All About Allspice - How, When and Where to Use It

Allspice got its name because it tastes like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. For that reason, it is a handy spice to have around in the event you are without the other three. Like the baking spices, allspice can be used with desserts and in breads. Use it as a cinnamon substitute to get a bit of variety in your baking. It can also be used in marinades, sauces and to spice up sweet vegetables, like carrots.

Another similar flavor that can be used in place of the baking spices is Chinese five-spice powder. Unlike allspice it is actually a blend of spices. The five spices include two parts Szechwan pepper, two parts fennel and star anise (both licorice tasting spices), and one part each of clove and cinnamon. Although I have used it in breads and in cookies, I most often use it in stir-fries with pork, chicken or beef. In spite of the pepper, it has a sweet, aromatic, slightly licorice flavor.

You can buy allspice in its original brown berry form, which will keep indefinitely or buy it ground. It comes from an evergreen tree and is native to Jamaica and Central America. In fact it is also known as Jamaica pepper, since that is where most of world's supply is located. In the sixteenth century Spanish explorers mistook the berries for a pepper, thus their alternate name.

To use allspice, if you aren't familiar with it, try ¼ teaspoon ground for every two servings. Like many spices, you can add allspice at the beginning of cooking. In other words, you will not cook out the flavor if you add it to a slow cooker like you would with leafy herbs. Allspice is used as one of many spices to make a curry powder blend.

Other uses for allspice include mixing it into your applesauce or sprinkling it over cooked apples or pears. You may want to add some to your ground beef when preparing spaghetti or to a pork or ham marinade. If you want to spice up your cabbage and are bored with caraway seed, try allspice. It is especially good with red cabbage, eggplant, squash or sweet potato. Feel free to add a little more excitement to your oatmeal or grits by adding a little splash of allspice. Include it in a frosting to cut the sweetness.

I like it in my pancakes or sprinkled over French toast. Use it as a mulling spice for apple cider or tea. I bet you never though that you would ever get rid of the entire jar. Well now you can.

Copyright 2011 by Linda K. Murdock. Linda Murdock is the best-selling author of A Busy Cook's Guide to Spices, How to Introduce New Flavors to Everyday Meals. Unlike most spice books, you can turn to a food, whether meat, vegetable or starch, and find a list of spices that go well with that food. Recipes are also included. To learn more go to http://bellwetherbooks.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Murdock