In Jamaica, enslaved people who escaped plantations and claimed freedom in the mountains were called Maroons. When settling on the island’s interior, they lived among the indigenous Taíno people and shared many traditions, one of which has become Jamaica's most famous culinary staple.
Jerk. A savory combination of peppers, scallions, garlic, ginger, pimento, thyme, and cinnamon, jerk refers to the way Maroons seasoned, smoked, and grilled wild boar and other tough cuts of meat until they were tender. But even more impressive is how the Maroons cooked their jerk without producing the smoke or aroma that would give their location away to enslavers.
The Maroons wrapped their meat in pepper elder leaves and cooked it underground, in a smokeless pit. As enslavers relentlessly searched for them, the community stayed on the move, hunting, preparing, and preserving their food, which they had to carry with them.
Much like barbecue from the American South, jerk isn’t just a remnant of the era of slavery. It’s a freedom food. Jerk gave Black people autonomy at a time when they couldn’t even claim their bodies as their own.
No matter where colonization brought us, our people know how to make amazing things out of nothing—a deliciously Black part of our history.
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