allspice

/ˌɔlˈspaɪs/

/ˈɔlspaɪs/

Other forms: allspices

Allspice is a pungent ground spice that's used in various kinds of baking and cooking. The flavor of allspice is particularly important in jerk chicken and other Caribbean dishes.

Allspice was first imported from Jamaica to England in the 16th century. Its distinct flavor, which resembles a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, inspired the English name allspice, and some historians credit a physician who accompanied Christopher Columbus with coining the name. The tree which produces the fruit is called an allspice as well, also known as a Jamaican pepper tree.

Definitions of allspice

1. noun

   aromatic West Indian tree that produces allspice berries
   synonyms: Pimenta dioica, allspice tree, pimento tree

   type of:

   spice tree

   tree bearing aromatic bark or berries
2. noun

   ground dried berrylike fruit of a West Indian allspice tree; suggesting combined flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves
   type of:

   spice

   any of a variety of pungent aromatic vegetable substances used for flavoring food
3. noun

   deciduous shrubs having aromatic bark; eastern China; southwestern and eastern United States
   types:

   Calycanthus floridus, Carolina allspice, strawberry bush, strawberry shrub, sweet shrub

   hardy shrub of southeastern United States having clove-scented wood and fragrant red-brown flowers

   California allspice, Calycanthus occidentalis, spicebush

   straggling aromatic shrub of southwestern United States having fragrant brown flowers

   type of:

   bush, shrub

   a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems