Allspice

If you recall from this post, we did herb and spice reports in class awhile back (same disclaimer applies here).  Secretly I had hoped to be assigned an essential everyday herb like rosemary, thyme, basil or maybe even an exotic spice like saffron.  Instead, I was assigned allspice.

That's right.  Allspice.

I must admit, at first this news did not elicit much enthusiasm from me.  I had never cooked with allspice before and knew virtually nothing about it.  It conjured images of grandmothers and apple pies and... that's about it. (Admit it -- you're struggling as well).

Well, eventually I realized that there's much more to allspice than meets the "pie" -- get it?  And here is where my research took me...

First of all-- what the heck is allspice?  I used to think it was a blend of spices (you know, like Chinese five-spice).  So naive...  In reality, allspice is just one spice that's said to embody the flavors of several others, namely cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and a hint of pepper.

We're all used to seeing it in its pretty, processed, powdery form, but before being ground to bits, allspice is actually berries from a tree.  The berries are handpicked while still green and unripe (ripened berries apparently have no flavor) and then sun-dried until they take on a reddish brown color and rattle when shaken.

Random story -- in many other parts of the world, allspice is referred to as "pimento" meaning "pepper."  This is because the Spaniards who discovered allspice in the "New World" around the 16th century mistook the berries for black peppercorns (a very precious spice at that time).  As you can see, they do kind of look like peppercorns:

For some reason or another, allspice trees only flourish in tropical locales of the Western Hemisphere, most prominently in Jamaica where the best quality is said to grow.  Not surprisingly, it is an essential ingredient in Jamaican jerk seasoning.  (I made a slightly modified version of this Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe a few weeks ago and it was amazing!)

Other random facts:

• The Mayans used allspice to flavor chocolate.
• Early North Americans used allspice as a substitute for spices like cloves and pepper since trade with the "Old Country" was so expensive.
• Early pirates of the 1600s smoked their meat over burning allspice berries, eventually earning them the name buccaneers, from the French verb boucaner, meaning “to cure.” 
• Contact with the skin can result in a "warming" sensation.  As a result, Russian soldiers during the War of 1812 would slip allspice berries inside their boots to keep warm
• Allspice is a natural deodorizer (supposedly used in commercial deodorants like Old Spice) and often appears in potpourri mixes.
• Allspice can be used as a digestive aid (put some in boiling water for tea).
• Today it is used in commercial food products like pickles, sausages, and ketchup.
• Around the world, allspice is featured in Scandinavia's pickled herring, Mexico's mole sauce, Great Britain's Christmas cake, mulled wines, meat marinades, curries, stews, French liqueurs, and of course, American apple pies.

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