Posted: May 09, 2021 6:00 AM NT | Last Updated: May 9
The name Jiggs dinner is actually a long outdated pop culture reference, writes Ainsley Hawthorn.(Submitted by Dan O'Rourke)
Salt beef, cabbage, potato, carrot and turnip, all boiled together in a single pot. Jiggs dinner — sometimes spelled Jiggs', Jigg's or jig's dinner — is a beloved traditional meal across Newfoundland and Labrador, the province's version of comfort food.
But where did it get its strange name? Ask around and you'll turn up a mixed bag of answers.
Forum users at the proofreading website Pain in the English offered these suggestions:
"Traditional Jigg's dinner is derived from kitchen parties when we all got together for some great fun — this is usually what was served.… To do a 'jig' means to dance."