Whats the difference between Jamaican Dumpling and Jamaican Johnnycake?!

Yes, I have tried and loved them.

The first major difference is that dumplings can be boiled or fried and johnny cakes are always fried. (I will note that I have seen a healthier recipe where the johnny cakes are baked but if you ask me, that’s just cornbread.)

Boiled Dumplings – Base ingredient is flour. To boil, they are just dropped in soup like red peas soup. Similar to the texture of dumpling in chicken and dumplings. If they are not round but long and thin (rolled with your hands) then they are called spinners.

Fried Dumplings – Base ingredient is flour. Popular at any meal but a favorite with saltfish for breakfast. Similar to a baked biscuit with enough butter on it to make it a bit crisp on the outside.

Johnny Cakes – Base ingredients are usually flour and corn meal. Some only use flour in which case they are no different from fried dumplings. Some also include sugar but generally that is considered festival. Always fried

Festival – Base ingredients are flour, corn meal, and sugar. Always fried. Similar to Jiffy cornmeal mix or hoe cakes from the southern U.S.

Since I had so much to say about the descriptions, I’m just going to include a few links to where you can find recipes:

http://www.jamaican-recipes.com/Jamaican…
http://www.real-jamaica-vacations.com/ja…
http://www.doctorsreview.com/recipes/jam…

They are similar in some ways but not in other, dumpling either boiled or fried are made with white flour, shortening, leavening, water and rolled out long like a hot dog bun or round, Johnnycake's are made with a mix of cornmeal and white flour, shortening or margarine, leavening and are either baked or deep fried, both are staple sides at all meals, it depends on the cook, I am a former chef from Canada, I worked in Jamaica in the 1980's at a resort, and here in Toronto Canada we have a large Jamaican population and I eat Jamaican food at least once a week, from breakfast to dinner, I buy products at local Jamaican store, sometimes I will pick up a few, both come in a mix to make at home, but I shy away from alot of fried foods, plus I am on a low carb diet now, I cannot even have boiled plantains with my Ackee and Saltfish anymore.