Add A Little Bit Of Jamaica To Meal

It’s a meal, it’s a harvest festival and it’s an affirmation of family life, but Thanksgiving is also a melding of cultures.

The modern Thanksgiving was born in the mid-1800s, when President Lincoln revived this national feast day. Over the next century, the teaching of Thanksgiving in the public schools became standard practice, part of the larger goal of assimilating new immigrants.

Says Donna Gabaccia, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte: “The schools tried to Americanize the kids and the kids went home and tried to Americanize the family.”

Thanksgiving may be the most accessible holiday for immigrants because it tells a story that most can relate to. “Everyone has an exodus story that is the modern version of the Pilgrims’ voyage,” says Matthew Dennis, historian and author of an upcoming book on holidays and American identity.

In the spirit of the holiday, immigrant traditions have always blended with the standard elements. Gabaccia remembers the story of an Italian mother who thought turkey was too expensive, so she built one out of ground meat.

In the Latin American community, says Rafael Toro, director of public relations for Goya Foods, “as people become acculturated they start serving turkey, but make it their own. Instead of bread stuffing in the turkey, it’s common to see a stuffing made of ground pork or beef and raisins.” At a Mexican-American Thanksgiving, tamales often turn up alongside the turkey.

Ken Hom, Chinese cooking expert and cookbook author, still prepares his turkey the way his mother did when he was a boy living in Chicago’s Chinatown.

“To my mother, turkeys were from outer space - they were big enough to feed a whole village,” Hom remembers. “She cooked the turkey Cantonese style. She marinated it overnight, stuffed it with a filling made of rice and Chinese sausage and steamed it. Then she put it in the oven for a few minutes just to crisp the skin.”

When asked what Jamaican dish Americans might like for Thanksgiving, Lucinda Scala Quinn immediately picked the following sweet potato recipe. While writing her new cookbook, “Jamaican Cooking: 140 Roadside and Homestyle Recipes” (Macmillan, 1997), Quinn remembered a dish of sweet potatoes and lime that she had in Jamaica. This is her recreation.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

2 pounds sweet potatoes, washed

1 teaspoon orange rind

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons dark rum

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

When cool enough to handle, peel and slice the potatoes. In a shallow 10-inch round or similar-size baking dish, arrange the slices in 2 layers, sprinkling the orange rind, nutmeg, salt and pepper over each slice. Set aside.

In a small pan over medium-low heat, heat the brown sugar, butter, lime juice and rum until the sugar is dissolved. Pour this mixture over the top of the potatoes and bake for 40 minutes, brushing the glaze that accumulates in the bottom of the pan over the top layer, every 10 or 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving, to allow the potatoes to soak up the glaze.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Nutrition information per each of 4 servings: 281 calories, 6.2 grams fat (20 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 49 grams carbohydrate, 15 milligrams cholesterol, 216 milligrams sodium.