[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 129 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2035-E2036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO JAMAICAN CUISINE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, in celebration of Jamaica's 43rd anniversary 
of independence I rise today to insert in the Record an article from 
the July 20th New York Times highlighting Jamaican cuisine and its 
impact on New York City.
  The influx of Jamaican cuisine in New York and other cities 
throughout the U.S. is a testament to the richness which immigration 
has brought to the city of New York and our Nation. The diversity of 
cuisine now available to

[[Page E2036]]

us is but one example of the benefits we New Yorkers and Americans 
derive from the cultures and customs brought to the U.S. from all over 
the world.
  The vibrant cuisine of Jamaica is a reflection of its culture and is 
as diverse as its people, drawing inspiration from a medley of sources. 
Jamaican cooking can be best described as a culinary melting pot that 
combines a hint of Spanish, a dash of English and a heaping teaspoon of 
Indian and Chinese with a cup or two of African ingredients to serve up 
some of the Caribbean's most creative cuisine.
  As a native New Yorker I have been a Jamaican food enthusiast since 
my youth. It is a cuisine full of flavor and vibrancy.
  Jamaicans have been immigrating to the United States for centuries 
and have undeniably left their mark on cities throughout our Nation. 
Their contributions can be seen at the center of our neighborhoods and 
industries, in every sector from music to cuisine.
  The Jamaican American community is a prime example of a community 
which has and is contributing greatly to New York City and their 
adopted nation. Special praise is due for what the entrepreneurs of 
this community are contributing to the cuisine of the city and their 
efforts are appropriately recognized in this article.

                  Island Flavors in a Yellow Envelope

                   (By Julia Moskin and Kim Severson)

       Long before the BlackBerry and the PlayStation Portable, 
     New Yorkers loved their hand-helds. The folded pizza slice, 
     the hot dog and the crusty knish have a built-in mobility 
     that lets hungry New Yorkers eat on the street, and enough 
     density to carry them through to the next meal.
       New immigrants have added to the on-the-go family, 
     introducing Colombian arepas, Mexican tacos and Uzbek samsas. 
     But the hand-held with the best shot at making the list of 
     classic New York noshes is the Jamaican beef patty, a 
     rectangle of flaky yellow crust filled with ground beef shot 
     through with onion, thyme and the inimitable heat and perfume 
     of Scotch bonnet chili peppers.
       The patties are familiar to New Yorkers who order bland 
     commercial versions sold at numerous pizzerias. But they 
     cannot compare to the fresh, handcrafted patties found at a 
     handful of Jamaican bakeries here. The flakiest crusts are 
     still made with a hefty percentage of beef suet, and the most 
     memorable fillings are unabashedly hot.
       ``That little country pepper takes you right back to 
     Jamaica,'' said Ronald Patterson, a customer at Buff Patty in 
     Fort Greene, Brooklyn, using a Jamaican term for the Scotch 
     bonnet chili pepper, which has a fruity, almost floral taste 
     that balances its considerable heat.
       Since the 1970's, Jamaicans have been among the largest 
     immigrant groups in New York City, with many arrivals 
     settling in Brooklyn. There are large Jamaican communities in 
     the Wakefield section of the Bronx and (coincidentally) in 
     Jamaica, Queens. But the city's best Jamaican food is 
     concentrated in Brooklyn, along Flatbush, Nostrand and Utica 
     Avenues.
       ``We use Black Angus beef and fat from the caps of the 
     prime rib,'' said Desmond Patterson, an owner of Jamaican 
     Pride Bakery in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. There, 
     Mr. Patterson and his crew turn out 2,000 patties from 
     scratch every morning and bake them throughout the day.
       Jamaican Pride's ground beef filling combines plenty of 
     black pepper and Scotch bonnet, and a whiff of fresh thyme 
     and allspice (Jamaicans call it pimento), two signature 
     seasonings in Jamaican cooking. It is slightly soupy, not 
     unlike a sloppy Joe. Patties at most New York shops tend to 
     be drier, with the meat pastelike, in the traditional style.
       Patties, it turns out, are an immensely personal matter. 
     Preferences for meat texture, crust style and spicing levels 
     are often determined by how and where one was raised.
       Jamaican cooking combines local ingredients with an overlay 
     of Spanish, British, Indian and Chinese influences. The patty 
     could be a descendant of the empanada or of the meat pasty, 
     the traditional lunch of miners in Cornwall in southwest 
     England, who needed portable lunches that they could take 
     deep into the mines.
       Other islands with British influence make patties. In 
     Trinidad a distinct curry flavor reflects that island's many 
     Indian cooks (try the patties at Al Cholo Bakery in the 
     Bronx); the bakers at Shaborn Juice Bar, a Guyanese bakery in 
     Flatbush, make round patties no bigger than the palm of a 
     hand. The filling is flavored with a little basil, and the 
     crust is rich and crumbly.
       The Jamaican patty is served wrapped in coco bread, which 
     is like an oversize, slightly sweet hamburger bun. It is 
     called coco bread not because it contains coconut (it 
     doesn't), but because you split it open like a coconut. 
     Although the combination first appears dauntingly starchy, 
     the soft sweetness of the bread nicely offsets the spicy 
     filling and the crisp crust.
       ``You eat it with the coco bread to soak up the spice and 
     the juice,'' said Shana Bennett Reid, who works at Angel 
     Flake Patties in Flatbush.
       In different times and places, the distinctive yellow-
     orange color of the classic patty crust has come from palm 
     oil, annatto seeds, yellow food coloring and turmeric. Some 
     upscale patties bear a natural pale-brown crust, rather than 
     the traditional yellow. In developing a recipe for home 
     cooks, we found that using turmeric and a bit of West Indian 
     curry powder added a pleasant pungency and the classic yellow 
     color. We also found that although vegetable shortening makes 
     a perfectly good crust, beef suet makes a spectacular one.
       Not all patties are spicy. Vegetable patties in a whole-
     wheat crust may seem like an American health food invention, 
     but they are authentically Jamaican. Many Jamaicans are at 
     least part-time vegetarians because of the dietary laws of 
     Rastafarianism.
       Jerk chicken patties, a relatively new creation gaining 
     popularity here and in Jamaica, can be hot or not, but they 
     are always heavily perfumed with allspice and thyme, the 
     classic jerk spices. At Jamican Pride, one popular patty is 
     filled with ackee, a soft, slippery-sweet fruit that 
     resembles scrambled eggs when baked inside a crisp crust.
       Besides coco bread, the squeal of brakes seems to be a 
     constant accompaniment to patties; many of the best patty 
     shops are near bus and subway stops. At any time of day, 
     customers rush in holding two dollar bills, the usual 
     tariff for a patty in coco bread.
       ``In Jamaica people eat patties first thing in the morning 
     and last thing at night,'' said Patrick Anthony, whose father 
     owns the One Stop Patty Shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem. 
     ``Every neighborhood has its own patty shop, and every patty 
     shop has its own recipe.''
       Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, is the hotbed of the 
     country's patty wars, with chains of Tastee Patties and Juici 
     Patties battling for dominance.
       ``I have heard of people making a living buying Tastee 
     Patties by the case in Kingston airport and flying them to 
     Miami, just going back and forth,'' Ronald Patterson said. 
     His favorite patty shop, Buff Patty, carries Royal Caribbean 
     patties, a local commercial product that stood out in our 
     tastings. They are sold nationally under the Caribbean Food 
     Delights label in Costco stores and in other large grocery 
     chains.
       Caribbean Food Delights, Tower Isle and Golden Krust, which 
     sells its patties to hundreds of franchisees, are the big 
     players in the market. The companies, which turn out hundreds 
     of thousands of patties a day, are determined to make patties 
     as popular as hamburgers and pizza.
       Vincent and Jeanette HoSang, who founded Royal Caribbean, 
     import Scotch bonnets and thyme from Jamaica so their patties 
     will taste the way they do on the island. ``But everyone buys 
     them,'' said their daughter, Sabrina, the bakery's director 
     of operations. ``Not only Jamaicans, but Caucasians and 
     especially Hispanics--a patty is a lot like an empanada.''
       Or a lot like a calzone, a samosa or even a knish. But no 
     matter what your roots, the patty travels well. Especially 
     through the streets of New York.

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