A spiced bun is a sweet bun to which

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s were added during the baking process. Common examples are the hot cross bun and the

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n spiced bun.

Common spices

Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s used in the preparation of spiced buns include: *

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

* mace *

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

allspice Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm par ...

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

* mixed spice - a non-standardised mixture of spices used in the preparation of many spicy foods.

Types

Many local forms of the ''spiced bun'' exist, an example of which is the Cornish saffron bun. The hot cross bun is probably the most well-known manifestation of the spiced bun, and a great tradition has grown up around it in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Hot cross buns are traditionally baked on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

, although they can often be purchased at other times of year. In Australia and New Zealand, the Boston bun is a larger variety of the spiced bun, topped with coconut icing. The Jamaican spiced bun is shaped like a loaf of

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

and is a dark brown colour. It is commonly eaten with

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

and is also eaten with

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

or alone with a glass of milk. It is also popular in other Caribbean nations. Bon bread, also called pambón or black bread, is a traditional bread from the Afro-Anglo-Saxon Caribbean, typical of the Caribbean coast of

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, and the Colombian archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia. It is a dark spiced bread, derived from gingerbread of English origin. Bread bon derives from bun, a type of English bun characterized by its dark color, due to the addition of ginger. The origin of this bread can be traced back to the Middle Ages. During Elizabethan times, buns made with spices and eggs were cooked, to which, during Lent, raisins and corintas were added. After the Lutheran Reformation, this bread was consumed on Good Friday, with the custom of marking it with a cross before putting it in the oven, as a way to ward off evil spirits. In the 17th century, it became popular as a breakfast. The English

gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...

recipe was learned by African slaves when they were brought by the British to the West Indies. In the Caribbean islands, ginger was replaced by sugar cane molasses, due to the abundance of sugar plantations. This molasses is what gives it the dark color.

References

{{reflist Buns

Common spices

Types

See also

References