Once I took a day trip to the community of Boston in Portland.
As we all know that Boston is the place where the famous Jerk Festival is held annually; and thus, it has some of the best jerk meats.
So, my friends and I went and we ordered a large variety of jerk goodies.
In one of the packages I found different parts of the pig including the knuckles, ears, intestines and other interesting parts, the package also included pieces of fried and roast breadfruit.
Treasures of Colombia: PICADA (Colombian Street Food)
By: Stacey-Ann Smith
In Colombia, I was introduced to a similar dish to our Boston Jerk dish.
It is called the Colombian Picada, the word “Picada” means “Chopped”.
The Picada consists of a variety of meats and starches and is considered comfort food. It is well loved and is eaten on a daily basis especially on Sundays for lunch.
At the entrance of some restaurants you will see all the meats and starches being displayed in huge pots or trays. When you order the Picada you will be asked what pieces you want – it´s a ‘pick and choose’ style of service.
The Picada consists of chopped pieces of Beef, Pork (all parts of the pig), Chorizo, Blood sausages – Rellena (pig intestine stuffed with pig´s blood, rice and beans) and Plantain which is all fried, this is accompanied by Yucca (cassava), potatoes and small boiled quail eggs.
I almost forgot the Gallina (hen) – common fowl that is also boiled and chopped into pieces as a special side order.
After choosing the parts that you want the Picada is then served on large platters because this dish is usually for large gatherings. If you buy it to go, then, it is wrapped in pieces of brown paper whereas the Jamaican ´jerk picada´ is wrapped in aluminum foil.
The Picada is accompanied by a special sauce called “Aji” and even with Guacamole, while its Jamaican counterpart is eaten with Ketchup and the good old Scotch Bonnet pepper.
You can prepare your own version of Picada at home whether for a family feast or that special occasion like birthdays, pool side gatherings amongst others.
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About the writer:
Stacey Ann Smith is from Kingston, Jamaica. She is an alumna of Camperdown High School and she graduated from The Shortwood Teachers’ College having earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Modern Languages, Spanish and French. Presently, Stacey is an English teacher at a University in Colombia. She describes herself as a vivacious and loving person who also has a passion for traveling, taking pictures, her son Nicholas and Ashley, her adorable feline.
Copyright © 2019, Denise N. Fyffe, The Island Journal.
Tasty Island Food 
I love finding similarities in Jamaican culture to others. 🙂 Learnt something new.
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Isn’t great how many cultures have similarities. We are all connected.
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