est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

,

Removing the Ham from a Bajan Christmas

The news that Barbadians will have to pay more for a ham in 2017 has generated heated conversation in Barbadians- the land of ‘porkmouts’. The baking of a ham on Christmas eve night is part of a rich tradition practiced by all households. Now that the NSRL has taken full effect Barbadians will have to…

, ,

The news that Barbadians will have to pay more for a ham in 2017 has generated heated conversation in Barbadians- the land of ‘porkmouts’. The baking of a ham on Christmas eve night is part of a rich tradition practiced by all households. Now that the NSRL has taken full effect Barbadians will have to be smart about the household budget. Is it worth it for those with limited discretionary income to buy ham reported to be selling at $12.00 per pound? Does it matter if there is ham on the table in the Yuletide season?

The bigger issue for BU is the lack of a vision by the leadership of the country to ensure we import less, integrate local agriculture production in the hospitality sector, encourage a consumption behaviour that aligns with the national interest, adherence to a  healthy regimen and so on.

146 responses to “Removing the Ham from a Bajan Christmas”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    This ham thing not going a away!

    James Paul in today’s Nation doing a song and a dance.

  2. John Avatar
    John

    …… but de price in de supermarket still almost at $39.00 per kg …. a leg of ham for over $300.00

  3. John Avatar
    John

    I was asking myself where Bajans got their taste for pork.

    I got it bad!!

    I know that 10-30% of slaves who ended up in America were Muslim so a not insignificant number of our African ancestors would probably not have partaken in a hog feast.

    It is more likely that the taste for pork was passed on from our Puritan ancestors or it just arose out of necessity, that was all going around in the beginning and there was a bounty.

  4. John Avatar
    John

    John December 21, 2017 at 8:42 AM #
    …… but de price in de supermarket still almost at $39.00 per kg …. a leg of ham for over $300.00
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    There was only one ham left when I looked so I got two explanations.

    Bajans are not as had up as they complain they are

    OR

    the supplier quickly withdrew the bulk of the product from the shelf and is offering it at a more reasonable price elsewhere!!

    He only has so much time to Christmas!!

  5. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ John December 21, 2017 at 9:01 AM

    Sir John, since you are the BU resident historian on things Barbadiana- including the culinary genetics of the European and African ‘unsolicited immigrants’- maybe you can tell us about the green monkey on the island.

    Like the Bajan people today who are not indigenous to the island how did the monkey get here and why was it ‘imported’?

    Think Puritan pork ham and turkey and you might just be climbing up the right tree to expose your monkey tail of Bajan history.

  6. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    “the supplier quickly withdrew the bulk of the product from the shelf and is offering it at a more reasonable price elsewhere!!”

    Think. What right does a SUPPLIER have to remove anything from a retailer’s shelf? A health issue?
    Isn’t it easier for either supplier or retailer or both, to lower their mark-up, and reprice the product?

  7. David Avatar
    David

    @NO

    This is one of John’s tongue n cheek remarks.

  8. John Avatar
    John

    millertheanunnaki December 21, 2017 at 11:55 AM #
    @ John December 21, 2017 at 9:01 AM
    Sir John, since you are the BU resident historian on things Barbadiana- including the culinary genetics of the European and African ‘unsolicited immigrants’- maybe you can tell us about the green monkey on the island.
    Like the Bajan people today who are not indigenous to the island how did the monkey get here and why was it ‘imported’?
    Think Puritan pork ham and turkey and you might just be climbing up the right tree to expose your monkey tail of Bajan history.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    I haven’t the faintest clue.

    I know when I lived for a while in St. Vincent back in 1989 the Vincentians complained bitterly about Bajan fishermen bringing them in their boats and letting them go to cause them problems.

    I didn’t believe them!!

  9. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    John December 21, 2017 at 1:19 PM #

    Is there any reason why we do not eat horse meat in Barbados, apart from the fact the English do not, and it is a French culinary favourite?

  10. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @Hal A
    When did turkeys first arrive in Barbados, and who brought them?
    +++++++++
    Is this a serious question?

    They were the original snowbirds, Anne Murray even sang a song partly based on them

  11. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Sargeant December 21, 2017 at 1:23 PM #

    Yes, it is a serious question and what is the answer?

  12. John Avatar
    John

    Hal Austin December 21, 2017 at 1:22 PM #
    John December 21, 2017 at 1:19 PM #
    Is there any reason why we do not eat horse meat in Barbados, apart from the fact the English do not, and it is a French culinary favourite?
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    If you look at Ligon, horses, cows and oxen were “dear” as in expensive.

    They had other uses than for food.

    They had to be brought here ….. imported.

    Only made sense to eat them if they died at “God’s” hand I think was the term Ligon used.

    Hogs ran wild and I reckon were plentiful, no need to import.

    Wild boar were routinely hunted in Europe, probably England too so there already was a taste for them.

    It is claimed the Portuguese introduced them to Barbados well before the English came.

    By 1626/7 Barbados was mostly populated by hogs I reckon and the Puritans probably had a good meat supply.

    So I reckon horse meat was never attractive as it meant having to slaughter animals that could be put to better use.

  13. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @John, thanks.

  14. John Avatar
    John

    New England was first settled in 1620, New Amsterdam (now New York) in 1624.

    St. Christopher then Barbados followed once New England was shown to be viable.

    It took the Mayflower 66 days to cross the Atlantic in 1620.

    A lot of food and a lot of water it had to carry for its 120 passengers.

    The ARC race from the Canary Islands to St. Lucia takes about 21 days.

    Admittedly yachts are a bit faster!!!

    If you look at the record for crossing by rowing, 35 days!!!

    http://www.worldrecordacademy.com/travel/fastest_solo_crossing_of_the_Atlantic_in_a_rowing_boat_Charlie_Pitcher_breaks_Guinness_world_record_213309.html

    Conclusion ….. more sensible to go to America in those early days via stop overs where you could replenish food and water.

    A gallon of water/person/day weighs 8-10 pound, 120 gallons weighs about 1,200 pounds. For 66 days, that is about 33 tonnes of cargo.

    Then there is food ….. get it.

    So, that’s why I reckon the islands in the Caribbean were so valuable.

    A safer way to America!!

    You could cut your freight in half.

    The importance of Barbados in the days of sail rested in its location.

    …. Trade Winds ….. Gulf Stream!!

    … not sugar … and not rum!!

    They were icing but the cake was location.

    Hogs, turkeys, guinea birds, ground provision etc were all “exported” and commanded high prices because when the ship arrived in Barbados it had to resupply, not much choice.

    So we had a solid merchant base.

    Imports of other commodities from the Americas, Europe and Africa added to their wares.

    It was the merchant, not the planter who made the killing.

    It is trade that made Barbados, not sugar and not Rum.

    Sugar and Rum provided a contribution to reduction in its costs as a a supply station.

    They were part of a larger economy, unprofitable on their own but what economic sense they made when fitted into the whole!!

    Historians, bless their souls, can’t get that figured out!!

  15. John Avatar
    John

    … at least not ours …. too twist up!!

  16. John Avatar
    John

    David December 21, 2017 at 12:59 PM #
    @NO
    This is one of John’s tongue n cheek remarks.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Actually, it is not!!!

    Standard business practice …. it is called “on consignment”

    The producer of the hams delivers the hams to the supermarket who agrees to pay when the goods are sold”!!

    If the goods are not sold, then they are returned to the producer!!!

    I did not get this from any meeting at Cattlewash … this is standard practice!!

  17. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    John December 21, 2017 at 5:26 PM #

    Standard business practice …. it is called “on consignment”

    @John, it is remarkable how little some people know about business practices; they read a book, look at the way business is done in Barbados, and pretend they came top of the class at |Harvard Business School. Some do not even read a book, they just imagine they know it all.
    It is the Bajan disease.

  18. John Avatar
    John

    I looked at the number of slaves in 1817 by parish.

    I took the three top agricultural parishes, St. John (5,469 slaves), St. Thomas (5,164 slaves) and St. George (6,767 slaves).

    I then compared them with St. Michael (18,274 slaves).

    Conclusion, most economic activity occurred in St. Michael, not the top agricultural parishes.

    The two largest parishes, Christ Church (9.917 slaves) and St. Philip (9,535 slaves) combined, could compare with St. Michael.

    Again, conclusion, major economic activity was St. Michael.

    The Lascelles Family collected Customs Duties for over 30 years and did, very, very, very. well for themselves.

    “In 1714, Henry acquired, in addition, the powerful position of Collector of Customs for Barbados, coinciding with the ascension of the new Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, a Whig. This influential and lucrative post, a reward for earlier political loyalties, was to remain in family hands for the next three decades. Henry was in charge of collecting duties on Barbados colonial exports (including his own), usually at the rate of 4.5 per cent; this money would then be remitted to the British Treasury in London.[5]” … Source Wikipedia

    The major economic activity in Barbados occurred in Carlisle Bay, imports and exports!!

    That is where there was money to be made … in abundance … because Barbados was the hub for trade in the New World, for England.

    I came across an interesting statistic in a documentary on New York.

    The Dutch East India Company started it in 1624.

    The English took it in 1664, without firing a shot!!

    The Dutch East India Company averaged a return on investment of 10% …. for 200 years … TRADE!!

  19. David Avatar
    David

    @John

    You were given an out but insist that foodstuff is sold on consignment? Can you list a wholesaler in Barbados that sells perishable stuff on consignment? We know about selling bottle drinks. Guess we are never too old to learn from a Quaker…lol.

  20. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    David Mr Blogmaster, I was also a bit moved to learn that current Bajan wholesalers/producers of perishable foodstuff provided such high levels of consignment return guarantee on items like leg hams.

    I know that bakeries do that with bread products and too dairy producers with dated milk products, as examples…but those are quite different than hams.

    It makes more business sense to reduce the price on the hams and get them out the store….And generally that would be done.

    That said, ham in its original cured and wrapped state can be kept for lengthy periods so depending on the business power of the merchant if circumstances (very poor sales) demanded special action then a supplier might readily accept a credit return and ‘repurpose’ the ham otherwise.

  21. John Avatar
    John

    It makes more business sense to reduce the price on the hams and get them out the store….And generally that would be done.

    ++++++++++++++

    DPD, thanks for the examples of perishable products wholesalers use “on consignment” to get to a market segment.

    In the instant case, if the supermarket bows to pressure to reduce the price on one item the public can get them to do it again on another!!!

    It is better to give the product back to the supplier and let him find another outlet/market segment where he can reduce the price and not affect the supermarket.

    The product still gets sold.

    For example, Restaurants and Hotels are being chided for trying to get the taxes removed on imported leg hams to reduce the cost.

    The supplier can say to restaurants/hotels, a completely different market segment, I can give you a good price on some ham … if you buy more than 1, 5 or 10!!!

    No one needs to know the pressure from the public forced a reduction in price.

    Everybody is happy!!

    The supplier gets his expensive item sold, the restaurant/hotel makes a saving and doesn’t have to confront Government …. and the public “sees” the product move on the supermarket shelf and says …. “maybe the price was right after all, I want one too”!!

    All the supermarket has to do is keep just one ham on the shelf, … “de last one”!!!!

    Human nature does the rest as “de last one” is gobbled up and buyers around Barbados boast to friends on Christmas Day how lucky they were to get “de last one on de shelf” even if they had to pay a pound and a crown.

    The public and the supermarket are thus happy too!!

  22. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    de pedantic Dribbler December 22, 2017 at 6:44 AM #

    de pedantic Dribbler December 22, 2017 at 6:44 AM #

    In every day language, it is called sale or return. Ownership remains in the hands of the product provider/wholesaler.

  23. David Avatar
    David

    @Dee Word

    It is why John was asked to put up or shut up because we are not aware hams are sold on a consignment basis.

  24. John Avatar
    John

    Here is another way a supplier can work with a retailer to get his product sold and retain ownership till the last moment.

    http://www.smh.com.au/national/coles-and-woolworths-slammed-for-christmas-supply-shortage-20151224-gluox5.html

    But it can backfire if the supplier can’t meet the demand!!

    In this instance, the retailer never physically puts the item on his shelf.

    He uses his market presence to sell the supplier’s product without ever buying it.

    He puts it on his virtual shelf.

    This is an example of an “on consignment” transaction, but it is entirely virtual.

    The delivery of the ham or turkey or whatever is directly from the supplier to the end user.

    The retailer uses the internet to establish the demand and then, depends on the wholesaler to meet it.

    The market is fickle, so the retailer always takes a gamble when he buys a product from a supplier.

    On consignment, virtual or real, is just one way the odds of selling are changed.

    The risk is shared between the retailer and supplier.

    This is not a physical on consignment transaction because the goods are never physically committed to the retailer until they are sold.

    But, the retailer has his reputation on the line and can lose in the transaction.

    The end user may never know who the supplier is so the supplier keeps his reputation.

    However, the retailer and supplier may fall out!!

  25. John Avatar
    John

    In this case, the market demand was so high that everything put on the physical shelves went, whether on consignment or not.

    The product passes to the end user at the highest price.

    The supplier’s stock is all gone so he can’t deliver to the end users who preferred to have ordered on line.

    The retailer takes the licks but there are a lot of happy shoppers who got the product off the physical shelf.

    This sounds to be the opposite of Barbados!!

    Maybe Bajans should try ordering online and see if the price is less … it should be.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @John

    Try to understand we are not discussing options available to the retailer, we are trying to understand the local market realities. Do you know for a fact that Hanshell Inniss sells hams on consignment?

  27. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    question re It is why John was asked to put up or shut up because we are not aware hams are sold on a consignment basis.

    BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT AWARE THAT SOMETHING HAPPENS..IT DOES NOT HAPPEN?
    ARE YOU THE OMNISCIENT OR ALL KNOWING GOD?

    WHY SHOULD JOHN SHUT UP? HE IS MAKING MORE SENSE THAN YOU OR THE ASS LICKING WANNABEE de pedantic Dribbler

    WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION, YOU NEVER KNOW HOW EXPRESSING YOUR VIEW MAY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? DOES THIS ONLY APPLY TO THOSE WHO TALK THE MOST SHITE ON BU WHILE CONTRIBUTING LITTLE OF SUBSTANCE……..WITH NO STRUCTURE NO SEQUENCE NO SUBSTANCE
    DOES THIS ONLY APPLY TO CERTAIN ASS LICKERS?

  28. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    RE Try to understand we are not discussing options available to the retailer, we are trying to understand the local market realities.

    WHO IS trying to understand the local market realities HERE?

    THE MAN IS discussing options available to the retailer. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT?
    HE IS EDIFYING THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THIS?

    Do you know for a fact that Hanshell Inniss sells hams on consignment? WHO CARES?

  29. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    John December 22, 2017 at 9:48 AM #

    You continue to make a very good contribution to the footnotes of our food, social and culinary histories.
    As Thomas Sankara has suggested, the history of what is on the plate is a good indicator of imperial history.
    For example, when did rice become part of the staple diet of Barbadians? When did Canadian salted cod (salt fish) become part of our diet, apart from being a cheap way to feed slaves? What is the place and significance of sugar in our diet (apart from giving us type two diabetes)? What about corned beef? In the 1960s rotis were so new to Barbados that a Trinidadian man called Chow was the only regular seller of the dish; it is now part of our staple. How about hot pot, stew? Why do we put sugar in our dumplings?
    I know there is a dish similar to cou-cou in Sierra Leone, but when did maize(corn) become part of our diet (pap, conkies, cou-cou)?
    What does all this tell us about food production and consumption, about changes in national tastes, the importation of English/Irish potatoes after the Irish famine? How about nutritional deficiency
    The rise of firms such as Crosse and Blackwell, Tate and Lyne, Fray Bentos, et al, the transfer of bread-making from the home to bakeries, tea as a hot drink, condensed milk, culinary and religious rituals such as Xmas? Why do we prefer turkey to duck at Xmas?
    @John, in the long-term, the post-colonialists/black nationalists/neo-Marxists/naked racists who shout the loudest will make nil contribution to our understanding of our Barbadian-ness – nor would our professional historians and cultural theorists and food sociologists. As you know, we have no agricultural economists. There are huge gaps in our understanding of ourselves.

  30. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    HAL
    YOU HAVE RAISED A LOT OF INTERESTING QUESTIONS.
    WITH RESPECT TO SALTED COD…..IT IS INTERESTING HOW IT IS USED IN THE VARIOUS ISLANDS. WITH EGGPLANT IN ANTIGUA FOR SUNDAY BREAKFAST……….WITH ACKEE IN JAMAICA…..OR WITH GREEN BANANA IN THE WINDWARD ISLANDS

  31. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-21/the-bananapocalypse-is-nigh

  32. David Avatar
    David

    Dear John

    Did you make that call to Hanshell to confirm that hams are not sole on consignment in Barbados which makes your point moot i.e. the retailer probably sent back the hams to the wholesaler?

  33. TheGazer Avatar
    TheGazer

    Talk about ass licking? If Hal can uncurl his tongue from up John’s butt…. Disgusting.

  34. Loss Baje Avatar
    Loss Baje

    In 2007 the people wanted change. It was due to the rising cost of living. So much so that the Opposition at the time said that issue number 1,2, and 3 was ” High cost of Living. Fast foward this is the year 2017. People in Barbados not living above their means have to choose between paying the full utility bill, running it in arrears in order to buy food in the supermarket.The cost of living in barbados has shot to another galaxy as compared to those times in 2007 and prior. Never before has persons not been able to claim and receive their income tax return.

  35. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    RE TheGazer December 22, 2017 at 7:43 PM #
    Talk about ass licking? If Hal can uncurl his tongue from up John’s butt…. Disgusting.

    REAL ASS LICKING IS WHEN THE PEDANTANT DRIBBLER SUGGESTED THAT THE BLOGMASTER HAD BARBADOS SCHOLARSHIP QUALITIES.MURDAH

  36. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    TheGazer December 22, 2017 at 7:43 PM #

    Talk about ass licking? If Hal can uncurl his tongue from up John’s butt…. Disgusting.

    You continue to make a very good contribution to the footnotes of our food, social and culinary histories.
    As Thomas Sankara has suggested, the history of what is on the plate is a good indicator of imperial history.
    For example, when did rice become part of the staple diet of Barbadians? When did Canadian salted cod (salt fish) become part of our diet, apart from being a cheap way to feed slaves? What is the place and significance of sugar in our diet (apart from giving us type two diabetes)? What about corned beef? In the 1960s rotis were so new to Barbados that a Trinidadian man called Chow was the only regular seller of the dish; it is now part of our staple. How about hot pot, stew? Why do we put sugar in our dumplings?
    I know there is a dish similar to cou-cou in Sierra Leone, but when did maize(corn) become part of our diet (pap, conkies, cou-cou)?
    What does all this tell us about food production and consumption, about changes in national tastes, the importation of English/Irish potatoes after the Irish famine? How about nutritional deficiency?
    The rise of firms such as Crosse and Blackwell, Tate and Lyne, Fray Bentos, et al, the transfer of bread-making from the home to bakeries, tea as a hot drink, condensed milk, culinary and religious rituals such as Xmas……

    @TheGazer

    Pray tell.

  37. David Avatar
    David

    We did suggest that selling ham by the slice would make for a good product 🙂

  38. John Avatar
    John

    For example, when did rice become part of the staple diet of Barbadians?
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    That is an intriguing question.

    We can’t grow rice here so where did we get the rice from to begin with?

    North American and South America nearby both grow rice.

    Could be either or another entirely different source.

    Guyana became attractive to England when the Haitian sugar economy collapsed.

    Many Bajan families went there to benefit from the vast tracts of lands.

    Plenty of water so rice is a natural.

    But the product could have been available from earlier and Barbados and South America had ties from the beginning.

    In North America, Rice was being grown as early as 1609.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_production_in_the_United_States

    Rice I reckon was available from the start.

    I have a feeling Salt Cod was available from the start too, it is all about food preservation.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salted_fish

    Probably find Ham and Bacon evolved as a means of preserving pork.

    I regularly ate duck when I was growing up, loved it.

    We kept and ate ducks routinely. Fantastic.

    My grandfather would not touch it.

    He grew up in Oistins and we reckon probably watched the ducks feasting on fish entrails and it turned him off ducks as food.

  39. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    John December 24, 2017 at 2:16 PM #

    Thanks again. I think rice first came out of Africa.
    I am not sure if Quakers celebrate Xmas, have a wonderful holiday and a most healthy and enjoyable New Year to you and the assorted voices on BU.

  40. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Merry Xmas to all and sundry who provide commentary on the pages of this blog, special greetings go to Jeff C and Caswell whose weekly submissions provide much food for thought. I shouldn’t forget “David” without whom none of this would be possible.

    While many of you are basking in the glow of a warm Caribbean Xmas my Xmas would be best exemplified by the scenery exemplified in Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” but my plans include time in Bim’s salubrious waters in the coming days.

    Here’s hoping that everyone has a safe and healthy New Year

  41. John Avatar
    John

    Hal

    I am not a Quaker, I enjoy researching their contribution to Barbados and World history in their service to God and sharing some of my findings!!!

    It took me 10 to 15 years to figure out how they fit in!!

    Some Quakers today, according to the Internet say they are not Christian but I have seen enough of what their beliefs were at the time they came to Barbados to know that they all were.

    I knew of only two Quakers in my life in Barbados … had to be told they were Quakers.

    I did not know the couple well.

    Strictly speaking, I am an Anglican like most Bajans, but I confess I am not a regular attendee at Church.

    In the past 10 years most of my Church time has been spent at Baptist Churches in Florida when I visit there off and on.

    I enjoy their treatment of the Bible.

    Thank you very much for your kind wishes.

    I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and prosperous New Year.

    I extend the same to all fellow bloggers and their families.

  42. John Avatar
    John

    … and I hope everybody gets a piece of pork for Christmas … and ham if possible.

  43. John Avatar
    John

    David December 22, 2017 at 7:29 PM #
    Dear John
    Did you make that call to Hanshell to confirm that hams are not sole on consignment in Barbados which makes your point moot i.e. the retailer probably sent back the hams to the wholesaler?
    ++++++++++++++++++++

    Ham is not perishable if frozen.

    Your basic premise is flawed.

    Hams used to be given as gifts by businesses to their larger customers, still happens but perhaps not as much.

    Sometimes there were too many to eat in one Christmas and what were not used were frozen for the following year or given to other family households or close friends.

    I remember the saying at Christmas family lunches “this is last year’s ham”!!

    I hear there is pork and chicken tomorrow and am looking forward to it and if there is ham, I will enjoy and count my blessings.

    I can’t cook so I bringing a bottle or two!!

    I will always think of persons who are less fortunate than myself!!

    Close family ties are a treasure.

    They can evaporate in a flash, meat and drink will probably always be available.

  44. David Avatar
    David

    Dear John, the debate is whether hams are sold on consignment in Barbados, the answer is NO!

  45. John Avatar
    John

    The ones that did not sell this Christmas are back in the freezer till next year … maybe they are last years stock!!!

    The question is, whose freezer, the retailers’ or the suppliers’?

  46. David Avatar
    David

    @John

    If the hams were not sold on consignment whose freezers?

Older Comments
1 2 3

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading