Pepperpot

Everything about pepperpot depends on cassareep, a thick, almost black syrup made by boiling down the juice squeezed from grated bitter cassava. Raw bitter cassava is poisonous; long boiling makes the juice safe and concentrates it into a sticky, bittersweet liquid with a deep, smoky flavour.

The technique comes from the Indigenous peoples of Guyana and the surrounding region, who processed cassava into bread, drinks and preserving liquids long before European colonisation. Cassareep also has a preservative effect, which is part of what made pepperpot practical in a hot climate.

Into the cassareep go meats that reward long cooking — beef, pork or mutton, often with cow heel or oxtail for their gelatine — together with cinnamon, cloves, a little sugar, garlic, thyme and wiri wiri, a small, round and very hot Guyanese pepper.

Pepperpot is regarded as Guyana's national dish and is above all a Christmas food. Many families start it on Christmas Eve so it is ready for breakfast on Christmas morning, eaten with thick slices of soft plaited bread to soak up the sauce.

The pot is traditionally reheated every day rather than refrigerated, and the stew is said to improve each time as the sauce thickens and darkens. Stories are told of pots kept going for days or even weeks over the holidays. Although it began with Indigenous communities, it is now shared by Guyanese of every background.

The name causes confusion. Antigua and Barbuda has a pepperpot that is a thick vegetable-and-meat stew, and Jamaica's pepperpot is a soup of leafy greens. Neither uses cassareep, which is the Guyanese signature.

In the game, remember that Guyana sits on the mainland of South America, on the Atlantic coast, not on a Caribbean island. Guesses in Suriname, Venezuela or Trinidad and Tobago will land close.