Allspice

© Copyright 2010. Do not copy. All rights reserved and enforced.
AllSpice

AllSpice
© Denzil Green

bullet point Clove Pepper bullet point Jamaica Pepper bullet point Myrtle Pepper bullet point Pimento bullet point Pimiento

Allspice tastes like a mixture of cloves, juniper berries, cinnamon and pepper -- thus its English name of "Allspice." But to be absolutely clear, it is a single spice, not a blended one.

The Allspice tree is an evergreen that grows about 30 feet (9 metres) high. In Jamaica, there are whole forests of this tree, letting Jamaica provide more than half of the world's supply. The berries are harvested while they are still unripe and green. During drying, the colour changes to a reddish-brown. They look like small peppercorns (pimiento meaning pepper), thus some of its other names: Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimiento, pimento and clove pepper. (Just what we needed: one more thing called pepper or pimento.)

You normally buy Allspice already ground, but you can buy it whole: most of the demand for it whole is in pickling and preserving.

Allspice is used a good deal in English speaking countries and in Scandinavia; it is less well-known and used in Europe, except for use by sausage makers there.

Substitutes for Allspice

1/2 ground cinnamon; 1/2 ground cloves

Equivalents for Allspice

1 oz ground Allspice = 4 1/2 tbsp

5 berries = 1 teaspoon of ground

History Notes for Allspice

Allspice was being used in London by 1601, and it was so popular in the American colonies before Independence that during the American Revolution, the Americans even had to seek out a substitute: the powered berries from a plant called "American Spice Bush" or "Benzoin".
Recipe Search

Also called:
Pimenta dioica (Scientific Name); Piment, Piment Jamaïque, Poivre aromatique, Poivre de la Jamaïque, Toute-épice (French); Allgewürz, Englisches Gewürz, Jamaicapfeffer, Nelkenpfeffer, Neugewürz, Piment (German); Pepe di Giamaica, Pimento (Italian); Pimienta de Jamaica, Pimienta gorda (Spanish)
Bookmark and Share