Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge Recipe

Porridge is breakfast in Jamaica. Cornmeal, hominy corn, peanut, green banana, plantain and oats all get the same treatment: cooked until thick, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and sweetened with condensed milk. As a child in Jamaica, a bowl of cornmeal porridge before school was normal, and it’s still what a lot of Jamaican families make on a weekday morning. It takes about 20 minutes. The only hard part is lumps, and two rules take care of them.

The two rules for smooth porridge

1. Mix the cornmeal with cold liquid first. Cornmeal stirred straight into hot water seizes into lumps. Whisk it into cold water to make a smooth, runny paste, then pour that into the pot.
2. Keep stirring. Stir constantly for the first few minutes while it thickens, and often after that, so it doesn’t lump or catch on the bottom.

Ingredients

Serves 2 to 3.

• ½ cup (80 g) fine yellow cornmeal
• 3 cups (720 ml) water, divided
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) salt
• 1 cup (240 ml) milk, or coconut milk
• ¼ cup (60 ml) sweetened condensed milk, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) freshly grated nutmeg, plus a little to finish

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How to make cornmeal porridge

1. In a bowl or jug, whisk the cornmeal into 1 cup (240 ml) of the cold water until there are no dry bits.
2. Put the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) of water in a saucepan with the cinnamon stick and salt, and bring it to a boil.
3. Turn the heat down to medium. Give the cornmeal mixture a stir, then pour it slowly into the pot, stirring the whole time.
4. Keep stirring for 3 to 5 minutes, until the porridge starts to thicken.
5. Stir in the milk. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until it’s thick and creamy and doesn’t taste of raw cornmeal. Add a splash of water if it gets thicker than you like.
6. Stir in the condensed milk, vanilla and nutmeg. Taste and add more condensed milk if you want it sweeter.
7. Take out the cinnamon stick. Pour into bowls, grate a little nutmeg on top and serve hot.

Tips and swaps

• Which cornmeal: use fine yellow cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal and polenta work, but they take longer to cook and stay grainy. Jamaican and Caribbean brands are sold in West Indian grocery stores abroad.
• Sweetener: condensed milk is the Jamaican way. Sugar, brown sugar or evaporated milk plus sugar work too.
• Dairy-free: use coconut milk, or oat, soy or almond milk, and sweeten with sugar.
• Extra flavor: some families add a strip of orange or lime peel, a few pimento (allspice) berries or a bay leaf with the cinnamon. Take them out before serving.
• Thick or thin: Jamaicans argue about this. Cook it longer for thick porridge, or add more milk at the end for a porridge you can almost drink.
• Reheating: porridge sets as it cools. Warm it with a splash of milk, stirring.

Other Jamaican porridges

The same method works for most Jamaican porridges. Hominy corn porridge uses whole dried hominy, soaked overnight and cooked until soft. Peanut porridge is made with blended peanuts; the Jamaica Observer notes it’s served at food spots in Middle Quarters, St Elizabeth, where the island’s peanuts grow. For the same peanuts in a cold drink, try my Jamaican peanut punch recipe. Green banana and plantain porridges use the fruit grated or blended with water before cooking.

For breakfast with something savory, my Jamaican dumplings recipe covers fried dumplings to go with ackee and saltfish. For the rest of a Jamaican breakfast and what to try on the island, see my guide to Jamaican food, and if you’re traveling, here are the best places for authentic Jamaican food.