Allspice is the dried unripe berries of a tree of the myrtle family, the pimento, known botanically as Eugenia pimenta, or Pimenta officinalis. It’s an evergreen tree some 20 to 30 ft. high, with a slender, straight, upright trunk, much branched at the top; the bark is smooth, gray and aromatic; the leaves—which when fresh abound in essential oil—are 5 in. long, of an oblong shape and deep shiny green color; the blossoms—which appear in July and August—are white and fragrant; the berries (sometimes called corns), which form on the disappearance of the flower, are picked unripe, altho fully grown, they are of a greenish-purple color. After picking, the berries are dried in the sun or in kilns until dark brown and then separated from the stalk. The dried berries are light, brittle, of roundish form and crowned with the remains of the flower calyx in the shape of a raised, seared-like ring; each berry contains two dark-brown flattish, kidney-shaped seeds. If allowed to ripen, the berries lose their aromatic flavor and become merely sweet and pulpy. Only in Jamaica—where it is cultivated in plantations called Pimento walks—does the pimento tree grow to perfection, altho attempts are made to cultivate it in other West India islands and South America. It is thought to combine the flavor of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, hence it is called allspice.
Uses—Its chief use is for culinary purposes. It is a powerful irritant, good for dyspepsia, flatulency, gout, hysteria and toothache. It is often employed to disguise the nasty taste of medicine. Allspice yields volatile oil by distillation, which is used as a flavoring in alcoholic solution, is of a brownish-red, clear appearance, and has the odor and taste of pimento, but is warm and more pungent. A green fixed oil has the burning aromatic taste of pimento and is supposed to be the acrid principle. A tincture from allspice has been praised as an application in chilblains.
Substitutes.—The Mexican spice, called Pimento de Tabascol is somewhat larger and less aromatic than Jamaica pimento. The berries of Pimento acris, (bayberry) whose leaves are used in the manufacture of bay-rum. The Carolina allspice—calycanthus florides, a shrub 6 or 8 ft. high, with an odor somewhat like strawberries. Japan allspice—chimonanthus frangrans—which grows in Japan, and wild allspice—lindera benzoin—known also as spice-wood, fever-wood, benjamin-bush—a member of the laurel family growing in the United States. To secure uniformity of color these inferior kinds are often colored with Armenian bole, a kind of red clay from Armenia, and they are also often mixed in ground allspice, in addition to the stalks of the pimento. A kind of red pimento from Salonica is also used as an adulterant. During the civil war, when pimento was high in price, a substitute was made up of clove-stems, wasted rye, a little cayenne pepper, and some cassia; this was very acceptable, altho there was not an ounce of pimento in it.
CAPSICUM
Cayenne Pepper Is Made from This Branch of the Nightshade Family—Descriptions of the Various Varieties of Capsicum—Tabasco Pepper Sauce
The capsicum is a genus of plants of the nightshade family (Salanacea) that grows luxuriently in all tropical countries and many species of which are cultivated in the temperate zone. Capsicum or Red Pepper is of American origin for these reasons: Fruits so conspicuous, so easily grown in gardens and so agreeable to the palates of the inhabitants of hot countries would have very quickly diffused thruout the old world, if they had existed in the South of India, as it has sometimes been supposed. They would have had names in several ancient languages, yet neither the Romans, Greeks nor the Hebrews were acquainted with them. They are not mentioned in ancient clinic books. The islands of the Pacific did not cultivate them at the time of Cook’s voyage in spite of the proximity of the Sunda Isle where Rumphines mentions their very general use. The Arabian physician, Ebn Baithar, who collected in the 13th century all that eastern nations knew about medicinal plants, says nothing about them. Probably the first known history of cayenne pepper in Europe is that given by Martyr, who writes of Columbus bringing it home in 1493 and speaks of it being more pungent than that from Caucasus, probably referring to the Oriental black pepper. About a century later, Gerarde writes of its being brot into Europe from Africa and Southern Asia and being grown in European gardens. Probably the first record of its use is that by Dr. Chanca, who was physician with Columbus’ fleet in 1494, and who alludes to it as a condiment used in dressing meats, dying and other purposes, as well as a medicine. From the ground dried seeds and pericarp of certain varieties of capsicum we get cayenne pepper, so-called from Cayenne, in French Guiana, S. A., whence it was imported by the French. Cayenne pepper is also called Calicut and Napaul, the names of places of export, and it was known as Guiana pepper over 300 years ago. The derivation of the word “Capsicum” is uncertain; it may be from Kapto, hot, on account of its pungent taste, or from capsa, a box, or chest, referring to the form of its fruit. The plant grows from 1 ft. to 6 ft. high and is fairly well branched; the flowers are white or greenish-white; the fruits of the several species are of various forms, round, oblong, cordate or horned, and contain a number of flattish seeds. The seeds after the removal of the pericarp, and then thoroly washed and dried, are entirely devoid of acidity and pungency. The hotter and drier the soil, the more acrid and pungent the fruit.
Used in moderate quantities, capsicum or cayenne pepper, promotes digestion and so prevents flatulence. The natives of Brazil boil the capsicums and dip their manioc bread in it, making a kind of fiery soup. They are extensively used in India in compounding curries and chutneys. In Bengal the natives make an extract from the small capsicum chilies of about the consistency of molasses. The bell peppers are pleasant stuffed with meats, fish, other vegetables, etc. The sweet and mild kinds fed to birds are said to improve their plumage.
C. Annum is the most common species and contains a great many varieties, among them the Pimiento (not Pimento or allspice) commonly known as Spanish red peppers or morrons, also Paprika, or Hungarian sweet pepper. This species is never found growing wild.