What Are Allspice berries and How Can I Use Them?

If allspice berries have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 37 recipes to try them in.

What are allspice berries?

Allspice berries (pimenta Dioica) are sometimes known as "Jamaica pepper" or sometimes "pimento".

Nutrition

Where found

Allspice berries are usually found in the spices section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group

Allspice berries are a member of the Spices and Herbs US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

How much do allspice berries weigh?

Related

Spices and Herbs

Recipes using allspice berries

There are 37 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Garlic & Fava Beans Soup

A soup which is a combination of Mediterranean garlic soups with a 17th century East European fava beans soup. Quite good.

Pierogi with Veal Lung & Lentils Filling

My favorite pierogi are filled with the veal lung or the brown lentils. Why not to combine these ingredients into the one filling?

Spring Beet soup (Polish Botwina)

There are hundreds versions of this very Polish soup. Here you have an original proposition of mine. I used to cook it on the base of my favorite duck and chicken stock. The cream is a must to create wonderful pink color. Optionally you may add a quarter or a half of hard boiled egg to your bowl. By the way, I change my recipe sometimes, for instance by adding dried California prunes instead of sugar, or by adding some white vinegar instead of lemon juice.

Austrian Quick Pickled Red Onions

Austrian quick pickled red onions in an apple cider brine with bay leaf, allspice and peppercorns. Bright pink, sweet-tart and warmly spiced. Pile onto dark rye with paprika cheese, burgers, or fish tacos.

Irish Cabbage & Bacon

A simple yet flavorful and very hearty dish of Irish style cabbage and bacon. Only a few cost effective ingredients that turn into a flavorful dinner.

Pickled Sweet & Sour Fish

Pickled sweet and sour fish marinated in vinegar with peppercorns and allspice. Firm white fish coated in rye flour, pan-fried, then marinated up to 3 days.

Spicy Viennese Coffee

Strong coffee steeped with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice, then topped with sweetened whipped cream. A warming Viennese-style spiced coffee for chilly evenings.

Cinnamon Peach Soup

Chilled cinnamon peach soup with ripe summer peaches, warm spices, orange juice, and yogurt. A refreshing first course or light dessert that captures peach season in a bowl.

Zesty Hot & Sour Soup

Hot and sour shrimp soup built on a quick homemade broth simmered from the shrimp shells, with tender chayote, mushrooms, fresh lemon juice for the sour bite, and chili paste for the heat. A bright, light take on the takeout classic.

Pickled Peach Slices

Spiced pickled peach slices preserved in white wine vinegar with brown sugar, dried chili peppers, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Ready after 3 weeks of curing in the jar.

Pickled Zante Grapes

Pickled Zante grapes (Champagne grapes) in a sweet champagne vinegar brine with allspice. Cocktail garnish and cheese-board jewel that keeps for months.

Jamaican Jerked Chicken

Jamaican jerk chicken rubbed with a fiery homemade paste of toasted allspice, scallions, garlic, and warm spice, then grilled low and slow over indirect heat. Serve with Pickapeppa sauce for the real deal.

Rosemary & Allspice Rub

Rosemary and allspice rub with crushed allspice berries, garlic, and olive oil. A fragrant wet rub for lamb, chicken, or grilled meats made in minutes.

Another Gyros

I have this frequently in Greece and here in the U.S., but as I have said, I view it as a 'deli' item. Krinos Foods has a 'gyros kit' that is sold in the frozen food section of some supermarkets.

Lagos/Kounelli Fournou

Greek baked rabbit (lagos kounelli fournou) marinated for days in red wine and herbs, then slow-braised in a tomato-wine sauce warmed with allspice. A rustic, fall-off-the-bone game dish from the Greek countryside.

Spicy Pickled Plums

Spicy pickled plums in malt-vinegar brine with red chilies, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and mace. A British-style preserve for cold meats, cheese boards, or holiday ham.

Pipestone Lamb Stew

A hearty lamb stew with a bold kick of horseradish and Worcestershire, braised on the bone with white wine, tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes until the meat falls apart. Rustic and warming.

Marinated Spiced Olives

Marinated spiced olives with lemon, garlic, dried chilies, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and allspice in olive oil. A no-cook appetizer that improves over a week of marinating.

Bajan Black Bean Soup

Bajan black bean soup from Barbados: dried black beans simmered with a ham hock, fragrant with allspice and lemon, finished with cream and an optional splash of dark rum. Caribbean comfort in a bowl.

Kotopoulo Kapanici

Kotopoulo Kapanici: Greek braised chicken with tomatoes, white wine, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. A warmly spiced one-pot casserole with optional artichoke hearts.

Red Wine & Pepper Marinade

Red wine and crushed peppercorn marinade with allspice berries and garlic. A bold five-ingredient soak for lamb, chicken, or grilled meats with warm spice and tannic depth.

Peach Spread

Sugar-free peach spread made with just fresh peaches, allspice berries, and water. A naturally sweet fruit butter for canning with no added sugar or pectin.

Cabbage & Bacon (Irish)

Traditional Irish cabbage and bacon: savoy cabbage layered with bacon strips and allspice berries, simmered in stock until tender. Simple, hearty, and soul-warming.

Baked Deer Meat

Venison marinated up to 48 hours in red wine, brandy, and aromatic herbs, then baked tender and served with a rich pan gravy, carrots, and onions. A hunter's reward worth the wait.

Pickled Watermelon Rind

Pickled watermelon rind in a spiced cider vinegar syrup with cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Old-Southern preserve that turns kitchen scraps into translucent, sweet-tart jewels.

All 37 recipes