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Ackee and Saltfish

Name: Ackee and Saltfish
Prep time: 27 min
Total time: 27 min
Cuisine: Jamaican
Ingredients: 1 can (19 oz) ackee, drained; 8 oz salted codfish; 1 onion, sliced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 1 green bell pepper, sliced; 1 tsp thyme; 3 scallions, sliced; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1/4 tsp black pepper

Ackee and Saltfish reads heat 4.8, allium 4.4 and umami 3.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Jamaican main, about 27 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 4.3 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.5 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.1 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.3 / 10
Rich & Fat — 3.4 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Heat 4.8 · Allium 4.4 · Umami 3.9 · Marine & Briny 3.7 · Richness 3.4 · Warm Spice 2.8 · Herbaceous 2.6 · Fruity 1.9 · Sourness 1.9 · Sweetness 1.9 · Salinity 1.2 · Bitterness 1.2 · Floral 0.9 · Earthy 0.8

What's in it (11)

1 can (19 oz) ackee, drained
8 oz salted codfish
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 tsp thyme
3 scallions, sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Time & effort: about 27 min · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 85.6 kcal, 10.3 g protein, 3.4 g fat, 5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Soak salted cod overnight or boil and drain to remove excess salt, then flake the fish. Sauté onion, garlic, Scotch bonnet, thyme, bell pepper, and tomatoes in oil until softened, then add the cod and cook together a few minutes.
Gently fold in the drained ackee and heat through without mashing.
Serve with fried dumplings, bammy, or boiled green bananas.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Callaloo — Jamaican
Halibut in Escabeche — Spanish
Crawfish Étouffée — Cajun/Creole
Steamed Fish — Jamaican
Crawfish Bisque — Cajun/Creole

Keep reading: what heat, allium, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.