Sweet Jamaican pepper (lat. Pimenta officinalis Lind) aka piment (Spanish pimienta), English, allspice or allspice is a unique spice that combines the aromas of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper. Spice Pepper Fragrant Jamaican (lat. Pimenta officinalis Lind) are the berries of the evergreen Pimienta tree, originating from the islands of the Caribbean and tropical America. Not related to black pepper.
Pimienta reaches a height of 20 meters, its leaves are entire, elongated with veins. It bears fruit only for 7-8 years. It likes a humid tropical climate and is picky about the soil. It blooms with small white flowers, from which, when cross-pollinated, small berries grow, first green, then red berries. Inside the fruit, there are usually 3 chambers in which the seeds are located.
To get a high quality spice, the berries are picked green, dried in the sun or in special ovens until a wrinkled, hard black-brown crust is formed.
Allspice Jamaican contains 3.5 – 4% of the essential pimient oil, which contains eugenol, cineole, caryophyllene, phellandron. There are resins, tannins, vitamins and minerals.
Allspice is grown on special plantations in countries with a hot subtropical climate. It did not take root well in new regions, so the traditional producers of Jamaican pepper are Jamaica (the best quality spice), Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and India.
Allspice also includes: Japanese pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum D.C.), of the rue family; “grain of paradise”, or malagetta (Amomum Meleguetta Rosc.), belonging to the ginger family, lemon allspice (Pimenta racemosa Bay Rum or West Indian Bay Tree), etc. Allspice Jamaican pepper is a popular spice that gives dishes a special flavor and can change taste, adding notes of sharpness, astringency, sweetness, spices.
Jamaican pepper is a commonly used spice in canning, pickling, and salting. Jamaican pepper is used for smoking, frying and stewing meat, poultry, game, fish, offal, mushrooms. Allspice is added in ground form to pates, sausages, cheeses, spicy herring, canned fish and seafood, aspics, goulash, sauces, marinades. Great in many soups and broths. Side dishes and salads can also be seasoned with this spice. Allspice Jamaican pepper is used in pastries, desserts, jams, preserves, liqueurs, rums, tinctures. This spice is great for warmed wines – an essential ingredient in mulled wines and grogs, as well as sbitney. Sweet peas of Jamaican pepper will decorate tea, cocoa and coffee.
In the homeland of allspice – Jamaica, in addition to peas, fresh leaves and branches of the myrtle tree are also used for cooking or smoking meat. In Caribbean cuisine, allspice, with its pleasant aroma, is the main spice and is used in most dishes. As well as in England, which is one of the consumers of Jamaican pepper, and whose cuisine contains a variety of recipes with allspice. Allspice is also popular in the US for making apple and pumpkin pies.
Jamaican pepper goes well with many spices: mustard, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise, chili, garlic, thyme, coriander, rosemary, bay leaf … Jamaican pepper is included in many mixtures of spices: curry, Hamburg, Frankfurt, bolognese, used in Ethiopia as part of a berebere mixture.
Since allspice is often used whole, it is added to dishes long before the end of cooking. Peas of allspice love hermetically sealed glassware, it is better not to store it in ground form for a long time, but to use it freshly ground if required.
Allspice Jamaican pepper is very popular in perfumery, cosmetology.
Fragrant Jamaican pepper contains various substances, thanks to which it improves metabolism, relieves bloating, and has an antiseptic effect.