Bun & Cheese: A (Delicious) Jamaican Tradition

I asked my kids what they thought of whenever they bit into a piece a bun and cheese. One kid said to me that it made her think of rainbows... The other kid said that it made him happy. Then they started talking to each other and apparently bun and cheese makes them happy because it makes them think about rainbows and rainbows make them happy. Kid logic…

I recently watched a video where they were talking about bun and cheese (among other snack items). One of the commentators put forwards a sentiment that I totally agreed with; bun and cheese was "a warm hug of a snack." Now that I'm thinking about it, I can see where the kids came by their rainbow-happiness comparison.

Bun and cheese has a history steeped in the colonialism of Jamaica but for us kids, it was always about that snack that could both fill you up and feel like dessert at the same time. Whether at lunchtime or after school, you could always buy bun and cheese because it was both quick and cheap. The shopkeeper would just cut open a round bun right there in the plastic, slip in a thick slice of tin cheese, and send you on your way. If you were at home you probably had a loaf of bun that you would slice so that you could put the cheese in between. Which ever way you decided to eat it though, it always tasted so much better when you squeezed it down to flatten it. I never figured out what made it taste so much better when you made it dense, but it was always just so good.

If you're in an area with a significant Jamaican population, you might find that as we go into the Easter season, Easter bun is now on sale. Regular bun and cheese is available year-round, but nothing and we mean absolutely nothing compares to Easter bun. It could be the extra fruit in the Easter bun or maybe the fancy packaging, but whatever the reason, Easter bun was always worth the wait. Seeing as I just rushed into the store to buy some, trust me on this.
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Walk good until next time,
Bobbi

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