Allspice berry

Used in 6 recipes on RecipeWiki.

Allspice berries are the dried, unripe fruit of a tropical evergreen, and the name comes from a scent that suggests cinnamon, clove and nutmeg at once. Whole, they give a warm, peppery depth to long-cooked liquids without the dusty edge ground spice can leave. In Jamaican cooking, where the spice is called pimento, a few berries go into Curry Goat and the pickling liquor for Escovitch Fish; in Russian kitchens they flavour Ukha and the set meat jelly Holodets. Buy them whole and crack them lightly under a knife before use. Count them in and count them out, because biting into one is a jolt of bitter heat.

What else can I make with it?

Most often cooked with

Recipes with allspice berry

Curry Goat — shot from directly overhead: goat shoulder burned into curry powder and then cooked for two hours

Curry Goat

Goat shoulder burned into curry powder and then cooked for two hours, until the meat gives and the sauce is thick enough to coat rice.

6 hr 55 minServes 6

CaribbeanCurriesDinner

Escovitch Fish — shot from directly overhead: whole fish fried until the skin shatters

Escovitch Fish

Whole fish fried until the skin shatters, then dressed hot with vinegar, onion, carrot and scotch bonnet so it pickles as it cools.

1 hr 15 minServes 4

CaribbeanDinnerFish

Holodets — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Holodets

Pork trotters and beef simmered for hours until the broth sets to a firm savoury jelly around the shredded meat.

18 hr 15 minServes 10

Side dishesRussian

Rice and Peas — shot from directly overhead: rice cooked in coconut milk with kidney beans

Rice and Peas

Rice cooked in coconut milk with kidney beans, thyme and a whole scotch bonnet left in the pot and never broken.

CaribbeanSide dishesVegan

Ukha — shot from directly overhead: clear freshwater fish broth

Ukha

Clear freshwater fish broth, never thickened and barely seasoned, so what you taste is the fish and the water it cooked in.

1 hr 10 minServes 4

PescatarianPotatoesRussian

Zharkoye — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Zharkoye

Beef, potato and root vegetables braised slowly in one pot until the meat pulls apart under a fork.

3 hr 15 minServes 4

Main coursesPotatoesRussian