God bless Jamaica for mannish water, fish tea and cock soup!

Call it an easy cop-out but I do use instant soup packages. Especially when visiting a country for the first time, I always stock up on some in a local supermarket. Huge food-makers like Knorr or Maggi conduct extensive researches to find out the average native taste expectations before launching a new line of soup packages. This where I latch on and profit from the results of their effort. If the taste is inspiring enough I then dig out the authentic recipe and try to recreate and, if necessary, improve the taste.

To a substantial degree Brixton is Little Jamaica, so you only need to pop in to a local grocer to pick up an instant flavour of the Caribbean.

Otherwise known as "mannish water", ram-goat soup is prepared from goat's head, scrotum and feet. I love experimenting with food but this is probably a step too far even for me. This soup's reputed aphrodisiac (or should it be Afrodisiac?) properties explain the lengths Jamaicans go to preparing it.















Pumpkin beef soup seems to be a traditional Jamaican comfort food.














Fish tea has nothing to do with tea but is a fish consommé.














Now I don't know what is the target market for cock flavoured soup in Jamaica (though I could imagine!) in the UK it is sold as prim and boring chicken flavoured one.