Coco bread is a Jamaican bread eaten on the island and in other areas of the Caribbean. The bread contains milk or coconut milk and is starchy and slightly sweet in taste.
Type | Bread |
---|---|
Place of origin | Jamaica |
Region or state | Caribbean |
Serving temperature | Hot or room temperature |
Main ingredients | Flour, dairy milk or coconut milk, baker's yeast, sugar, butter or oil |
It is made to be split in half and is often stuffed with a Jamaican patty or other filling to form a sandwich. It is a standard item in school cafeterias and bakeries.
Ingredients, preparation and serving
editFlour, butter or oil, yeast, sugar, and milk or coconut milk are combined to form a soft dough, which after rising is separated into portions which are rolled out, coated with butter or oil, and folded before baking to make an easy-to-split roughly wedge- or half-moon-shaped bun.[1][2] It is a dense, moist, starchy bread and slightly sweet in taste.[3]
The bread has been a standard offering in school cafeterias as an inexpensive, filling, and easy-to-make vessel for a patty or other filling to form a sandwich. It is commonly served to-go in bakeries throughout the country and is eaten by all classes.[1] It is also served to use for dipping or as part of a bread basket.[1][2]
History
editThere is uncertainty regarding when coco bread was first made and by whom; it is believed that Jamaica is the birthplace of coco bread.[4] In Jamaica is it believed to have originated as a poverty food.[4] It is likely a product of enslaved Africans and indentured Indians who worked on Caribbean sugar plantations.[4] Since then, it has been popular within the Caribbean communities in the region and in areas where Jamaican immigrants have settled.[5][3][4]
The recipe traditions are also unclear; the original recipes may have been made with coconut milk, and some modern recipes call for it.[4] Others call for dairy milk.[3] The name may also refer to a Jamaican brand of butter, as butter is a crucial ingredient.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Rousseau, Michelle; Rousseau, Suzanne (28 August 2020). "How to Make Buttery Jamaican Coco Bread". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ a b Vartanian, Talin (2022-08-19). "What Makes Jamaican Coco Bread Unique?". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ a b c d "Coco Bread Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ a b c d e Washington, Brigid Ransome. "Coco Bread Is the Taste of Freedom". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ Houston, L.M. (2005). Food Culture in the Caribbean. Food culture around the world. Greenwood Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-313-32764-3. Retrieved October 19, 2017.