8 Best Jamaican Foods to Try on Your Getaway

Jamaica is a hot destination known for its laid-back, warm culture, pristine beaches, Ska and reggae music, endless natural wonders, and delicious local cuisine.

If you’re a Jerk Chicken lover, imagine how more potent and satisfying the flavor is when it’s made by a Caribbean local. But jerk chicken, Jamaican patties, fried fish, and even fried chicken are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Jamaican cuisine.

Here at Villa Paradiso, we pride ourselves on delivering a luxurious, authentic Jamaican experience to all our guests, and that includes our additional service of an on-site chef. Our breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus are sure to please any appetites.

Of course, you can enjoy some impeccable Jamaican restaurants in Ocho Rios — but our chef brings you the diversity of our island’s flavors without you having to leave the pool.

Here are some of the delectable meals you can enjoy on your Jamaican getaway:

1. Saltfish & Acke

No visit here is complete without trying Jamaica’s national dish: Saltfish & Ackee. The two-star ingredients are local to Jamaica, with fresh catches of cod filling local fish stores daily and ackee fruit growing all over the island.

Ackee loses some of its sweetness for a softer, almost nutty flavor emerges when it’s boiled, then sauteed with the salty cod. Throw in some spicy scotch bonnet peppers balanced with bell peppers and thyme, and you have a delectable, traditional meal. Jamaicans eat this dish at any time of the day. Its yellowish appearance resembles scrambled eggs and makes for a hearty breakfast, but you can enjoy it for lunch or dinner as well.

A nice bonus? Ackee is packed with antioxidants like vitamin A to fight inflammation and balance out all those margaritas you might be indulging in.

PS — we can make this dish vegetarian if you’d like; just ask the chef. We tend to serve them with Johnny Cakes as well, which are also vegetarian.

2. Johnny Cakes

Are you a dipper? If you love soaking a fresh piece of bread in the juices of a tasty meal, or grabbing chunks of it for mini, rustic sandwiches, then Jamaican Johnny Cakes, aka fried dumplings, are a must-try.

These are fried balls of dough made with flour, salt, and a touch of sugar (though they don’t taste sweet).

They come out golden and satisfyingly crispy on the outside and fluffy and moist on the inside. We eat them with pretty much everything, though they’re especially tasty with brown stew chicken, curry goat, curry chicken, or oxtail stew…pretty much anything we can dip them in!

3. Jerk Chicken

The one and only Jerk Chicken is a Jamaican staple influenced by the island’s history of slavery. Specifically, the African-descended Maroons introduced the cuisine and its slow-cooked cooking style and flavorful seasonings were originally used to make tougher cuts of meat more palatable.

Luckily, we’re not working with tough meat as our private chef works with only the highest-quality, locally sourced ingredients in Villa Paradiso’s kitchen.

Did you know that Jamaican Jerk is only authentic if it’s cooked on pimento wood? We have the woodchips to really bring out that undeniably Jamaican flavor. Jerk sauce is a blend of Scotch Bonnet peppers, online, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, and a herbal medley of thyme, cayenne pepper, paprika, and a few others that contribute to Chef’s secret recipe.

While you can enjoy this chicken with almost any side, we love it with some roti bread and fried plantains, made from green bananas or as a sandwich with coco bread.

The result? A tender, fragrant, and delectable chicken that falls off the bone and overwhelms your taste buds with comfort and excitement. A must-try for any foodie!

4. Festival

Did the Johnny Cakes combined with Jerk or Saltfish flavors make your mouth water? They’re definitely a satisfying side, but if you have more of a sweet tooth, you’ll love Festival.

Like Johnny Cake dumplings, Festival is also a deep fried kind of dough but its shape is longer and more oval. The flavor is also a little sweeter, and the texture more crumbly.

It’s a delightful side to any Jamaican dish —  but if you’re feeling peckish by the pool, it’s the perfect side dish to enjoy with a cocktail.

5. Callaloo

We’ve covered a lot of peppers in the last few dishes when it comes to veggies. But if you’re craving an ode to your beloved, Southern collard greens, this one’s for you.

Callaloo is a slow-cooked greens recipe that’s actually healthier than your traditional collard greens because it’s not cooked with bacon or bacon grease. The veggie itself, Callaloo, is a calcium-packed leafy green and a member of the amaranth family (like spinach).

We steam it with onion, scotch bonnet peppers, and garlic, along with select spices, for a soft, juicy, and herbaceous veggie side dish.

6. Breadfruit

Did you notice giant, green fruits on the trees on your way to our villa? They may look like giant avocados, but they are actually an island-native fruit called breadfruit. They originated in the South Pacific, specifically the Philippines, but were introduced to Jamaica by British colonialism in the late 1700s.

Now, you can technically chop ‘em up and enjoy them raw, but they must be ripe. And even then, the flavor can be sweet but a touch sour as well.

The Jamaican way to eat breadfruit is to at least boil it and sometimes fry it as well. We sometimes roast it as well to bring out a more subtle, nutty flavor note. Usually, breadfruit’s flavor is a touch sweet and nutty, but mild, and resembles, like its name, a soft hybrid of bread and cassava. It’s wedged and served as a side with other traditional Jamaican meals.

7. Cho Cho

Any vegetarians in the house? You’ll love the simple yet mouthwatering flavor of Jamaican-prepared cho cho. Also known as choyote, cho cho is a superfood veggie packed with Vitamin C and potassium. We boil it and mash the flesh together with butter and aromatic herbs and veggies like garlic, tomatoes, and a touch of curry powder.

8. Guinep

Ever notice locals chewing and sucking on a snack as you drive around Ocho Rios? We’ll bet they’re snacking on guinep — a local fruit shaped like a small orb and surrounded by a tough skin that you need to bite and crack to penetrate. Once you’re past the skin, a gooey, pulp-like substance is ready for you to slurp up. The sweet, tart-like taste is delicious and once it’s done you’re left with a seed that you can toss or maybe chew and eat if you like.

Eating a guinep organically is a fun Jamaican experience — but our chef can also peel a bunch of them and serve them in a bowl to make it easier to enjoy them as you relax on your al fresco outdoor area and take in views of the sunsets.

Sweet Treats

Does your travel group have a notorious sweet tooth among you? Assure them that they’ll have abundant sweet treats to pick from, including:

• Sweet potato pudding: Move over yams! A hearty, moist slice of sweet potato pudding bursts with flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and of course, sweet potato.
• Tamarind balls: Enjoy the tangy flavor of tamarind balanced with a little sugar in these delicious dessert balls.
• Coconut drops: If you enjoy coconut and cookies, you’ll love this traditional Jamaican dessert, mixed with ginger, butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
• Fresh mango: Picked from surrounding mango trees, the fresh, juicy flavor of mangoes in Jamaica are unmatched!
• Banana fritters: Ripe, mashed bananas, cinnamon, and brown sugar unite into the flavor-packed banana fritter so popular in Jamaican cuisine.
  

Traditional Drinks

Vacation isn’t complete without a crisp beer or delectable cocktail to enjoy with the sun’s rays. Our nation’s most popular drinks of choice are:

Rum Punch

You haven’t experienced the beauty of rum until you’ve tried a Jamaican Rum Punch. This cocktail is prepared with three different kinds of rum: 151-proof rum, coconut-flavored rum, and dark rum. We throw in refreshing lime, orange, and pineapple juice, with a hint of grenadine and voila — a sweet, satisfying cocktail that you won’t be able to get enough of!

Red Stripe Beer

A dark ale, Red Stripe has been a Jamaican staple since its first brewery in Kingston was established in 1928! It’s hearty and refreshing, especially on a hot day on Jamaica’s gorgeous beaches.

About Rastafarian Ital Cuisine

You might notice a ton of Jerk-flavored sauces and Jamaican-ready meals in your grocery aisle — but that’s not the Rastafarian way. In fact, Rastafarian culture rejects processed foods and leans toward a more organic and healthy lifestyle, free of chemicals and even red meat.

While we encourage you to indulge on your vacation, you can feel assured knowing that a true Jamaican diet is one with health in mind. It’s filled with natural ingredients like local fruits and sauce blends of herbs and vegetables that deliver a pack of flavor without any nasty ingredients. In fact, Scotch Bonnet peppers can often reduce the need to include a lot of salt in our dishes.

Our chef here at Villa Paradiso cooks with the Rastafarian Ital principles in mind, focusing on flavors and fruits of the earth and natural surroundings.

Indulge in Jamaican Cuisine with Villa Paradiso!

Bottom line? There’s no shortage of flavors in Jamaica’s diverse and unique cuisine. Whether you crave an authentic jerk chicken or an herbaceous veggie dish like Callaloo, you can enjoy all of Jamaica’s cuisine during your stay at Villa Paradiso.

Ready to indulge in a luxurious and cultural vacation? We provide an exceptional experience with our villa’s abundant bedrooms, large veranda, 45-foot ceilings, and amenities like pool and hot tub. Book your Jamaican getaway today!