She explained that it isn't a mixture of all spices, but rather an ingredient with its own distinctive flavor — slightly sweet, with a peppery, smoky undertone.
Botanically, allspice is the berry of the Pimenta dioica tree, a relative of eucalyptus, guava and clove trees.
The English first encountered allspice in the 1600s on the island of Jamaica, but now it is grown in many tropical areas, including Hawaii, Tonga and Central America.
The berries are picked when they’re green, then fermented and dried. The final products look like big, brown, smooth peppercorns. I ground them up in a mortar and pestle before adding them to our pie filling, but they can also be used whole, in hot mulled cider.
Beyond pumpkin pies, allspice is an important ingredient of Jamaican cuisine, including a sweet liqueur called pimento dram. Cuisine of the Middle East, Poland, Sweden and Finland all draw upon its flavors for stews and meat dishes.
I like that this cosmopolitan spice contributes to our own homestyle traditions in the U.S. Little did President Abraham Lincoln know when he made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 that he was setting the stage for the tropical pimenta tree to contribute a subtle but important part of our holiday meals.
