From the Spice Road to the Art of Flavour

You have to feel for Allspice, a Caribbean Spice and native of Jamaica. It must be hard to be part of the brightness of so many recipes and seasonings but never making centre stage in the world of gastronomy.

There are so many herbs and spices that are individual stars on the spice stage: Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Oregano, Fennel and Thyme are all applauded for their contribution to the art of flavour. But never Allspice.

A Flavour Trinity

Even the name Allspice must be a burden. All of the mentioned flavour stars have names that are full of excitement and romance while Allspice has to deal with a rather bland name to describe the three classic spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Cloves that make up the Allspice flavour.

And worse, Allspice can only grow from seeds passed through the gut of a bird. No romance there and a severe handicap when you are looking for a true epicurean identity, rather than just making up the support team.

Home Cooks

So, sympathies aside, how will Allspice help home cooks. The answer is in the name. As noted, Allspice provides the flavours from Cloves, Nutmeg and Cinnamon. Three classic flavours ready for home cooks, all in the one small berry.

The three flavour elements give a clue to when to use Allspice; Pork Chops with apple sauce immediately comes to mind, along with stewed apples. Both dishes love the cloves and cinnamon flavours in Allspice.

Plus, Allspice provides the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves for a range of sweet dessert and pickling dishes. All only bounded by a home cook's imagination.

Perfect for a stew

By contrast, Allspice also works beautifully with a savoury beef stew. Same thing, the little berry has already blended the spices for you. So simple. And the Jamaicans would not have their famous chicken jerk without Allspice.

To illustrate how effective Allspice can be for your kitchen see our take on a Chicken with Orzo and Allspice in Recipes

Note. If you would like to buy Allspice for your kitchen, (we will look after the grinding of the berries for you) go to: SPICES