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A Jamaican patty is a semicircular pastry that contains various Stuffing and spices baked inside a flaky shell, often tinted golden yellow with an egg yolk mixture or turmeric. It is a type of turnover, and is formed by folding the circular dough cutout over the chosen filling, but is savoury and filled with ground meat.
As its name suggests, it is commonly found in Jamaica, and is also eaten in other areas of the Caribbean including the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. It is traditionally filled with seasoned ground beef, but other fillings include chicken, pork, lamb, goat, , shrimp, Lobster meat, fish, soy, ackee, callaloo, bacon or cheese. Jamaican patties are typically seasoned with onions, garlic, thyme, oregano and chili peppers, especially the Scotch bonnet pepper. In non-Jamaican-based restaurants, the composition may be extended to include low-fat, whole wheat crusts or the absence of chilies.
In Jamaica, the patty is often eaten as a full meal, especially when paired with coco bread. It can also be served as a snack or appetizer in bite-sized portions called cocktail patties.
In the 1960s, Chinese Jamaican families began baking and selling patties commercially in Jamaica, which led to the establishment of two major franchises—Tastee, founded by Vincent Chang OD in 1966, and Juici Patties, founded by Jukie Chin in 1978. These were followed by other Jamaican-owned franchises such as Mother's Enterprise Ltd., founded in 1981.
Jamaicans brought recipes for the patties northward in the 1960s and 1970s when many immigrated to the United States as hospital orderlies, home health aides and nurses. The patties were then found in restaurants in areas of the New York metropolitan area with high West Indies populations. The patties are equally popular in British cities with large West Indian populations, such as Birmingham, Manchester and London. Their popularity is spreading in the United Kingdom and they are becoming available in many mainstream outlets. They are also frequently seen in Toronto, Montreal, Miami, Washington, D.C., and other areas throughout the American northeast and Canadian Great Lakes regions; in many of those areas, they are available in grocery stores, delis, corner stores, and convenience stores.
In recent years, the Jamaican meat patty has been pre-made and frozen for mass sale in Britain, Canada, and the United States. As of 2024, Juici Patties has opened four restaurants in Florida. They have been manufacturing in Canada and the United Kingdom, and export to other places in the Caribbean.
In a Toronto Star column on February 22, 2012, columnist Royson James unofficially declared February 23 as the Jamaican Patty Day in Toronto. The "patty wars" controversy was the subject of a 2022 CBC Television documentary entitled Patty vs. Patty, featuring an interview with Michael Davidson, directed by Chris Strikes.
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