Ackee and saltfish
Jamaican national dish of sauteed ackee and salted codfish.
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Dug Song from Ann Arbor, MI, USA · CC BY 2.0
The dish combines boiled ackee fruit with sautéed salt cod, onions, Scotch bonnet peppers, and tomatoes.[1] It is typically eaten as a breakfast staple, often served with breadfruit, dumplings, or boiled green bananas.[1][2] Jamaica's national dish is widely considered to be ackee and saltfish.[3][4]
Key facts and history
Salted codfish was introduced to Jamaica as a long-lasting protein source for enslaved people.[5][2] However, in parts of northern Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, ackee is consumed as a dried paste.[5] Unripe ackee contains the toxin hypoglycin A, which can cause severe sickness or death.[3] Because of this toxicity, there are shipping restrictions when importing ackee to countries such as the United States.[5][6]
Jamaican canned ackee is now exported and sold in markets patronized by expatriate Jamaicans.[7] Jamaica's national fruit is the ackee, scientifically named Blighia sapida.[8][7] The name "ackee" comes from the Twi language of Ghana, and the fruit was introduced to the Caribbean from Ghana prior to 1725.[8][7] Captain William Bligh, honored in the fruit's scientific name, transported it from Jamaica to England's Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew in 1793.[5]
What the cited sources add
The same source identifies two main types of ackee based on aril color.[7] The Carbon Brief interactive reports that ackee trees in Jamaica are hardy and cope well with drought and hurricanes.[3] National Geographic describes ackee as a nutritious fruit with a buttery-nutty flavor that resembles scrambled egg when boiled.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ackee and saltfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heather Arndt Anderson, "Breakfast: A History", AltaMira Press, 11 July 2013, p. 74; James Newton, "Jamaican Cookbook - Classic Jamaican Cuisine", Springwood emedia, p. 13; John DeMers, "Authentic Recipes from Jamaica", Tuttle Publishing, 13 March 2012, p. 66 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wilson, "The History of Jamaica Tastes Like Ackee and Saltfish", Vice, 21 June 2017. facts only, no text reused. vice.com
- Dunne, "Interactive: How climate change could threaten the world's traditional dishes", Carbon Brief. facts only, no text reused. interactive.carbonbrief.org
- Wikipedia, "Ackee and saltfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dunne, "Interactive: How climate change could threaten the world's traditional dishes", Carbon Brief; Washington, "Coming Back to Ackee and Saltfish, Jamaica's National Dish", The New Yorker, 1 July 2019; "Top 10 National Dishes -- National Geographic", Travel, 2011-09-13; Seal, "Breakfast of champions: Usain Bolt's ackee and saltfish", The Guardian, 18 April 2015; "Harry Belafonte – Jamaica Farewell" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ackee and saltfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "ACKEE"; "Import Alert 21-11"; Wilson, "The History of Jamaica Tastes Like Ackee and Saltfish", Vice, 21 June 2017; Sainsbury, "Ackee and saltfish: Jamaica's breakfast of champions", www.bbc.com; "Ackee - an overview ScienceDirect Topics", www.sciencedirect.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Import Alert 21-11". facts only, no text reused. accessdata.fda.gov
- "National Fruit – Ackee – Office of the Prime Minister". facts only, no text reused. opm.gov.jm
- Wikipedia, "Ackee and saltfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "National Fruit – Ackee – Office of the Prime Minister" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Top 10 National Dishes -- National Geographic", Travel, 2011-09-13. facts only, no text reused. nationalgeographic.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ackee and saltfish (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ackee and saltfish (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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