Also: clove pepper, grains of spice, new spice, English spice or Jamaica pepper.

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Description:

Allspice are the dried berries of the evergreen allspice or clove pepper tree from the genus of the Myriaceen (myrtle family), which can grow up to 10 m high. Allspice comes from South America and was brought to Europe by the companions of Christopher Columbus.

This berry-like, 5-7 mm large stone fruit is harvested half-ripe, still green, because it would lose its aroma when fully ripe (when it is red). They are then dried in the sun for about 7 to 10 days and then stripped of the stems. The color varies between dark brown and reddish-brown-yellow. They have a tiny, four-pointed calyx rim and inside each berry contains two compartments, each with a black-brown seed.

Harvest time

Just before the berries are fully ripe, in Jamaica from August to September.

Offer forms

The dried berries whole, crushed or ground.

ingredients

The fruits contain 2 to 5% essential oil. The main aroma components are eugenol and eugenol methyl ether, as well as terpenes and fatty oil.

Taste and smell

Allspice smells very characteristic of a combination of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon (the English name Allspice = all-spice suggests) and tastes like cloves with a slight pepper spiciness.

Cooking and kitchen use with typical dishes

Whole grains are pickled or cooked with them. Do not add the powder until the end of the cooking time.

Soups: oxtail soup, meat broths, bouillabaisse, legume and cabbage soups

Meat: Marinades for sauerbraten, game, roast pork, ragout, minced meat dishes, sausages, roast beef and ragouts, sour liver and kidney, roast mutton and ragouts.

Allspice powder for minced meat, meat loaf, liver dumplings, sausages, heart, tongue and kidney dishes, pie fillings, roast duck breast

Fish: fish marinades, pickled herrings and fried herring, cooked fish stock

Sauce: ketchup, roast and game sauce

Vegetables: pickled cucumbers, peppers, mixed pickles, kohlrabi, white cabbage, beetroot, carrots, white beans, lentils

Dessert / pastries: contained in the gingerbread spice mixture (“nine-variety spice”), honey, gingerbread, speculoos, plum compote, plum cake, cherry compote, in English plum pudding, apple and pear cake

Miscellaneous: The berries are used to extract an oil that is added to many liqueurs and herbal schnapps. "Jamaica dram" (national drink made from rum)

Use within dietetics

In the diet kitchen it can be used as a pepper substitute.

It stimulates the appetite and aids digestion.