The national fruit of Jamaica; ackee made its way to the Caribbean in the 18th Century from its native land of West Africa, becoming a major feature of the local cuisine – and more recently gaining popularity the world over.
Of the fruit, the aril: the fleshy, bright yellow seed-casing, is the part that gets eaten after preparation, owing to its soft, buttery texture, short cooking time and unparalleled flavour-absorbency.
This unique fruit is, to the surprise of some, eaten as a vegetable; most often in Jamaica's signature dish: ‘ackee and saltfish’, where the fruit is cooked with salted cod and a selection of herbs and spices. If you’ve not tried it yet, then you’re in for a treat! You can even make it at home using our simple ten-point recipe!
At Tropical Sun, ackee has been our way of life since 1996! We know our customers, particularly those who grew up eating Nana’s homemade ackee dishes, have the highest standards, which is why we control our entire ackee production process – from picking to preserving to packaging. All of our ackee is grown in Jamaica; shelled, cut and cleaned by hand, each piece individually inspected and tinned in salt water for maximum freshness and flavour. No artificial chemicals – just the love and attention to detail of our Central Village team! We’re so proud of our ackee that we produced a mini-documentary about it! We’d love to know what you think, so please watch, comment and share!
Tropical Sun Ackee is available in 280g and 540g tins from our online store and in supermarkets and independent grocers nationwide. We believe our ackee is the best you can get this side of the West Indies and encourage customers to compare it with other brands to see that there is truly no substitute for Tropical Sun!
And if you’re a fan of Caribbean foods, then do sample the other delights on our Made in Jamaica range, all of which are hand-made by our Central Village team.
And for the ackee-aficionados out there, a few snaps of our Central Village team keeping it old-school:
With love,
The Tropical Sun Family
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If you'd like to know more about our Made in Jamaica range, check out our blog on Callaloo!