Have you ever mixed up allspice for mixed spice when cooking?

Well, it’s not as critical as it may seem as even though they are two different things, allspice was so-named because the flavor is suggests a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves.

Actually allspice is the dried pimiento berry which is usually ground. It comes from the allspice tree (Pimenta officinalis; Pimenta dioica), or pimiento tree (Spanish for pepper because the berries resemble peppercorns), native to the West Indies and Central America.

What you must NOT do is confuse it with pimento – a sweet red chilli. Allspice is generally used in pickling, baking, preserved meats and sauces although it turns up in spicy toiletries such as 'Old Spice'.

Once used for embalming by the Mayan Indians, Christopher Columbus added it to his horde of goodies with which he retuned from the New World.

Pimiento is a major crop in Jamaica 
and also grown in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

Nineteenth century, Russian soldiers kept their feet warm in winter by putting allspice in their boots.

And here’s a lovely piece of extra trivia - the Arawak Indians, native to the Caribbean, centuries ago cured and preserved their meat using allspice. They called this boucan. They taught the trick to Europeans who were called boucaniers, which became the word we know as buccaneers.