Peta Cooks Ackee and Saltfish

Programme Outline

On the Caribbean island of Jamaica, Peta is doing the shopping. She spends 50 dollars on saltfish. The shopkeeper chops up the hard, dried fish into pieces and Peta takes them home. Next, she gathers ackee fruit from the tree in the yard. She has to look carefully to spot the ripe ones. Unripe ackee fruit is highly poisonous. When the fruit is ripe, the orange coloured pod splits open, so that the big black shiny seeds can be seen. Peta uses a stick to pull down the high branches and get at the fruit.

She is after the cream-coloured, spongy pulp of the ackee. She pulls this out of the pods and takes off the seeds. She washes the raw fruit well. She washes each piece of dried fish under running water. Peta tips the ackee and saltfish into a pan of water. The ackee and saltfish must be simmered for at least an hour. Peta changes the water regularly. Later, she lifts the fish out of the pan and breaks it into flakes. She tests the ackee with a fork and when it's tender, she takes it off the stove.

Next, Peta heats some cooking oil in a frying pan. She chops red and green peppers and onions and adds them to the hot oil. She puts in the flakes of saltfish and gives the pan a stir. Finally, she adds the cooked ackee. She fries the mixture for around five minutes, adding a good dash of pepper.

At last, it's all ready. Peta calls her family together to enjoy the meal she has made for them.