Wendy Rahamut

With only two weeks to Christmas, I know most of you will be in frenzy mode. For me it’s the Christmas baking I like to get done ahead of time, especially my Christmas black cakes and cookies. Christmas cookies make delightful gifts and its one activity you can engage the whole family. I enjoy black cakes and enjoy making them, and I also am very fond of Dundee cakes, rich with fruits and nuts, this year I will be making my traditional black cakes but I’m promising myself a Dundee as well.



Thumbprint cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
⅓ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt
2 egg whites
1 cup finely chopped nuts, (peanuts, hazelnuts or almonds)
1 cup jam or jelly any type
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Butter and flour baking trays.
Cream butter until light. Beat in brown sugar and granulated sugar.
Add egg yolks and vanilla, beat until blended.
Combine flour and salt and add to batter.
Stir until a dough like consistency is formed.
Shape cookies into one-inch balls and place on a trays.
Lightly beat egg whites in a shallow bowl.
Place finely chopped nuts in another shallow dish.
Roll each ball of cookie dough in egg white and then roll lightly in nuts.
Place on prepared trays about one inch apart.
Press centre of each cookie in slightly using your thumb or index finger.
Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
Gently press the indentation again and cool cookies on racks.
When cookies are cooled, spoon a little jam or jelly into the centres.
Makes about 48 cookies
Sugared fruit shortbread
1 cup dried fruit, raisins and currants
2 tsp aromatic bitters
1 cup unsalted butter
⅔ cup icing sugar, sifted
1½ tsp salt
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup coarse-grained golden sugar
Wash and dry fruit, place in a bowl and add bitters, stir.
Let macerate for about one hour.
Chop fruit finely in a food processor.
Cream butter with icing sugar, add salt and flour.
Mix well, add fruit and combine.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead to a uniform texture.
Divide into 2 pieces. Roll each into a 7-inch log, wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
Chill for about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place golden sugar into a plate.
Slice cookies ¼ inch thick; roll in the sugar, covering the ends only.
Place on cookie sheets one inch apart
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and cool on racks.
Makes 24
Rich West Indian Dundee cake
1 lb butter
½ lb granulated sugar
½ lb brown sugar
8 eggs
Zest of three limes
2 tbs vanilla essence
1 tsp almond essence
1¼ lb all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 oz ground almonds
½ cup rum (optional)
1 lb currants
1 lb sultanas
½ lb mixed peel
¼ lb cherries (red & green, cut)
3 ozs chopped Nuts
Pre-heat oven to 325 F.
Grease and line two nine inch by 3 inch cake tins.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time beating well between additions.
Add the lime zest, almond and vanilla essence.
Sieve flour, baking powder and mix in the ground almonds and fold into the batter with the rum if using.
Toss cherries, currants, sultanas, mixed peel and chopped nuts in some flour, coat evenly, shake off excess flour.
Add to the batter and gently fold in.
Bake for about 1½ hrs or until cake leaves the sides of the tin.
Cool cake in tin before removing.
Makes 2 nine inch cakes.
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(Source: Newsday, Dec 16, 2023)

Author :An­ge­lo Bisses­sars­ingh
Christ­mas just ain't Christ­mas with­out a good ham. In Trinidad of yes­ter­year, the pre­cious leg of pork would be boil­ing in a pitch-oil tin for many hours be­fore be­ing baked, ei­ther in a coalpot tin oven or a bee­hive mud oven, to be served with oth­er tra­di­tion­al fare like pastelles and fruit cake.
Chances are the ham would be di­min­ished long be­fore the fam­i­ly could have a go at it, through the in­roads of "mop­pers," oth­er­wise known as vil­lage paran­deros.
The choic­es for ham lovers were not easy. Price was a ma­jor con­sid­er­a­tion as well as qual­i­ty. In the coun­try­side ar­eas, the ham every­one knew was a salty, well-cured leg of pork hang­ing from the rafters of the Chi­nese shop. This would be an Amer­i­can ham, im­port­ed in bar­rels of saw­dust with some of that still cling­ing to the sur­face.
Af­ter boil­ing the skin would be stripped off be­fore bak­ing. The skin it­self was kept un­til af­ter Christ­mas, when mon­ey was scarce, and would be used to pro­vide pro­tein in a meal of rice or as the meat in a sand­wich. It could al­so be fried crisp and eat­en as a snack. The fat was used to leav­en bakes. Even the ham bone did not go to waste. Bro­ken up in pieces, it was used in soups, callaloo and oil-down.
The low­est grade of ham was what was known as the "pitch ham." This was lo­cal­ly made and smoked. To pre­serve it, the pitch ham had a coat­ing of as­phalt on the out­side, which made the skin ined­i­ble and im­part­ed a min­er­al flavour to the meat which I am told was far from un­pleas­ant-al­though one can imag­ine that it was not the health­i­est food around.
In the ear­ly 20th cen­tu­ry, an Amer­i­can ham cost about $5, with the pitch ham sell­ing for $2 less. This was no mean ex­pen­di­ture in an era when it was a de­cent month­ly wage for a do­mes­tic ser­vant, mak­ing the ham an in­dul­gence.
The ham most Tri­nis were fa­mil­iar with was the York ham. The York ham is mild­ly flavoured, light­ly smoked and dry-cured, which is salti­er but milder in flavour than oth­er Eu­ro­pean dry-cured ham. It has del­i­cate pink meat and does not need fur­ther cook­ing be­fore eat­ing. It is tra­di­tion­al­ly served with Madeira sauce. Folk­lore has it that the oak used for con­struc­tion for York Min­ster in Eng­land pro­vid­ed the fu­el for smok­ing the meat.
York hams were sold from most city gro­ceries like Can­nings and the Ice House and al­so de­part­ment stores with pro­vi­sion de­part­ments, like Stephens. The fa­mous Ice House Gro­cery on Ma­rine (In­de­pen­dence) Square in­clud­ed a York ham in its fa­mous $5 Christ­mas ham­pers.
Packed chock-full of good­ies like Mus­ca­tel wine, nuts, im­port­ed sweets and dried fruits for the fa­mous rum cake, these ham­pers could be packed in­to a wood­en box and for­ward­ed by rail to cus­tomers deep in the coun­try­side.
Even though some pre­fer turkey, the hall­mark of Christ­mas is still a ham.
Photo 1. : Salt ham hanging at Sing Chong Supermarket on Charlotte Street, Port of-Spain. Photo Credit : BRIAN NG FATT.  (Source:  Angelo Bissessarsingh's Virtual Museum of Trinidad & Tobago, Nov 27, 2023)

Source: Trinbago Golden Memories

WITH her winning smile and girl-next-door personality, Alana Nedd has turned her dasheen punch business into a household name.
Nedd, a police officer, has been promoting her brand, Neddos Punches With A Kick, at the Tobago Blue Food Festival for several years. She also sells the product to her customers on a part-time basis, mainly by orders.
Asked how she came up with the name for her punch, Nedd, 40, became emotional.
“There was an officer by the name of Kester Best and he was a very close friend of mine. He passed away not too long ago, and he gave me the name 'Neddos.' So I decided to at least honour his memory, my business would be called Neddos,” she told Sunday Newsday.
Nedd described Best as an “awesome individual, excellent police officer and mentor and brother to me.”
Today, Nedd will again be among the 30-plus vendors at the Blue Food Festival, which is celebrating its silver jubilee at the Bloody Bay Recreation Ground.
She said the response to her dasheen punch continues to be phenomenal.
“My customers are always amazed at how good it tastes. They will buy seconds, thirds, even buy for their friends.
" Once a customer can confidently refer you, then you know you have a good thing.”
Nedd described the taste as “bold, rich, satisfying and soothing. “It is just like Grandma used to make – a party in your mouth.”
She said dasheen generally makes a good punch.
“When it is boiled, it is slippery in texture and gives you that rich, starchy thickness when blended.”
But Nedd laughed loudly when asked to share her secret.
“What I can say is that it is made with lots of love.”
Nedd tried several recipes before settling on her current blend.

WITH her winning smile and girl-next-door personality, Alana Nedd has turned her dasheen punch business into a household name.
Nedd, a police officer, has been promoting her brand, Neddos Punches With A Kick, at the Tobago Blue Food Festival for several years. She also sells the product to her customers on a part-time basis, mainly by orders.
Asked how she came up with the name for her punch, Nedd, 40, became emotional.
“There was an officer by the name of Kester Best and he was a very close friend of mine. He passed away not too long ago, and he gave me the name 'Neddos.' So I decided to at least honour his memory, my business would be called Neddos,” she told Sunday Newsday.
Nedd described Best as an “awesome individual, excellent police officer and mentor and brother to me.”
Today, Nedd will again be among the 30-plus vendors at the Blue Food Festival, which is celebrating its silver jubilee at the Bloody Bay Recreation Ground.
She said the response to her dasheen punch continues to be phenomenal.
“My customers are always amazed at how good it tastes. They will buy seconds, thirds, even buy for their friends.
" Once a customer can confidently refer you, then you know you have a good thing.”
Nedd described the taste as “bold, rich, satisfying and soothing. “It is just like Grandma used to make – a party in your mouth.”
She said dasheen generally makes a good punch.
“When it is boiled, it is slippery in texture and gives you that rich, starchy thickness when blended.”
But Nedd laughed loudly when asked to share her secret.
“What I can say is that it is made with lots of love.”
Nedd tried several recipes before settling on her current blend.


She believes: “The quality ingredients, special blend of spices, richness, the consistency and texture of the punch have all added to its uniqueness.”
She is a bonafide country girl who navigated between L’Anse Fourmi and Bloody Bay as a child.
She said her parents instilled sound values in their children and others, encouraging them to be self-sufficient.
In hindsight, Nedd said she has been exposed to sales for all of her life.
She said her mother did not have a government job, but always baked cakes, other delicacies and made fresh fruit juices to help support the family.
“She even sold doubles at one point in time. So I’ve been a part of putting things out there for the public, the customers, in relation to food and beverage. But at that time, I never saw it as a career path.”
Nedd credits her parents for her enterprising spirit.
“It has truly been a blessing.”
Owing to her parents' advice, Nedd said many of her relatives have established businesses in several areas, including poultry-rearing, arts and craft, makeup, photography and carpentry.
“You name it, we do it.”
She told Sunday Newsday her mother has been a cook at the festival almost from inception.
“She makes a good dasheen punch and even won best drink a couple of years ago. So I had hands on knowledge of how to make a good punch and I started making my own special twist, tweaking the recipe so that one’s tastebuds can have an amazing experience.”
Additionally, Nedd said the dasheen, being the most prominent of all the ground provisions in the L’Anse Fourmi/Parlatuvier/Bloody Bay area, “is the heart” of the Blue Food Festival.
“A punch is always a well-loved drink. So it was easy to come up with a drink that was popular and would always sell because power equals prowess.”
She is aware that the festival has been a platform to promote small entrepreneurs in Tobago over the years. and she's capitalising on this.
Having Neddos Punches With A Kick on the shelves of major supermarkets and other establishments, Nedd said, “is in the making, as plans are under way to push the business and product on a larger scale.”
Asked if she intends to market the punch internationally, she added, “We never know what the future holds. I thank God for his many blessings upon my life on a daily basis. So you know, the future is in God's hands.”

For now, Nedd said she tries her best to prepare the punches at least twice a month.
“It can be difficult as I am also a parent and a fitness enthusiast as well. So I always try to strike a balance between all.
"However, I produce the product based on the number of orders numbers I get, and also based on the day of the week and time of the month.”
She said she is always on the lookout for opportunities to showcase her product, whether it be at the farmers’ market or any other related forum or cultural show.
“My experience has been mostly on the positive side. But the feedback from customers, both negative and positive, is always appreciated.”
Asked if any of her customers had commented on its effectiveness in relation to endurance and sexual prowess, she said, “Well, I have been told that I have quite a few godchildren, and some on the way, by some of my male customers. So that should say a lot.
"My female customers say it makes them extra spicy!”
On the business side, she said there are quite a few institutions in Tobago, including the Division of Finance and the Economy, offering short courses in money management and starting a business.
“I have been a part of this, and they continue to send information to previous participants which would aid in developing a successful business model.”
Nedd said there is room in the market for anyone who believes they have a talent or special gift that can be harnessed.
“One just has to find their niche, put their personal touch into it, and with determination, they can be successful.” (Source: Newsday, October 15, 2023)

In the old days, cocoa created villages for the year-round tasks on the estates – caring for the trees, harvesting, fermenting and dancing the cocoa. Today, it’s calling together a global community, from the Trinidad rainforests where the natural Trinitario hybrid was born to the cities which made an art of the golden bean.
A Story of Trinitario celebrates this new cocoa village and will be presented from October 2-7 at Medulla Gallery, Fitt Street, Woodbrook.
More than ten years ago, Rene Sperber and Tobias Schulze Frenking came to Trinidad on a mission from a German chocolate company. After the project ended, they stayed for the EU-funded programme to help develop the International Fine Cocoa Innovation Centre at the Cocoa Research Centre.

Their company Ubergreen Organics has attracted a Trinidad cocoa collective – a fine cocoa cluster – that comprises growers, chocolate-makers and innovators to model the new cocoa village.
Sperber and Frenking bring business and innovation backgrounds and understanding of global cocoa and chocolate industry to link local producers with international markets. Ubergreen has produced the first cannabidiol (CBD extracted from hemp) chocolate bar made at origin in a fine-flavour-cocoa country. With funding from IDB Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility, Ubergreen led the process of implementing the Organic Fine Cocoa and Chocolate Cluster (OFCCC) project, which transitioned to the Original Trinitario Cocoa (OTC) Education Foundation, which now has over 15 cocoa members and corporate support.
​The members of OTC believe Trinitario is a treasure that must be preserved and celebrated. Trinitario was hybridised by nature and enhanced through selective breeding, and has provided planting material for estates around the world.
OTC identified some challenges and is working to resolve them: availability of planting material; field-management practices; post-harvest practices; low productivity; and unavailable labour.​
Sarah Bharath, soil and crop consultant, and Junior Bhola, who devised the Bhola Method of plant propagation, work with the members to provide training on the ground.
OTC currently comprises a handful of small farmers, entrepreneurs and cottage businesses operating in the cocoa sector. They know TT is fortunate in its biodiversity – flora and fauna as well as human – and believe in the resilience of community.
Its new model village will be on show at Medulla in the heart of the House of Cocobel fine chocolate built by Isabel Brash.
The architect-turned-cocoa entrepreneur and chocolatier has created a brand that is more than cocoa and chocolate production. She says it reflects the entire TT foodscape and cultural collective: “The whole story in one bite.”
The exhibition is the work of Denise Speck, a thesis for her postgraduate degree in digital storytelling. She set out to tell the story of Trinitario, the tree that united and influenced the culture of TT. She has collected the stories of the membership, which include photographs and a short film, Trinitario – On the Edge. These are stories of family, small estates, business and production lines that integrate agriculture, artisanal practices, innovation and art.
The exhibition will take visitors through rainforest estates, into country kitchens and see the output of a dozen small businesses. They’ll be able to sample and purchase products – cocoa and chocolates – at the cocoa fair on October 7, and meet some of the new cocoa entrepreneurs.
Martin Matthew retired from oil and gas offshore. and now the Matthew family works ten acres in Talparo, producing Tamana Mountain Chocolate. Jacky anchors the chocolate-making process. Oshu, 19, has been trained in post-harvest processes. Zari is providing home-cooked meals, and, with Megan, is figuring out their places in the cocoa world.
Stephanie Omardeen is a practicing doctor, who learned her love for the land and cocoa in Belize. On Tinamou Estate in the rainforest of Brasso Seco, she grows cocoa and other tree crops with a permaculture approach.
“I am a soil farmer,” she says.
In the same area, her son Javed Omardeen manages the 20 acres of Little Hermit Estate. He is, he says, cultivating harmony…with everything in its place. Chocolate made from Tinamou and Little Hermit is marketed under the Omarbeans label.
Richard de Verteuil is in the Central Range, retired from a career in the oilfields. His family has cultivated cocoa for at least three generations so it was in his blood to move to the San Antonio estate, offering organic production since 2019.
Lawrence James practises agroforestry on ten acres which he works with his mother Josephine, in the memory of his father. He is part of the North Ridge Cooperative. He believes there’s a future in cocoa for younger generations. Associations are necessary: he longs to meet other cocoa farmers, to share ideas. His roucou trees provide shade, fertiliser and sauce; trees are very important to the environment. He hopes to expand revenue from his estate through tourism.
Nikita Nath has accepted responsibility for the past, present and future of cocoa at the Ortinola Great House and Estate, 365 acres in Maracas Valley St Joseph. The biggest investment and challenge, she says, was putting in 5,000 trees in one year to make sense of the high cost of producing cocoa. Ortinola is an old Cadbury estate. Nath is now farmer and chocolate-maker.
Daniel Barcant and Christopher Boodoosingh created Cocoa Republic in 2016, in Diego Martin, crafting award-winning chocolate from single-origin Trinitario cocoa. Roland Thomas is the manager.
Colleen Malwah-Aqui started processing organic skin care and beauty products from Trinitario cocoa butter, establishing her business in 2005 in Trinicity. She grew up in cocoa in Tobago and imbues her products with well-being derived from her experiences and memory of harvesting, sucking the beans from freshly opened pods and dancing cocoa.
Sparkle Charles is an IT professional who believes her Sparkling Gold Chocolates reflect all of Trini culture. Her chocolate kitchen caters to private customers. Her entrepreneurial journey began in 2016. (Source: Newsday, September 23, 2023)

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