Flavor ProfileThe British often called it “allspice” because the flavor or aroma of this spice gives hints of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and juniper berries.
Grinding AllSpiceAllspice is predominantly sold in its ground form. However, like all spices, it retains its flavor better if you buy it whole and blend it as required for the recipe. Lightly toast the berries to activate their essential oils. Once cooled, you can then powder them using a mortar and pestle, or a spice blender.
Culinary Uses• Both whole and ground allspice are staples in the culinary history of the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, the Middle East, and, perhaps surprisingly, Germany and Western Europe.
• Allspice is also used in herbal medicine as an antioxidant, digestive, and purgative.
• Its essential oils are used in perfumes, soaps, and as a deodorant.
• Allspice is mainly used for sweets and baking, particularly cakes, cookies, and some pieces of bread.
• You can also use it in savory cooking, particularly in flavoring sausages and chilis.
• Allspice is one of the primary ingredients in Jamaican jerk seasoning. The wood from the tree is used as a smoking wood for traditional Jamaican jerk dishes.
• It’s an essential ingredient in pickling and is also occasionally used in the popular Mexican dish called mole.
• In Middle Eastern cuisine, allspice is used as a flavoring for meat stews. It’s also part of the very popular spice mix in the Levant, baharat, which is used in many dishes, including as a spice rub, marinade, and a flavoring in some pilafs.
• Allspice is also an ingredient in alcoholic drinks, particularly in mulled drinks and in liqueurs, including the popular Benedictine and Chartreuse. Allspice is a traditional flavoring in the French Canadian dish tourtière.
• The leaves of all the spice pimenta plant are also used similar to bay leaves, to infuse flavor into dishes.
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