By: Alexia King-Whyte

        Daneilla McLaughlin

        Gabrielle Morrison  

        Renee Sewell

October 24, 2023

Taste Di Magic of Jamaican Fyah Side

 Unlocking The Flavours With Aunt Pearl

Photo by: Alexia King-Whyte

Pearleta Johnson pauses to take a photo while preparing Sunday dinner in her kitchen at home on Sunday October 22, 2023. She was preparing oxtail which is one of her favourite meals to cook.

 

Imagine the warm, smoky aroma of your Jamaican grandma's sweet potato pudding wafting through the air, mingled with the crackling of the fire. You can almost taste it on your tongue, the sweet, nutty flavour of the potatoes, the rich creaminess of the coconut milk, the savoury hint of nutmeg. It's a taste of home, a taste of childhood, a taste of love. This was the reality for all who surrounded Aunt Pearl.

 

Creative, industrious, energetic and an expert for good taste are a few words from the reservoir of adjectives that can be used to describe the amiable personality of Mrs. Pearleta Johnson, affectionately called Aunt Pearl. Pearleta Johnson is a 85-year-old resident of the peaceful  neighbourhood of Duanvale, Trelawny and  has been married for 55 years. She credits her successful marriage to her cooking. “ Always rememba seh, di way to a man’s heart ah through him stomach and that’s why mi and Rupert can neva bex longa than dinna time,” related a cheerful Pearl.

 

The mother of 13 began her culinary journey at the age of  10-years-old. With a limited array of ingredients at her disposal, she would deftly conjure up meals that brought comfort and joy to her large family.

 

Amidst the stark reality of their poverty, she was a magician, transforming the scarce into the sumptuous, the ordinary into the extraordinary. The aroma of her cooking would waft through their humble dwelling, a testament to her ability to make delicious food out of virtually nothing.

 "I enjoy seeing people's faces light up whenever they taste my meals. This is my purpose, I cannot stop cooking” Aunt Pearl explained

 

From potato pudding , jackfruit wine, cucumber and saltfish, to yam punch, ackee punch, breadfruit punch,  and sweet potato punch, Aunt Pearl is the Jack of all trades who mastered all these unknown gems.

 

"Mama Pearl is a staple inna fi wi community, you know if you wan good food fi any event, just Call Mama Pearl! " stated Michael, a resident of Duanvale .

 

In the Johnson household, the Christmas season is the most anticipated time of the year. Everyone knew Aunt Pearl's Christmas sorrel cake was a long-held family tradition. Its intricate recipe, passed down from her own mother, made it the most anticipated treat of the holiday season. "I look forward to her sorrel cake with the special ingredients at christmas dinner every year, she would pick the freshest sorrel petals from the garden and boil them into a puree. She would also source the finest spices, including ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon,” said her husband Mr. Johnson.

 

 

Aunt Pearl’s Sorrel Cake Recipe

 

Ingredients 

1 pound fresh sorrel or pack of dried sorrel 

2-3 cups of water

2 pieces of pounded ginger

Cinnamon sticks

2 cups sorrel puree

1-2 cups blended fruits

1 cup butter or 228 grams 

½ or 1 cup sugar (Depending on sweetener preference)

 2 cups baking or all purpose flour

4 eggs

2 tsp lime or lemon zest

 1 tsp salt

 2 tsp baking powder

1-2 tsp cinnamon powder

1-2 tsp nutmeg

1-2 tsp mix spice

1 tbsp vanilla essence

1 tsp almond & rosewater

 

Method

Brew sorrel with ginger and cinnamon sticks in about 2 cups of water.

Allow to cool in order to extract its colour and soften petals.

Blend Sorrel petals with some of its liquid until smooth. (Making a puree).

Pour 2 cups of Sorrel puree along with 1 cup of blended fruits and put aside.

Mix cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat eggs with lime zest and add to butter mixture, gradually.

Pour puree into butter mixture along with vanilla essence, almond and rose water.

 

Dry Ingredients

Sift flour, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, mix spice, salt and baking powder and gently fold into butter batter.

Add red food colouring if the mixture is not your desired colour.

(Note: Depending on the sorrel, the colour may be brighter or duller.)

Pour into a greased baking pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 220 degree celsius.

Then change to 200 degrees celcius for the next 45 min.

 

Aunt Pearl expressed how happy she would be if she gets a chance to start a food business. "In my old days here, I am going to ask my children to open a restaurant give me and I know that would keep me active and let me feel young again," she said. Pearleta strives to be the torch that ignites a flame among Jamaicans and urges them to unearth, explore and recreate hidden Jamaican cuisine and flavours.

 

Pearleta Johnson, a force to be reckoned with and a staple in her family and community as she continues to defy all odds. Her goal is to ignite a desire in the younger generation to learn these recipes and carry on the traditions for years to come.