Browse Exhibits (3 total)
From Sustenance to Snack: The History of the Bammy
This exhibit provides a brief outline and history of the Bammy (known also as the Bammie, Cassava Cake, or Cassava Bread), a food that has undergone a historical transformation from basic provision to beloved snack.
This exhibit seeks to highlight a staple food in the Caribbean, though the focus will be on its history in Jamaica, where, despite global commercialization, this food is still culturally relevant.
Further, this exhibit draws primarily on sources, historical and contemporary, written and created by, and/or about Jamaicans or those with Jamaican heritage.
Though this exhibit was not able to offer explicit translations, please acccess this link below to translate any of the included text.
Sweet Potato Emails: Yam Migration and the Origins of a Holiday Favorite -Ryan Travis
I had no idea where this class would take me this season when my Professor stated we would be researching ground provisions in the Caribbean, my mind instantly went to the sweet potato. My wife and I eat them all the time as you would a baked potato and we prefer sweet potato fries over regular fries.
When we began looking at recipes I thought of my wife's recipe for bourbon sweet potatoes that is a huge hit around the holidays. My mind went to the idea of my wife's email to a friend of her aunt's about the dish we had at a family gathering. The idea of tracing a recipe was intriguing but after I proposed my idea my professor stated; "But those are yams." and she was right, the can clearly says yams on the label. So then I began researching yams and what I learned would blow the roof off the ground provisions industry....I'm just kidding. Shh....don't tell anyone...there's no such thing as American yams.
As a matter of fact, a lot of people have no idea what a yam is and why it is vastly different than a sweet potato. So that's part of what this exhibit is, tracing a recipe and what the heck is a yam. Along the way, I also answer the question of how marshmallows and yams, I'm mean sweet potatoes got together in American cooking.
I hope you enjoy my exhibit and also visit another exhibit here by my classmate Hannah who also explores more about the yam.
The Roots of Cassava Flour
This exhibit will focus on the where cassava flour comes from. Its history is not acknowledged today. Cassava flour is currently seen as a health food and is written about in blogs for its "trendiness". The Global North is profiting off this product and my aim is to outline and acknowledge cassava flour's roots. This exhibit will seek to educate about how cassava flour comes from the Caribbean as well as how it is used today in the Global North.
Created by: Devin Johnson