You Can’t Have Easter Without Essential Jamaican Bun and Cheese
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Ashley Haynes
- Posted on
BUN! BUN! BUN! YUH GET NONE?
This time of year in Jamaica, the air is filled with the tantalizing aroma of freshly baked buns. Jamaican bun and cheese is an Easter staple- and what better way to kickstart the season than with some Jamaican Easter bun. You can’t have an Easter celebration without Bun & cheese!
Jamaican Bun and Cheese is a flavoured Jamaican bread relished with raisins and other dried fruits. It is typical in a Jamaican household for a box of National, Maxfield or Tastee bun to be placed on the kitchen counter and vanish within days (even hours). Many Jamaicans eat this with cheese or fish during the celebration of Easter.
A BRIEF HISTORY : PAGANISM TO CHRISTIANITY
The practice of eating bun and cheese during Easter descended from the United Kingdom with the Hot Cross Bun, and was adopted in Jamaica during colonization. It began during the medieval times when buns were eaten in honour of Eostre, the Germanic Goddess of Spring, whose name was given to Easter.
The Christian Puritans denounced the pagan idolatry and it was forbidden to sell hot cross buns at any time other than Good Friday, Christmas and burials. Soon after, the cross on the top of the buns was added to commemorate the crucifixion of Christ.
Years after colonization, the hot cross bun gradually changed to become uniquely Jamaican with the addition of other spices and molasses. Although eating bun and cheese is an Easter tradition, this can be enjoyed at any time of the year! At Things Jamaican, we have a variety of buns for you to choose from. And be sure to remember the cheese!
Happy Easter!
