Allspice
The only major spice still grown almost exclusively in the Caribbean.
Bois d'Inde · Allspice / Pimento · Pimienta de Jamaica
Quick facts
- Origin
- Jamaica and the Greater Antilles
- Family
- Myrtaceae
- Flavour profile
- Clove, cinnamon and nutmeg in a single berry, with a warm resinous finish
- Seasonality
- Harvested July to September
- Category
- Spices
- Aliases
- Pimento, Jamaica pepper, Piment de la Jamaïque
- Calories / 100g
- 263 kcal
The story behind this ingredient
Allspice is the backbone of jerk. Maroon communities in Jamaica smoked meat over pimento wood, a technique born of necessity in the mountains and now the region's most exported flavour.
Culinary uses: Jerk seasoning · Colombo blends · Braises · Rum cakes · Pickles
Recipes with Allspice
Pimento-Smoked Jerk Chicken
105 min · Intermediate
Colombo de Poulet
80 min · Easy
Caribbean Black Cake
180 min · Advanced
Poulet Boucané
160 min · Advanced
Guyanese Pepperpot
205 min · Intermediate
Escovitch Fish
55 min · Intermediate
Chefs who love this ingredient
André Clarke
Jamaica · Pimento-wood fire cooking
“My grandmother judged a pepper by its smell, never its heat.”
Madeleine de Proust: Scotch Bonnet, Allspice
Yann Désirée
Martinique · Colombo and Creole gastronomy
“Colombo is the smell of my mother's Sunday kitchen.”
Madeleine de Proust: Colombo Masala, Allspice
Learn it at the Academy
Scotch Bonnet Masterclass
Three hours inside the pepper: fresh, roasted, fermented and infused. Build a jerk marinade, a pepper sauce and a pikliz from scratch.
- Sat, 12 Sept 2026, 18:00 · 180 min
- Kingston, Jamaica · In person · JMD 9 500
Colombo: roasting your own blend
Toast, grind and balance a Martinican colombo blend, then cook a chicken colombo with seasonal roots.
- Sun, 20 Sept 2026, 15:00 · 150 min
- Fort-de-France, Martinique · In person · €75