← Nouns Cooking · Caribbean

Ingredients

• 1 mature brown coconut (about 300 g flesh), flesh cut into 5 mm dice
• 400 g dark brown sugar
• 5 cm piece Ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 500 ml Water
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 tsp Vegetable oil, for the tray

Method

1. Lightly oil a baking tray or line it with baking paper.
2. Put the diced coconut, ginger and water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 min, until the coconut softens slightly.
3. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon (if using) and salt. Cook over medium heat for 20–25 min, stirring often and more as it thickens, until the liquid becomes a thick, dark syrup that clings to the coconut and a drop of it sets on a cold plate.
4. Working quickly, drop heaped tablespoons onto the tray, pressing the clusters together.
5. Leave to cool and harden for 30 min. Store in an airtight tin.

Tips

• The syrup is extremely hot; keep children well away and do not taste it from the spoon.
• If the drops will not set, return them to the pan and cook a few minutes more.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Taste the Islands Jamaicans.com