Jamaican ingredients are really Caribbean ingredients, so they are usually sold in the USA in Hispanic markets by their Spanish names.
Richmond and I got most of these ingredients at the Compare Foods Supermarket on South Main Street in Worcester. If you go there, note that there is ample parking and another entrance in back.
When buying ingredients for a Jamaican feast, such as John's Jamaican Birthday Dinner:
| Jamaican name | Spanish name | What is it? |
| ackee | no equivalent, a tree fruit unique to Jamaica | available in cans, but expensive so you may have to ask customer service |
| callaloo | callaloo | a leafy green vegetable like spinach, available canned. Jamaican callaloo is not the same as Trinidadian callaloo |
| cassava | yuca | a woody-looking brown root, usually waxed |
| chocho | chayote | a pear-shaped fruit with a crisp texture and a mild flavor |
| coco | malanga coco or cocoyam | a root with a white flesh speckled with pink or brown |
| escallion | scallions | the familiar variety |
| ochroes | okra | the familiar variety |
| pear | avocado | the familiar varieties |
| peas | red beans or kidney beans, or gungo peas, (another kind of bean) | the familiar varieties, available canned or dried |
| pimiento | allspice | often used whole or crushed, not ground |
| saltfish | salt cod | why so much salt cod in an island cuisine? The slave owners did not want fishing boats available to their slaves! |
| yam | name | not a sweet potato - a long, big root, either yellow or white |
You can find some helpful images and text here.
