Allspice

About

A small berry from the Jamaican Bayberry tree, that is used to flavor food and drinks. As the name suggests, Allspice has a unique flavor that is most often described as a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. This spice is very versatile and can be used to make savory as well as sweet dishes.

Ground allspice is not a mixture of numerous spices, it is just from the one berry.

Popular dishes it is used in is in Jamaican jerk seasoning, mole sauces, curry powders, and barbecue sauces.

It is best to be stored in whole berry form like peppercorns as it loses much of it's flavor and aroma when ground. Freshly ground is best.

Information

Other names: Jamaica Pepper, Kurundu, Newspice, কাবাব চিনি, Myrtle Pepper, Pimenta Berry, कॅबाब चीनी

Translations: Sodo, Cuişoare englezeşti, Najgvirc, Ớt, Piment, Piment, Pimenta da Jamaica, Душистый перец, Αρωματοπιπέρι, فلفل افرنجي, 피망, Nové koření, Olspays, 多香果, Pebre de Jamaica, Piment, Nové korenie, Pepe di giamaica, פלפל אנגלי, Kryddpeppar, Најгвирц, オールスパイス, Quatre-épices, Piment, Allehånde, Pimienta de Jamaica, Запашний перець, Maustepippuri, Бахар

Physical Description

is a spice which is the dried unripe fruit ("berries") of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world

Colors: Blakish brown

Tasting Notes

Flavors: mixed spice flavour

Mouthfeel: Cool

Selecting and Buying

Procuring: Allspice is a small scrubby tree, quite similar to the Bay Laurel in size and form. It can be grown outdoors in the tropics and subtropics with normal garden soil and watering. Smaller plants can be killed by frost, although larger plants are more tolerant.The plant is dioecious, meaning plants are either male or female and hence male and female plants must be kept in proximity in order to allow fruits to develop

Preparation and Use

The leaves of the allspice plant are also used in Island cooking. For cooking, fresh leaves are used where available: they are similar in texture to bay leaves and are thus infused during cooking and then removed before serving.

Conserving and Storing

When dry, the fruits are brown and resemble large brown peppercorns. The whole fruits have a longer shelf life than the powdered product and produce a more aromatic product when freshly ground before use.

Social/Political

Allspice is one of the most important ingredients of Caribbean cuisine. It is used in Caribbean jerk seasoning (the wood is used to smoke jerk in Jamaica, although the spice is a good substitute), in mole sauces, and in pickling; it is also an ingredient in commercial sausage preparations and curry powders. Allspice is also indispensable in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly in the Levant, where it is used to flavor a variety of stews and meat dishes.

History: The name "allspice" was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who thought it combined the flavour of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Several unrelated fragrant shrubs are called "Carolina allspice" (Calycanthus floridus), "Japanese allspice" (Chimonathus fragrans) or "Wild allspice" (Lindera benzoin). Allspice is also sometimes used to refer to the herb Costmary (Tanacetum balsamita).