Allspice, also known as pimento, is a spice made from the dry unripe berry of the allspice plant. It is used in both sweet and savory dishes, including pumpkin pie and Jamaican jerk, and is rated a four out of ten on the spicy heat scale.
A spice is made from leaves, seeds or other parts of plants used to flavor food or as a condiment. The name comes from the late Latin word specie, meaning “articles” or “spices”. Spices are sometimes classified by their cultural connection, such as Italian spice or Cajun spice. Some herbs are also considered spices, but not all spices are herbs.
History. Also called “allspice,” allspice is the dry unripe berry of the allspice plant, an evergreen native to Central America, Mexico, South America, and the West Indies. In the days before refrigeration, buccaneers used allspice to cure meat. The famous Benedictine liqueur, created during the Renaissance in the abbey of Fécamp, contains 27 spice plants, one of which is said to be allspice. Pimento is also one of the terms used to describe the character of the wine.
Description. Pimenta officinalis and Pimenta dioica are the two most common varieties of the plant from which allspice comes, and both belong to the Myrtaceae family. The plant grows up to 40 feet (12 meters) tall. Small white flowers bloom from June to August. The flavor of pimento has led to its name – it is said to taste like a combination of cloves, juniper, cinnamon and pepper or some other range of pungent spices. It is rated as a four out of ten on a spicy heat scale.
Food and other uses. Allspice can often be thought of as a baking spice, used in cookies, cakes, pudding and – perhaps most famously – as part of the hot mix used to flavor pumpkin pie. Allspice is also used in sweet and warm drinks, such as hot apple cider and eggnog. It also finds a place in wassail and the drink called Tom & Jerry, where it is part of a spice combination that also includes mace, cloves and nutmeg.
Allspice also has a place in savory dishes. Allspice is used for pickling, including pickled beets, cucumbers, eggs and corned beef. The Jamaican jerk also has allspice as one of its key ingredients. The spice is also used in North African and Arabian stews.
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