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Stew peas

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Stew peas
Jamaican stew peas served with white rice.
CourseMain dish
Region or stateCaribbean
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsKidney beans, cured meats and coconut milk.

Stew peas is a Jamaican stew made with beans, salted meat, coconut milk, herbs and spices. It is a common dish in Jamaica, however a number of variations and similar dishes are made throughout the Americas. With the main ingredients being legumes (beans / peas) and meats, stew peas contains a considerable amount of protein.[1]

History

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Stew peas originated in Jamaica, and is a Caribbean Creole dish, created from a fusion of cooking techniques and ingredients— influenced by various ethnic groups that exist in the region.

The first European arrivals to the Americas, the Spanish, introduced Asian rice to the Caribbean and Latin America.[2][3] They also introduced pigs, cattle and other livestock to Jamaica and the rest of the New World.[2][4][5] Many Jamaican dishes which include rice, peas / beans, cured meats and stews, like brown stew and stew peas, were contributed by them.[5]

Kidney beans, which are typically used in Jamaican stew peas, are thought to have originated in Peru around 8,000 B.C.,[6][7] and cultivars were dispersed throughout the Americas by indigenous Amerindian tribes,[8] like the Arawaks— then later the Spanish and Portuguese, who introduced them to other regions through the Columbian Exchange.[2][9]

During slavery and indentureship, the Africans also influenced the dish. Along with the Spanish, Portuguese,[3] French,[10] English,[3] Dutch[11] and East Indians,[12] they contributed to the introduction and cultivation of rice in the region.[13][14][3] Pigeon peas (also known as Congo or Angola peas), which originated in India and were domesticated there 3500 years ago,[15] were also introduced by the Spanish and Portuguese, from Africa.[15][16]

Stew peas has been a staple dish in Jamaica since at least the 1940s, and recipes for it began to appear in cookbooks in the 1970s.[17] The dish is prepared in various unique ways by Jamaicans, and is a staple in Jamaican homes and restaurants, due to its popularity.[18][19] In September 1992, the Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner, declared stew peas with rice as "the best dish made in Jamaica", in its Home, Living and Food Guide.[17]

Preparation

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Jamaican stew peas is prepared using kidney beans (red peas) and other similar cultivars or pigeon peas (also called gungo peas), coconut milk and meats, especially salted meats such as pork and beef.[20][21][22] Pig tail is often included, and sometimes chicken is used instead of pork or beef. Additional ingredients include onion, garlic, escallion, scotch bonnet, herbs and spices.[21][23][24] In addition to being a main ingredient, the beans also serve to thicken the stew.[18] Pinto beans and other similar varieties are more commonly used in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Latin America.[1] Canned beans can also be used to prepare stew peas, and it may be cooked in a pressure cooker.[1]The dish may be prepared without meat[18]— referred to as ital stew peas. In Jamaica, stew peas often includes slender flour dumplings known as "spinners".[17][22] The dish is usually served atop white rice or with a side dish of rice.[18][23] The stew serves to moisten and complement the separately-prepared rice.[17]

Variations and similar dishes

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Stew peas variations are made in other parts of the Caribbean, and there are many similar dishes across the Americas.[17] Dishes made with beans and rice or bean stews are staples in Latin cuisine. While some dishes are distinctly Latin in origins, with shared regional history, as well as, Anglo/Afro-Antillean migration in contingents, from Jamaica and some Caribbean islands to coastal Central America (between the 17th and 20th centuries), some dishes bear similarities to Antillean variations.

Feijoada made in Brazil.
  • Brazilian feijoada (bean stew) and arroz e feijão (rice and beans)
  • Haitian sòs pwa (peas sauce)
Frijoles negros con arroz blanco (black beans with white rice) made in Cuba.
Puerto Rico's arroz con habichuelas guisadas (rice with stewed red beans)
  • Costa Rican casado means "married" (rice with beans)
  • Honduran frijoles parados means "standing up beans" (red bean stew)
  • Colombian, Cuban and Guatemalan et al frijoles colorados and frijoles rojos (coloured beans and red beans)
  • Panamanian frijoles guisados (stewed beans)
Red beans and rice made in Louisiana.


  • Rice and frijoles guisados (stewed beans) accompanied with ropa vieja and plantain, made in Panama.
    Rice and frijoles guisados (stewed beans) accompanied with ropa vieja and plantain, made in Panama.
  • Pabellón criollo made in Venezuela (similar to Cuban ropa vieja and frijoles negros).
    Pabellón criollo made in Venezuela (similar to Cuban ropa vieja and frijoles negros).
  • Frijoles negros made in Puerto Rico.
    Frijoles negros made in Puerto Rico.
  • Colombia's national dish with frijoles rojos (red beans), served with rice and other accompaniments.
    Colombia's national dish with frijoles rojos (red beans), served with rice and other accompaniments.
  • Mexican frijoles with other accompaniments.
    Mexican frijoles with other accompaniments.
  • Guatemalan frijoles colorados with rice.
    Guatemalan frijoles colorados with rice.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "In good taste...A vegetarian's delight: Stew-peas". Stabroek News. 2013-11-14.
  2. ^ a b c Crosby, Alfred W. (December 2001). "The Columbian Exchange: Plants, Animals, and Disease between the Old and New Worlds". National Humanities Center.
  3. ^ a b c d West, Jean M."Rice and Slavery". Archived from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Francis, John Michael, ed. (2006). "Columbian Exchange—Livestock". Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: a Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 303–308. ISBN 978-1-85109-421-9.
  5. ^ a b "Culinary Heritage:Our Rich Food Heritage". Jamaica55.gov.jm. 7 June 2017.
  6. ^ Bitocchi, Elena; Nanni, Laura; Bellucci, Elisa; Rossi, Monica; Giardini, Alessandro; Zeuli, Pierluigi Spagnoletti; Logozzo, Giuseppina; Stougaard, Jens; McClean, Phillip; Attene, Giovanna; Papa, Roberto (2012). "Mesoamerican origin of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is revealed by sequence data". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (14): E788–E796. doi:10.1073/pnas.1108973109. PMC 3325731. PMID 22393017.
  7. ^ "The Red Kidney Bean Story". 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  8. ^ Pearman, Georgina (2005). Prance, Ghillean; Nesbitt, Mark (eds.). The Cultural History of Plants. Routledge. pp. 143–144. ISBN 0-415-92746-3.
  9. ^ "Dark Red Kidney Beans".
  10. ^ Caribbean CUISINE. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  11. ^ "History of Rice in Guyana". 14 September 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Rice Cultivation, Trinidad. 2009-08-04. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Carney, Judith A. (2001-04-30). Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas. Cambridge, Mass. London: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-00452-8.
  14. ^ National Research Council (1996-02-14). "African Rice". Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I: Grains. Vol. 1. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-04990-0. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  15. ^ a b Patricia Henderson (29 October 2023). "Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan)". Colorado State University=December 11, 2024.
  16. ^ "Pigeon peas" (PDF). Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e Wilk, R.; Barbosa, L. (2013). Rice and Beans: A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. pt69–70. ISBN 978-1-84788-905-8. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  18. ^ a b c d "Stew peas". Jamaica Gleaner. February 17, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  19. ^ "Lifestyle & Food: Tasty stew peas". Jamaica Star. February 6, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  20. ^ Bigley, J. (2014). Kingston, Negril and Jamaica's South Coast. Hunter Travel. Hunter Publishing, Incorporated. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-58843-789-1. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Wilk, R.; Barbosa, L. (2013). Rice and Beans: A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-84788-905-8. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  22. ^ a b DeMers, J. (1997). Caribbean Cooking. HPBooks. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-55788-271-4. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  23. ^ a b com, Getjamaica. (2008). Jamaican Cooking Made Easy. iUniverse. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-595-47957-3. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  24. ^ Permenter, P.; Bigley, J. (1999). A Taste of Jamaica: Where to Find the Very Best Jamaican Food. Hunter Travel Guides. Hunter Publishing, Incorporated. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-55650-833-2. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
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