Jerk

Originally meaning ‘pork prepared in the Quichua Indian manner’, jerk is now a generic description of an aromatic barbecue marinade paste common throughout the Caribbean. While everybody has their own version in varying degrees of complexity, most include chillies, onions, lime juice and allspice.

The right chilli to use is the Scotch Bonnet, a small round capsicum that looks like a brightly coloured lantern. While it has visual similarities to Mexico’s habanero, the Scotch Bonnet is indigenous to the West Indies and its pronounced and distinctive flavour is the result of growing in a tropical climate with extremes of heat, sunshine and high humidity. In common with the habanero, it is fiercely hot and the amount you use is very much a matter of personal choice.