The pâté is made with smoked red herring (although other fish such as mackerel and shad are also sometimes used) and is minced and spiced with chili peppers and seasonings. The dish appears on the menus of Jamaican restaurants and resorts. It is also sold as a packaged food for export.
The term may come from the British word salmagundi, used to refer to a salad of many different ingredients. That term is originally from the French word salmigondis, which refers to a disparate assembly of things, ideas, or people forming an incoherent whole (a hodgepodge).