Listing description
Allspice, also called Jamaica
pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta,[2] Turkish yenibahar, or newspice, is the dried unripe fruit (berries, used as a spice) of Pimenta dioica, a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the
world.[3] The name "allspice" was coined as
early as 1621 by the English, who thought it combined the flavour of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Detailed description
Several unrelated fragrant
shrubs are called "Carolina allspice" (Calycanthus floridus),
"Japanese allspice" (Chimonanthus praecox),
or "wild allspice" (Lindera benzoin). "Allspice" is
also sometimes used to refer to the herb costmary (Tanacetum balsamita).
Preparation/form
Allspice is the dried fruit of the P. dioica plant. The fruits are picked when green
and unripe and are traditionally dried in the sun. When dry, they are brown and
resemble large, brown, smooth peppercorns. The
whole fruits have a longer shelf life than the powdered product, and produce a
more aromatic product when freshly ground before use.
Fresh leaves are used where available. They are similar in
texture to bay
leaves, thus are infused during cooking and then removed before
serving. Unlike bay leaves, they lose much flavor when dried and stored, so do
not figure in commerce. The leaves and wood are often used for smoking meats
where allspice is a local crop. Allspice can also be found in essential
oil form.
Uses
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 moles, 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 flavour a variety of stews and meat dishes. In Palestinian cuisine, for example, many main dishes
call for allspice as the sole spice added for flavouring. In the U.S., it is
used mostly in desserts, but
it is also responsible for giving Cincinnati-style
chili its
distinctive aroma and flavor. Allspice is commonly used in Great Britain, and
appears in many dishes, including cakes. Even
in many countries where allspice is not very popular in the household, as in
Germany, it is used in large amounts by commercial sausage makers. In the West
Indies, an allspice liqueur called "pimento dram"[2] is produced.
Allspice has also been used as a deodorant.
Volatile oils found in the plant contain eugenol, a weak antimicrobial agent.[5]
Cultivation[
The allspice tree, classified as an evergreen shrub, can reach
10–18 m (33–59 ft) in height. Allspice can be a small, scrubby tree,
quite similar to the bay laurel in size and form. It can also be a tall, canopy
tree, sometimes grown to provide shade for coffee trees planted underneath it.
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. It adapts well to container culture and can be kept as a houseplant or in a greenhouse.
To protect the pimenta trade, the plant was guarded against
export from Jamaica. Many attempts at growing the pimenta from seeds were
reported, but all failed. At one time, the plant was thought to grow nowhere
except in Jamaica, where the plant was readily spread by birds. Experiments
were then performed using the constituents of bird droppings; however, these
were also totally unsuccessful. Eventually, passage through the avian gut, whether due to the acidity or the
elevated temperature, was found to be essential for germinating the seeds. Today, pimenta is spread by
birds in Tonga and Hawaii, where
it has become naturalized on Kauaʻi and Maui.
$210/KG OR
$95.45/IB
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