68 April 2015 - Business View Caribbean
company’s chairman and owner. “We added Jamaica
to it and it’s been pretty much more successful than
even when we had Country Choice. We’re considered a
real, authentic Jamaican company, and our reputation
is enhanced by the name.”
The Canco workforce is largely seasonal and veers
from 60 to 70 in the low season all the way to 250 in
the high season – about seven months a year – which
is when ackees are harvested and processed from ev-
ergreen trees that grow about 10 meters tall with a
short trunk and distinct, dense crown.
The flowers bloom during the warm months and the
fruit is pear-shaped, ripens from green to a yellowish
orange and weighs between three and seven ounces.
It resembles scrambled egg when boiled, is sautéd
with saltfish, onions and tomatoes and is sometimes
served with fried plantains.
It became a popular taste in Jamaica before later mak-
ing its way to Haiti, Cuba, Barbados and other Carib-
bean locales, then was introduced to the United States
through Florida.
In fact, ackee and saltfish was listed at No. 2 – trailing
only the U.S. hamburger – in a National Geographic
ranking of the top 10 national dishes around the world.
The survey was included in the book “Food Journeys of
a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the
Globe.”
Canco’s Seaforth factory comprises 14,000 square
feet, which shares space with a 4,000 square-foot
shelling hall and a ripening yard on a two-acre spread.
The ackees are brought in either from a network of
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