The island nation of Jamaica lies in the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The country, which is the most populous English-speaking island in the Caribbean, was a British colony for over 300 years (from 1655 to 1962). Today, Jamaica is known for its contributions to music (such as ska and reggae) and literature, for being the place where the Rastafarian movement was founded, and for its unique cuisine.

Many Jamaican dishes make extensive use of spices. In particular, Jamaican allspice (which is also known as "Jamaican pepper", "pimenta" or "pimento"), and annatto are used for flavoring many recipes. Annattoo is quite an unusual spice, it comes from the pulp that surrounds the seeds of achiote trees, and has a flavor that tastes like pepper with some nutmeg added.

The most famous of Jamaican dishes, are "jerk" dishes. In these dishes, meat is marinaded with a mix of spices known as "Jamaican jerk spice", and then cooked on a charcoal grill. Jerk spice is actually a mix several spices, and is very fiery as result of the allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers in the mix.

The national dish of Jamaica is saltfish and ackee. Saltfish is salted cod which is rehydrated and washed before cooking. Ackee is actually a type of fruit. The cod is sautéed, the ackee boiled, and the two mixed together. Onions, tomatoes and peppers are also usually added to the dish.

There are also many Jamaican foods and dishes that you may enjoy eating too. For example, curried goat, fried plantains, and "rice and peas", which is rice cooked with coconut milk and mixed with legumes such as red kidney beans.