Origin: Quatemala. Alternative names: Pimento, Jamaican pepper
Description: Allspice is the dried berry of a tropical evergreen tree of the myrtle family, native to the West Indies and Central America. The berries have a warm pungent flavour similar to a mixture of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon (hence the name Allspice!).
History: Christopher Columbus discovered allspice in the Caribbean. Although he was seeking pepper, he had never actually seen real pepper and he thought allspice was it. He brought it back to Spain, where it got the name "pimienta," which is Spanish for pepper (not to be confused with Pimenton, the Spanish Smoked Paprika) and indeed, its Anglicised name, "pimento", is occasionally used in the spice trade today. Before World War II, allspice was more widely used than it is today, but during the war, many trees producing allspice were cut, and production never fully recovered.
Use: Allspice is widely used in American and Caribbean cuisine, being added to both savoury and sweet dishes, and commonly used in meat gravies, ketchups, pickling mixes, pies, cakes, cookies, relishes, and preserves. This is an <a href=
