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Allspice (Pimenta dioica [L.] Mer.)

Synonyms

botanicalPimenta officinalis Lindl., Pimenta officinalis Berg
pharmaceuticalFructus Amomi, Fructus Pimentae
Arabicتوابل حاوة, فلفل إفرنجي حلو, بهار حلو, فلفل تابل, فلفل مكسيك
فُلْفُل إفْرَنْجِيّ حَلو, تَوَابِل حَلوة, فُلْفُل تابِل, فُلْفُل مِكْسِيك, بَهَار حَلُو
Bhar hub wa na'im, Tawabil halua, Fulful ifranji halu, Bahar halu, Fulful tabil; Fulful mexik (Algeria)
ArmenianԴարապղպեղ
Tarabghbegh, Darapghpegh
BasqueJamaikako piperbeltz
BelarusianАнгельскае зелле, Духмяны перац
Angeĺskaje zeĺĺie, Dukhmyany perac
Bengaliকাবাব চিনি
Kabab chini
BulgarianБахар
Bahar
Chinese
(Cantonese)
多香果 [dō hēung gwó], 玉桂子 [yúk gwai jí], 甘椒 [gàm jiù]
Do heung gwo, Yuk gwai ji, Gam jiu
Chinese
(Mandarin)
多香果 [duō xiāng guǒ], 玉桂子 [yù guì zǐ], 百味胡椒 [bǎi wèi hú jiāo], 甘椒 [gān jiāo]
Duo xiang guo, Yu gui zi, Bai wei hu jiao, Gam jiao
CroatianPiment
CzechJamajský pepř, Nové koření, Pimentovník pravý, Hřebíčkový pepř
DanishAllehånde
DutchJamaica peper, Piment
EnglishJamaica pepper, Myrtle pepper, Pimento, Newspice
EsperantoPimento
EstonianHarilik pimendipuu, Vürts, Piment
FinnishMaustepippuri
FrenchPiment, Piment Jamaïque, Poivre aromatique, Toute-épice, Poivre de la Jamaïque
GalicianPementa de Xamaica
Georgianბაჰარი, დუშისტი
Bahari, Dushisti
GermanPiment, Neugewürz, Allgewürz, Nelkenpfeffer, Jamaicapfeffer, Englisches Gewürz†, Wunderpfeffer†
GreekΜπαχάρι, Αρωματοπέπερι, Πιπέρι Ιαμαϊκής, Πιμέντα, Πιμέντο, Ινδοπιπέρι, Γαρυφαλοπίπερο; Δάφνη καραϊβικης (Pimenta racemosa)
Bahari, Aromatopeperi, Piperi Iamaïkis, Pimenta, Pimento, Indopiperi, Garyfalopipero; Dafni karaïvikis (Pimenta racemosa)
Hebrewפלפל אנגלי
פִּלְפֵּל אַנגְלִי, פִּלפֵּל אַנגְלִי
Pilpel angli
Hindiकॅबाब चीनी
Kebab chini
HungarianJamaikai szegfűbors, Szegfűbors, Pimento, Amomummag
IcelandicAllrahanda
ItalianPimento, Pepe di Giamaica
Japaneseヒャクミコショウ, オールスパイス
Hyakumi-koshō, Hyakumikosho, Orusupaisu
Kannadaಗಂಧ, ಕಂಕೋಳ
Gandha, Kankola
Korean올스파이스
Olsupaisu
KroatischPiment
LatvianJamaikas pipari, Piments, Smaržīgie pipari, Virces
LithuanianPimenta, Kekinis pimentas, Vaisiai pimentas
MacedonianСилен зачин
Silen zočin
Malayalamസർവ്വസുഗന്ധി, സര്‍വ്വസുഗന്ധി
Sarvva sugandhi
MongolianЛиш цэцгийн чинжүү
Lish tsetsgijn chinzhüü
Nepaliबत्तिस मसला
Battis masala
NorwegianAllehånde
PolishKorzennik lekarski, Ziele angielskie
PortuguesePimenta-da-jamaica, Pimenta síria (Brazil)
RomanianIenibahar, Piper de Jamaica
RussianПимента двудомная, Перец душистый, Перец гвоздичный, Ямайский перец
Perets dushistyj, Perets gvozdichnyj, Pimenta dvudomnaya, Yamajskij perets
SerbianПимент
Piment
SlovakNové korenie
SlovenianPiment
SpanishPimienta de Jamaica, Pimienta gorda; Pimienta dulce, Guayabita (South America)
SrananLontai
SwedishKryddpeppar
Tamilபிரியாணி இலை, பரின்ஜீ இலை
Piriyani ilai, Parinji Ilai
Thaiออลสไปซ์
Olspai
TurkishYenibahar, Jamaika biberi
UkrainianГвоздичний перець, Пімент
Gvozdychnyj perets, Piment
VietnameseHạt tiêu Jamaica
Hat tieu Jamaica
Yiddishענגליש געװירץ, ענגלישער פֿעפֿער, פּימענט
English gevirts, Englisher fefer, Piment
Pimenta dioica: Unripe allspice berries
Unripe allspice fruits
Pimenta dioica/officinalis: Dried allspice fruits
Dried allspice fruits
Used plant part

Fruits, harvested unripe and dried.

In the countries of origin (of culti­vation) the fresh or dried leaves are also much used for cooking or smoking meat. These leaves are occasionally called West Indian bay-leaf, but other sources reserve that name to the closely related species P. racemosa. The Mediterranean bay leaves are an inappropriate substitute.
The essential oil from the leaves (sometimes called West Indian Bay Oil) is of importance in the industrial production of sausages.

Plant family

Myrtaceae (myrtle family).

Pimenta dioica/officinalis: Allspice flowers
Allspice flowers

www.botany.hawaii.edu   © Gerald Carr

Sensory quality

Dried allspice fruits are powerfully aromatic, like cloves with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg; the taste is similar, but with some peppery heat. In the leaves, the clove flavour is somewhat reduced, and nutmeg or cinnamom become the dominant fragrance impressions.

Main constituents

The fruits contain 2 to 5% essential oil (the exact content depends much on the time of harvest). As main components, eugenol, eugenol methyl ether, and terpenes (myrcene, 1,8-cineol and α-phellandrene) have been reported.

In allspice fruits from Jamaica, eugenol (65% to 90%) is the main constituent; methyl eugenol is found in minor (10%) and myrcene in trace amounts (1%). Allspice from México is dominated by methyl eugenol (50 to 60%) with smaller amounts of myrcene (15%) and eugenol (10%).

The leaves contain less essential oil, but the content is high enough to make distillation profitable. In composition, it is similar to the essential oil from the fruits.

Origin

Jamaica, which is also the main exporter. Several other Central American states (e.g, México, Hon­duras) produce this spice, but their quality is con­sidered inferior. The fruits of P. racemosa, a closely related species, are some­times used to adulterate allspice.

Etymology

Allspice became known in Europe long after it was first discovered by an expedition of Columbus; because of the shape (similar to pepper corns), the new grains were termed pepper (whether by mistake or to gain more publicity I do not know). Still, they are called pepper in many languages, mostly with an attribute indicating their Caribbean origin or their aromatic scent. Examples for the former include Maghreb Arabic fulful mixik [فلفل مكسيك] Mexican pepper, Greek piperi Iamaïkis [πιπέρι Ιαμαϊκής], Basque Jamaikako piperbeltz and Russian Yamajskiy perets [Ямайский перец] Jamaica pepper; names of the latter type are represented by Swedish kryddpeppar condiment pepper, Latvian smaržīgie pipari flavour pepper, French poivre aromatique aromatic pepper and Arabic fulful tabil [فلفل تابل] spicy pepper. A related group of names is German Nelkenpfeffer, Russian perets gvozdichnyj [перец гвоздичный] Hungarian szegfűbors and Czech hřebíčkový pepř, all of which mean clove pepper. See long pepper for the derivation of the name pepper.

Pimenta dioica: Pipening allspice berries
Pipening allspice fruits
Pimenta dioica: Fading allspice flowers
Allspice flowers

Some languages have names for all­spice meaning sweet pepper, e. g., South Ameri­can Spanish pimienta dulce; cf. also Arabic filfil ifranji halu [فلفل إفرنجي حلو] sweet European pepper and Chinese gan jiao [甘椒] sweet Sichuan pepper. Such names, how­ever, can be easily con­fused with similar de­signa­tions refer­ring to paprika; Chinese is particularly con­fusing because paprika is called tian jiao [甜椒] which also means sweet Sichuan pepper.

In some languages, allspice is termed English spice (German englisches Gewürz or Yiddish english gewirts [ענגליש געװירץ]), English herb (Polish ziele angielskie, Belarusian angeĺskae zelle [ангельскае зелле]) or English pepper (Hebrew pilpel angli [פלפל אנגלי]). These names are motivated by the British colonial possessions in Jamaica, which enabled British vendors to supply allspice almost exclusively to European customers; moreover, allspice was (and is) quite popular in British cooking.

Pimenta racemosa: Allspice-related fruits
Immature fruits of Pimenta racemosa

German Neu­gewürz and Czech nové koření newspice, too, refer to allspice’s origin from the New World (or, alter­natively, to the late point in history when it became known in the West). The same meaning has Turkish yeni­bahar (yeni new and bahar spice), which was also adopted by Romanian (enibahar) during the period of the Ottoman Turk Empire. Cf. also Bulgarian bakhar [бахар] and Greek bahari [μπαχάρι]. The original Arabic word, bahar [بهار] spice, is rarely used in the meaning allspice.

Lastly, English allspice and similar formations in other languages (German Allgewürz, French toute-épice and Chinese bi wei hu jiao [百味胡椒] hundred flavour pepper) reflect the complex aroma of this spice. Loanwords modelled on English allspice appear in some Asian languages, e. g., Thai olspais [ออลสไปซ์], Korean olsupaisu [올스파이스] and Japanese orusupaisu [オールスパイス].

The genus name Pimenta comes from Spanish pimienta for black pepper; it has a confusing history. In Late Latin, the word pigmentum dye (from Proto-Indo–European PEIG to color) took a new, additional meaning, spice, condiment. The Iberic languages, then, formed their word for pepper not from Latin piper pepper, but from said pigmentum: Spanish pimienta, Portuguese pimenta (in Catalan language, however, pebre pepper has been conserved regionally). Since allspice was initially also termed pimienta by the Spaniards, who alone imported the spice to 16.th century Europe, the name was, together with the spice, introduced into many European languages, e. g., Ukrainian piment [пімент] allspice.

Contemporary Spanish has the name in two versions: The feminine form pimienta denotes pepper and the masculine pimiento is paprika, perhaps because it is the stronger spice. However, derived names for other spices always use pimienta, for example pimienta picante hot pepper meaning chile. Allspice is called pimienta dulce sweet pepper, which must not be confused with pimiento dulce, for the latter is a sweet paprika powder.

The genus name dioica (Greek di- from dyo [δύο] two, oikos [ὀῖκος] house) indicates that there male and female flowers grow on different plants; botanists call such plants dioecious. Allspice, however, is not a perfext example of a dioecious plant, because male trees may bear a small number of hermaphrodic flowers which develop into fruits (polygamo-dioecious).

Selected Links

Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Piment (rezkonv.de via archive.org) A Pinch of Allspice (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Allspice Medical Spice Exhibit: Allspice (via archive.org) (via archive.org) Transport Information Service: Allspice Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk: Bay Rum Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk: Allspice Floridata.com: Allspice Rezept von goccus.com: Jerk-Paste homecooking.about.com: Jerk Foods of Jamaica Klara Majoros’ Incredibly Good Jerk Paste Recipe (www.geocities.com via web.archive.org) Recipe: Jamaican Jerk Chicken (dianaskitchen.com) Recipe: Jamaican Jerk Marinade (bratwurstpages.com) Recipe: Ukrainian borscht [борщ] (bigoven.com)


Pimenta dioica/officinalis: Allspice branch
Allspice branch

www.csdl.tamu.edu

In Caribbean cuisine, allspice with its pleasing clove-like aroma is the most important spice and used extensively. Meat is often stuffed with allspice leaves and barbecued over a fire of allspice wood, similar to the use of myrtle around the Mediterranean Sea.

Jamaica is known for its fiery jerk pastes, which are commonly used to marinate pork or chicken before barbecuing. Jerk is made mostly of onions and local chile cultivars of unmatched heat and pungency. The paste derives is characteristic taste from allspice berries, furthermore allspice or cinnamon leaves, garlic, fresh thyme, black pepper and vinegar or lime juice; the recipe is variable and may include further seasonings like orange juice, coriander leaves, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Authenticity is increased by adding dry allspice branches to the firewood.

Allspice is also grown in México, albeit in lesser quality. It is used there for the famous mole sauces of Central México (see paprika) and often also for the recados of Yucatán (see annatto).

In Europe, England consumes most of it. The British like it for stews and sauces and for flavouring pickled vegetables (together with white mustard seeds). Allspice is also quite popular in the US, where cooks use it for quite similar purposes.

On the European continent, allspice is less appreciated; it is, however, contained in commercial spice mixtures for sausages and much loved by Scandinavians for fine meat pastries, as are used in the Danish specialty smørrebrød (white bread topped with a selection of sausages, pastries, fish, cheese and vegetables). Other spices popular in Scandinavia are dill and cardamom seeds.

Allspice berries sometimes show up in the somewhat antiquated French spice mixture quatre épices (see nutmeg). Somehow, it also made its way to Eastern Europe, where it leaves a fingerprint flavour on some particular dishes, e. g., the Ukrainian hotpot soup borshch or borshtsh [борщ]. This is a strong broth made from several meat types and bones, served with the meats used to prepare at an vegetables, typically cabbage. Borshch became popular already in Tsarist Russia, and spread all over the Russian (and Sowiet) sphere of influence; today, it is also eaten in the splinter states of the USSR.

Pimenta dioica: Allspice foliage
Allspice, sterile branch

It is inter­esting to note that allspice has not been accepted by Asian cooks, although its occurrence in curry powder is sometimes claimed (see curry leaves) and it is quite well-known in South Eastern Europe and the Eastern Medi­terranean (Greece, Turkey, Syria), but not further East. The pungent–aromatic quality of allspice is, however, much in line with Arabic cooking style; it is rather surprising that allspice is not called for in Central Asian or Indian mutton dishes. I guess this is not a matter of taste but of availability, since allspice is nowhere grown in Asia to a significant extent.

While allpice fruits are also (in general) absent from India, allspice leaves have become a popular flavouring in the spice producing parts of South India, namely the Western Ghats. They are used for South Indian adaptions of Mughal foods, particularly biryani (see cardamom); in that, they replace the Northern Indian Bay-leaves which have remotely similar flavour. Many cooks are, in fact, not aware that these are two different spices.

The only cuisine of the Old World using allspice lies in East Africa: The Ethiopian spice mixture berbere (see long pepper) indeed contains allspice, which is grown on Réunion Island not far away.



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