Bajan Food Prices

I took NaNa to the store last night to buy a ham to make jug-jug*. We bought the cheapest one, a 5 pound ham that cost about $85. I wonder if she had known I was paying if she would have gotten a bigger one?  Anyway, I have never made a dish where the key or main ingredient was so expensive!

When visitors come to Barbados they get a sticker shock at food prices until they convert the favorable $2 Bds to $1 US currency exchange.  Still the prices are very high especially to Bajans and to other countries that have a lesser value to the US dollar. A trip to fast food store Kentucky Fried Chicken which does well here in Barbados will set you back $99.00 bds for a bucket of Original Recipe chicken!

When did the prices get so high? I was peaking to a trio of octogenarian  ladies about prices in the “old” days. Bajans would save 12¢ a week to spend for Christmas and year-end celebrations. When I used my calculator and determined that the amount saved was just $6.24 for the year. I was stunned and asked what in the world could you buy with $6.24? The reply was in unison from the ladies, “A lot!”

They started by saying when flying fish** were plentiful, they could get 100 for a dollar. After eating their fill, they would salt the rest and put them on the galvanized roof of the house to dry. Apparently the birds, rodents or insects did not bother the salted fish. Once dried, the fish could be stored in the larder for consumption later. Pearline told me that using the old English coins, they could go to the store buy something with a penny and get change back, a half a cent. Beryl told me about getting a pint of rice for a penny or an ounce of butter or a gill (pronounced jill) of lard oil  or a package of broken crackers all for a half a cent each. With such inexpensive prices, one could feed a family of four for a few cents.

As I mentioned before, food prices today are shocking! Consider this, I’ve been eating peanut butter sandwiches since my mother started packing them in my Yogi Bear lunch box in the 60’s. Also, before I retired from Meditech I was known to carry a PBJ sandwich to work on occasion. Back to my point, the same Smuckers Low Sugar Strawberry Preserves that cost under $4 at Walmart in the US is almost $30 dollars here!

“If wunna come to my house and I offer wunna a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich , don’t get vexed with me sayin he aint sweet cause food prices here are dear hear!” said Calvin trying to use the Bajan dialect.

So, if I offer you PBJ sandwich consider it an honor! In fact, when my kids come to visit on special occasions like a birthday or Christmas and they ask what I want, I’ll say “Two jars of Smuckers Low Sugar Strawberry Preserves please.” Then I’m gonna hide them behind the shark oil and cod liver oil in the fridge that way I can save it for special occasions. Truthfully, I will never ever take cod liver oil again for any ailment! Barbados used shark oil the same way we (my mother) used the cod liver oil when I was a child and both left an awful taste that would last for hours especially if you burped!

Finally on an interesting note, since we are talking about money and prices, Barbados no longer uses pennies. All prices are rounded to the nearest five cents. So if you purchase items and the the total comes up to $3.06, you pay $3.05. Also, if you see a bunch of Barbadian pennies laying around they are useless, not even the banks will accept them anymore.

** Fish that actually glide above the water.

*Jug-jug is a mixture of ham, pork, salt beef, pigeon peas and guinea flour. This mixture is grinded to the consistency of a paté then baked.