Monday, April 30, 2012

Coconut Drops: Am I really Jamaican ?


Struggling to balance my body weight as I bounced around on my tippy toes, I would hear my name echo throughout the house. Instantly I would sink down onto my feet and hurry off knowing I would be scolded if my mother caught hold of me. Being such a young child I couldn’t resist the temptation. Rows and rows of my grandma’s coconut drops rested on the table. It always seemed as if Grandma had taken the time to center them perfectly out of reach, making failure inevitable. I remember circling around the table, watching steam rise from the distorted looking dessert, my body just begging for a little taste. My grandma’s coconut drops were something to die for and they have always seemed to be a part of me. Whether it was the combination of locally and freshly picked ingredients that stimulated my taste buds or the fact that it played a rather large role in my life, I remain unsure of, but it is definitely a food that I feel I will never grow out of. Drops has not only shaped who I am but has transformed into a symbol of Jamaican culture that has helped to maintain cultural identity for those who no longer reside in Jamaica. 

Like many things, my grandma’s coconut drops bring back cherished memories for me, always reminding me of the Jamaican roots that resonate within me. Growing up and spending time at my grandparent’s home in Jamaica has become one of those memorable moments. My grandma has always been a woman who went out of her way to provide for and nourish her family, opening up her home to us whenever we came to visit. She always cooked, never missing a meal, and spoiled us like a grandmother should. However, grandma’s coconut drops always stuck out to me, not solely because of its taste but because of the preparation that went into cooking them. The entire process fascinated me as she turned a coconut, some ginger, and brown sugar into a treat for many. I always knew what was to come when she sent my cousin to the yard for some coconuts. Grandma would always say, “Go pon di yard and bring bak couple coconut fi di drops dem, memba fi get di dry coconut from under di tree and bring it come.” Those words alone lit up something within me and my sister and I would run outside. From coconut to coconut we would watch my older cousin break them open and drain the water into a container, always remembering to save one for my sister and me before we went in. Upon reaching back inside grandma would say to us, “Mind ya self suh ya nuh leave nuh stain pon ya shirt!” Grandma always knew best, but was always a little too late.  As she spoke, coconut water would already be running down our faces and soaking through our shirts.  Soon enough we would have brown stains everywhere. These memories alone are ones that will always connect both my sister and me to our Jamaican culture and the island itself. To this day I cannot honestly say I would trade the stains on my shirt for that moment where both my sister and I would take turns holding a coconut to our faces in an attempt to get the last couple of drops of water.  

Once each coconut was completely drained of its water and removed from its husk, the cooking really began. Grandma always pulled a chair out at the table, lining up different knives. She would sit and cut each coconut, first separating the “meat” from the lining and then continuing to cut them into very fine pieces. I soon learned that the other knives that rested on the table weren’t for her. As my sister and I sat at the table and picked at the small pieces of coconut she handed me a smaller knife, encouraging me to give it a try. Personally, I preferred just eating the coconut as she cut them, but according to her and my mother, there wouldn’t be any left to make drops if we kept eating. Settling for the lesson, grandma walked me through each step, my mother quietly listening as if she was never given this lesson herself. This was the moment where a Jamaican dish transformed itself into a tradition to be shared for generations to come and by the time I finally got the hang of it, we were done and it was time to move on to the ginger. Amazingly, both my mother and grandma possessed this uncanny skill to cut up ginger into even finer pieces than that of the coconut. The only thing left to do was to add everything to the boiling pot of water and add a little salt. Since my sister was too young to use a knife, she always got the job of putting everything into the pot, as grandma went for the sugar. By far the most interesting thing to me though was my grandma’s ability to cook without ever using a measuring cup. I asked once, “How do you know how much sugar you are you supposed to put in Grandma?” and her answer followed along the lines of, “Jus enough fi make it a likkle sweet.” To me, those words were just reassurance that after she added the sugar only good things would come from that boiling pot. Proving to be true, as time continued on, the sweet smell of brown sugar and fresh ginger filled the house. Once catching my attention I would begin to venture back towards the pot in anticipation of the finished product, knowing that once the drops cooled the entire family would gather in the kitchen to claim a handful of treats they would be too full to finish. 

In analysis of the previously written work along with a little age I have grown to realize that coconut drops is a dish that encourages my family to bond with one another. It is a single dessert that has the power to bring together three generations and countless family members, symbolizing not only cultural identity but the importance of family and tradition within a household. A simple candy has become liable for connecting me to a long line of tradition and introducing me to priceless knowledge, while unknowingly submerging me into my Jamaican culture. Within my family drops is something that is well known and continues to be a strong part of our tradition. Upon asking my grandma about the dish’s lineage in our family she had a lot to say. Openly she shared with me many details, starting with where she learned how to make coconut drops and how they came about in our family. She began by saying, “My grandmother taught me how to make drops when I was a child. She used to make and sell them in her shop along with toto (a type of coconut cake) and as far as I can remember she always had a shop of her own. When it would come time to cook for the shop she would let me help an­d taught me how to make drops as well.” Upon asking the reason behind her making it for us she replied, “I used to make it for you guys all the time because I knew Ayanna liked sweet things and it was one of you and your sister’s favorites.” She continued to say, “Though my grandma used to make it to sell in shop, a lot of Jamaicans make it for the holidays or to give to family for when they are leaving Jamaica”, her words proving that coconut drops are not just a part of our family history but that of Jamaicans in general. It is a food that symbolizes Jamaican culture as a whole, representing movement and the preservation of cultural identity among Jamaican people.

Though Jamaica was not discovered until 1494 the reality that the country is in fact an island has permitted the preservation of Jamaican culture. However, the geographical aspects of the country has is no way limited the immersion of other countries into such culture. In the early stages of the island’s social development Jamaica utilized food to assist in the creation of an identity for the island and its people. Praising the words from an author of another text, one writer states, “Higman calls attention to the way Jamaicans think of their dishes as potent national symbols” both writers recognizing the importance of food on the island and the success in the creation of a distinguished identity (Mintz, 152).  Jamaicans establishing their identity by adopting certain things from other places and going further to then make them their own and in many ways better, leading to the adoption of  the “Jamaican” label. Coconut drops being a dessert created from many different “Jamaican” ingredients, such as coconuts, ginger, and sugar, is a good example in itself given that its ingredients were not always native in­­­ Jamaica. 

Coconuts for instance, generally defined as “the nut or seed of the coco-palm” (OED) ironically disregarding any real importance of this fruit, originated in the Indo-Pacific region and was introduced in Jamaica in the 1600s (Higman, 434). This fruit was said to have reached Jamaica by drifting “nuts” that were stranded on tropical beaches. These same nuts were later spread across the island for production and its added beauty (Higman, 165). After coconuts began to flourish on the island it turned around and became one of the largest exports for the people of Jamaica by the1900s (Higman, 165). Soon a more accurate description of the coconut arose and began to help define Jamaica’s national identity, referring to coconuts as food, clothing, lodging, and even a source of nourishment (Higman, 166). Though coconuts are not a sufficient meal in itself, it has become a common ingredient in a wide range of dishes in Jamaica and all over the world (170). As well as being able to produce food according to my grandma and other outside resources coconuts can be used to make organic cooking oil, serve as a natural laxative, feed livestock, buff/shine floors, and even make musical instruments, and buttons (NWE). Jamaicans truly defining the coconut and working to make it their own has successfully passed such uses through generations and are now being seen in homes of Jamaican Americans as well. 

Another ingredient of the tasty dessert that has been attached to a “Jamaican” label is ginger (Higman, 2). The root, known for its hot spicy taste and common use in cookery and medicine when dried, has held true to the definition the OED set forth for it. Though the root originated in India making its way to Jamaica in 1525 , it is now known as Jamaican ginger, “the world’s finest”(Higman 435/95). Taking superiority to any in the world, once brought to Jamaica the root adapted well to the island’s soil soon becoming a substantial export, producing continuously high levels of output (Higman, 95). Though ginger is now useful for many things, Jamaicans primarily use it for flavoring of foods and tea, medicinal purposes, and the all famous “Jamaican ginger beer” (Higman, 97). Now recognizable in many countries both in the US and internationally, Jamaican ginger has created a name for itself, providing Jamaicans around the world with access to not only the finest but a piece of home. 

Pure sugar, the last main ingredient found in coconut drops, has become a staple in Jamaica alongside coconuts and bananas. After establishing the “Jamaican” name, sugar was introduced in many countries and continued to flourish in many cultures. Pure sugar deriving from sugar cane was transported to Jamaica from New Guinea and introduced to the island in 1510 (Higman, 436). Sugar cane and most of the plant’s products have become fundamental to trade since being introduced to the island and has helped to shape Jamaica (Higman, 122). Sugar serves as yet another resource that has been given the opportunity to instill Jamaican influences on different countries and allow people abroad to embrace their Jamaican identity. Along with providing Jamaica with the resources to establish and maintain their own candy factory, “Jamaican sugar” has encouraged the continuance of the use of many Jamaican grown goods such as sugar. 

Along with the influence of the ingredients found in the dessert, coconut drops possess cultural influences within itself as a whole. The occasion in which the dessert is made presents itself as an identifier of such influences. The dish, ideally made on the occasion that someone is in fact leaving the island or a part of a care package sent to family abroad, serves as a reminder to Jamaicans of who they are. When I was younger I never understood my grandma’s reasoning behind preparing coconut drops a matter of hours before we were supposed to leave the island. I always felt as if she chose the oddest times to make them and maybe she just didn’t want to share. Ironically lacking an expiration date, drops served as a snack for us on the plane as it did for many other Jamaicans, as well as a treat for our house lasting many months of the year. For this reason the dessert depicts exactly what Jamaican culture is based around, the prosperity of the culture, and the effort of Jamaicans to maintain their cultural identity. Coconut drops have not only acted as a bonding experience between family members but between Jamaicans and their culture as well. 

From the consolidation of personal experiences and all other outside information I feel as if food has provided Jamaicans with the necessary resources to embrace their cultural identity. Taking into perspective food and culture it is safe to say that with food comes diversity and movement. As people continue to travel, knowledge takes that journey with them, spreading new ideas and recipes as well as allowing people to embrace their old ones. Once Jamaicans started to establish new lives in places like the U.S., Canada, and even Europe some people struggled with conflicts regarding their cultural identity, battling between their Jamaican roots and the new world they submersed themselves in.  Jamaican food as a whole has provided Jamaicans choosing to live abroad with a sturdy foundation, allowing them to keep a part of their heritage with them and encouraging them to embrace their thick accents and traditions. Not limited solely to Jamaica though, it has become apparent that food holds an ample part in cultural identity as well as the prosperity of any given culture itself. Many dishes around the world serve as the only connection between a family and their culture, presenting itself as a pathway between generations. Though there may be a change in location it is a part of growth, certain dishes holding cultural and even religious backgrounds allow people to embrace who they are despite location. An alteration in location, failing to change who you are and where you come from, can actually increase the prosperity of a given culture if embraced. Food presents people with the opportunity to introduce one’s culture into a new environment as well as pass on traditions even after people themselves have moved on. For me coconut drops are and will always be one of my connections to my Jamaican culture. As long as I am presented with the knowledge and resources to share what I know and parts of me that others do not understand I will forever have a piece of Jamaica within me. 


Coconut Drops (generic recipe)
  • 2 cups diced coconut
  • 1 tsp. powdered ginger or
    1 tbsp. grated root ginger
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 lb. brown sugar
  • 1 pinch salt
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients adding sufficient water to cook coconut (about 1/2-3/4 cup)
Boil until very sticky (about 20-30 minutes).
Beat a little and drop by spoonfuls onto a greased tin sheet.
Serves 12.


Coconut Drops (Grandma’s Recipe)
  • 3 coconuts (dry)
  • Ginger (cut up real fine)
  • Brown sugar (as much as desired)
  • Salt (little)
  • Banana leaf, parchment paper, or aluminum foil
Instructions:
Cut up the coconut into small pieces. Add coconut, ginger, sugar, and a little salt into a boiling pot and let it cook for about an hour or so. Add a little more sugar and let it continue to cook down. After it completely cooks down and is real thick spoon onto banana leaf and let cool.
Makes about a dozen large drops. 

Works Cited


All pictures provided taken by the Balfour-Fears family

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)