“Dried allspice berries” by Jonathunder
Allspice (one word, not ‘All Spice’) is a superb spice to use in savory cooking. Allspice is made from the dried pimenta fruit of the evergreen myrtle plant Pimenta Dioica. The pimenta tree is native to the West Indies, Southern Mexico and Central America, but from what I understand is mainly cultivated in Jamaica and, therefore, has the alternate name Jamaica pepper.
The allspice berries are cultivated before they ripen and are dried in the sun, causing them to turn brown. If you’ve seen them whole on the store spice racks, you’ll notice they look a lot like peppercorns (see allspice picture below)—although it’s typically sold as ground allspice. I think the best way to describe the taste is as a mixture of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon (in fact, that’s what I thought ground allspice was at first).
The uses of the allspice seasoning are quite broad. Perhaps some of the more common dishes that use allspice are pumpkin pies, desserts, cookies, sausage entrées, hams, and smoked meats. Allspice is also used when preparing pickles. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on dried allspice tree leaves, they can be used like bay leaves to flavor your stew or stock. Both the ground allspice and the allspice tree’s wood can be used to smoke jerk.If you don’t have any allspice at home (you should get some), you can also create a similar flavor by combining equal portions of cinnamon and ground cloves and then add a small amount of nutmeg. All these spices pack quite a punch, so I’d recommend starting with just a little bit of each—maybe ½ to 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon and ground cloves and just a pinch of nutmeg. I’ll post some allspice recipes in the near future.
(“Allspice” by David Wilkinson)
I never knew what allspice really was.now, now i do. THANK YOU GARY
Sure thing! Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the alternative recipe Chris 🙂
For sure! Cheers!
Thanku there the best for u i put it in my quinoa luv it
I’ll have to try that!
Mind. Blown.
Thanks for a well-written article Chris. My wife, of Vietnamese ethnicity, doesn’t much like pumpkin pie and tried a bite of mine to reconfirmed this. We were discussing the spices in this pie and realized that cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are all found in pho (famous Vietnamese soup), which led us to question what allspice was. Your article was helpful, but unfortunately your description of the taste led us back to square one! But thanks for the insights.
Pumpkin pie seems to be one of those things where people love it or hate it. If you want to extract the allspice flavor, you could steep some whole berries in some boiled water for 4-5 minutes. Allspice can be a tad more bitter than the spices that often pair with it. And Pho… Oh my gosh, I love it.
Thank you for sharing the ingredients allspice is difficult to find in stores it has to be ordered on the internet. I prefer local store. I have kidney dialysis I have a ridget diet I can only use certain spices.
Just a pinch will make some fresh mustard greens pop!
Awesome! Thanks for the tip 🙂
I thought this spice was a blend for years. Thanks for clearing this up. I could taste the cinnamon and nutmeg notes and never knew this was a real spice. It’s commonly used by Greeks to make stews and is used in Cincinnati Chile.
I remember my Mother using Allspice years ago, but I could not remember which wonderful meal she put the Allspice in. Thank you for the information.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you’ve found it helpful. Happy cooking 🙂