Ackee and saltfish
Jamaica's best-known dish: salt-cured cod desalted and flaked, then folded through ackee arils with onion, tomato, sweet pepper, thyme and Scotch bonnet.
Bajan mustard pepper sauce
Bajan pepper sauce · Barbados pepper sauce · Bajan yellow pepper sauce · Fiery Bajan pepper sauce · Bajan hot pepper sauce
Bajan pepper sauce is a Barbadian hot sauce that blends Scotch bonnet peppers with mustard and vinegar, often with onion, turmeric and oil. Its heat and sharpness come from both the chile and the mustard, which sets it apart from a plain pepper vinegar.
Overview
Bajan pepper sauce is a hot sauce from Barbados, similar in use to Cajun-style hot sauce. It is traditionally used on local dishes, including meat, poultry and fish.
Its principal ingredients are Scotch bonnet peppers, mustard and vinegar. The mustard is what separates it from a plain pepper vinegar.
Sources for this section
History
The sources give little dated history. One account says fresh horseradish was grown in Barbados in the 1950s and was a main ingredient of the yellow sauce, but it fell out as the sauce became commercial.
An early commercial maker, LG Miller and Sons under the Windmill Products label, began in 1965 from a home recipe. These are single-source claims and should be treated as provisional.
Sources for this section
Preparation
Scotch bonnets, onion, garlic, turmeric and mustard are blended, then vinegar, salt and sugar are added. Versions differ on turmeric, horseradish, sugar and whether the sauce is cooked.
Cooks in Barbados disagree on heating it. Some simmer it briefly and others keep it raw for more heat.
Sources for this section
Variants
Some versions add sea water or alcohol. One account gives curry powder and rum as a Barbados-specific variant, though other recipes do not include them.
Sources for this section
History
Accounts of the Bajan version say that fresh horseradish was widely grown in Barbados in the 1950s and was a main ingredient in the yellow sauce, and that it dropped out as the sauce became commercial. One account names LG Miller and Sons, under the Windmill Products label, as an early commercial maker from 1965. These points come from one or two sources each and are less certain.
Ingredients
Scotch bonnet peppersseeded for a milder sauce
3
one home recipe uses threeMustardyellow prepared mustard
78 mL0.33 cup as recorded
one home recipe; the sources name mustard as a principal ingredientWhite vinegar
30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
Onion (optional)coarsely chopped
1
Garlic (optional)coarsely chopped
2 clove
Turmeric (optional)ground
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
some versions use it, others do notSalt (optional)pink or sea salt
7.4 mL1½ tsp as recorded
Brown sugar (optional)
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
one home recipeCooking oil (optional)
Amount not stated
a principal ingredient in smaller amounts, per the sourceBlack pepper (optional)
Amount not stated
Method
- Seed the Scotch bonnets if a milder sauce is wanted.
- Put the peppers, onion, garlic, turmeric and mustard in a food processor and blend to a coarse paste.
- Add the vinegar, salt and sugar, and blend until smooth.
- Cook or leave raw. Cooks in Barbados disagree on heating the sauce; some simmer it briefly and some keep it raw for more heat.
- Store the sauce and use it on meat, poultry and fish.
Places
Barbados
Traditional use · Country evidenceThe source places the sauce in Barbados and describes it as a local condiment for meat, poultry and fish. It gives no village or date.
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Sources
WikipediaMethod · History
Bajan pepper saucePrincipal ingredients are Scotch bonnet peppers, mustard and vinegar, with smaller amounts of oil, onion, other hot peppers, black pepper and turmeric; some versions add sea water or alcohol; used on meat, poultry and fish. The article gives no origin date and carries a citation-needed tag.
Cited in: Overview; Preparation; Variants
BajanThingsHistory · Method
Bajan Hot Pepper SauceFresh horseradish was grown in Barbados in the 1950s and was a main ingredient of the yellow sauce; LG Miller and Sons (Windmill Products) started commercial production in 1965 from a home recipe.
Cited in: History; Variants
In and Outs BarbadosMethod
Bajan Pepper SauceA home recipe of Scotch bonnets, onion, garlic, turmeric, mustard and white vinegar blended in a food processor.
Cited in: Preparation
Caribbean PotMethod
Fiery Bajan (Barbados) Pepper SauceA Barbados pepper sauce recipe; the source page is the one cited in the research programme.