Gizzada

The memory begins here

The Little Tart the Portuguese Left Behind

Gizzada is Jamaica's love letter to the Portuguese influence that most people have forgotten. When Sephardic Jews and Portuguese settlers came to Jamaica in the 1500s and 1600s, they brought their pastry traditions — the tarts, the flaky dough shells, the idea of a sweetened filling cradled in crimped pastry. But what happened next was pure Jamaica: the European custard or fruit filling gave way to grated coconut cooked down with sugar, nutmeg, and ginger.

The word 'gizzada' likely derives from the Portuguese 'gizado', meaning 'prepared' or 'cooked'. Jamaica is one of the only places in the Caribbean where this particular pastry form survived — a direct link to Sephardic Jewish-Portuguese culinary traditions.