As I think I mentioned before, the So It Is African Market near me doesn't just carry African products--it also has food and drinks from the Caribbean. Which makes sense, since a relatively high percentage of Caribbean inhabitants have African ancestry. Anyway, today I'll be covering the Jamaican spiced bun, or spice bun, from HTB, also known as the National Baking Company and the Continental Baking Company. (I know this is confusing--more on that later.)
The Jamaican spiced bun is a variant of a sweet bun, and as such it's simply a sweet bun made with more spices. The spices can vary, but the most common ones are cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, allspice, saffron, "mixed spice," and mace (which is made from the seed covering of the nutmeg seed, and isn't related to the self defense spray, which takes its name from the medieval club weapon). What makes the Jamaican variant special is that it's usually made with molasses instead of honey. And, the island tradition is to eat it as the "bread" for a cheese sandwich. The most famous kind of sweet bun is the hot cross bun, which has the cross made of icing on top, and is often eaten around the Easter season. It appears that one good way to start an argument among food historians is to ask when the hot cross bun was developed. Some sources said it dates back all the way to ancient Babylon. Others credit the 6th century Greeks. Some think it was a British monk named Brother Thomas Rodcliffe at St. Albans Abbey, around 1366. Still others claim it was another (unnamed) English monk in the 1100's, or, alternately, in the 1600's. The spiced bun, though, can be safely guessed to have been invented later, probably in the 1600's or 1700's, since before that the myriad spices needed weren't commonly available in much of Europe. And the Jamaican take on it was also in the 1600's, after the British established control of Jamaica.
As for the manufacturer, I had some problems learning about them. The label of the bun I bought reads, "Baked by Continental Baking Company, Ltd., 43 Half Way Tree Road, Kingston, Jamaica." But the National Baking Company is said to have the exact same address, so presumably it's a part of the same firm. The HTB part is apparently a brand name. I found an official online company website, but when I clicked on it my computer warned me that the connection was not private, and attackers would seek out my personal information, passwords, etc. So, clearly I didn't want to suffer that nightmare, so I didn't go to the website. However, another (safe) online article gave me some background, which I assume is accurate. It reported that the National Baking Company was started in 1952 by a Karl Hendrickson. And that his father had a bakery located in the oddly named community of Maggotty, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica in the 1920's. The current owner is Gary "Butch" Hendrickson, and he was recently elected to the Private Sector Organisation part of the Jamaican Hall of Fame. The company is reported to be very charitable, so good on them for that.
Continental Baking Company, National Baking Company, HTB spice bun: Came in a wrapper, and was 340 grams/12 ounces. Looked like an un-iced, brown loaf of bread. Except for salt it didn't list the specific spices used. It was sweet and pretty good. I ate it plain, and didn't need butter or anything. Not a huge taste, but fairly good nonetheless. I liked it overall. Although I wish I'd known about the traditional way of eating it as part of a cheese sandwich--maybe that would have made it a more special experience. Anyway, I recommend it.
Two final tidbits about the spiced bun, and its ingredients. One, I learned that nutmeg is psychoactive in large enough doses, and in huge amounts it can cause serious health problems and even death in some cases. So don't try a "nutmeg challenge" or anything. Also, there is a version of the hot cross bun whose history is well established. The Sonoma Bakery in Sydney, Australia started making a "not cross bun" in 2012, with an "S" written on it in icing rather than the "X" cross. Since 2014 the Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses has similarly makes a type with a smiley face atop it instead of the cross. At first I thought these were just fun wordplay, innocent variations on the traditional hot cross bun for laughs. However, then I read about how it was more serious than that--some people were offended that bakeries were selling hot cross buns too early, way before the Easter and Lent season. There were even protests by folks thinking it was disrespectful. So these compromises were the result.
Moving away from food, I'm happy to announce that one of my short stories, "Lemonade," has been selected for an anthology of psychological horror stories (or non-supernatural scary tales). This as of now unnamed anthology will be published by the Dark Ink portion of AM Ink Publishing. The cover is due to be picked by February, and the book itself is slated for an early September of 2020 release. As always, I'll provide an image of the cover, the title, the list of contributing authors, the story blurbs, etc., as I get them. So stay tuned.
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