin soup. 

Red peas soup. 

Pigtail soup.

Chicken feet soup. 

Gungo peas soup.

Pepper pot soup. 

Mannish water soup.

And fish tea soup.

Last but certainly not least my favourite, favourite ingredient is Thyme. 

We had this planted in our kitchen garden.

I can never resist grabbing a bunch when I visit the greengrocers here in London.

The smell is lovely, thyme, takes me right back up country. 

Best wishes,

Sherry Collins (her / us)

Jamaican Freedom Fighter

Fighting for the creative freedom of the Jamaican peopledem.™

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