Name This Food! Still Lives

It was a long old time ago that I did a Name This Food! post on here, and for that I apologise. The question I asked previously was... what's this?

Tricky question, unless you used Google's reverse image search. You might recognise this item better if you see it the way it appears on the shop shelves.

That's right, it's allspice.

So what is it?

Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world. The name "allspice" was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who valued it as a spice that combined the flavour of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.

What can you do with it?

Allspice is known in Jamaica as pimento and is one of the most important ingredients of Caribbean cuisine. It is used in Jamaican jerk seasoning (the wood is used to smoke jerk in Jamaica, although the spice is a good substitute), in moles, and in pickling; it is also an ingredient in commercial sausage preparations and curry powders. Allspice is also indispensable in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly in the Levant, where it is used to flavour a variety of stews and meat dishes. In Arab cuisine, for example, many main dishes call for allspice as the sole spice added for flavouring. In the West Indies, an allspice liqueur is produced under the name "pimento dram" due to conflation of pimenta and pimento.


In the United States, it is used mostly in desserts, but it is also responsible for giving Cincinnati-style chili its distinctive aroma and flavor. Allspice is commonly used in Great Britain, and appears in many dishes, including cakes and also in beauty products. In Portugal, whole allspice is used heavily in traditional stews cooked in large terracotta pots in the Azores islands. Even in many countries where allspice is not very popular in the household, as in Germany, it is used in large amounts by commercial sausage makers.

Give us a recipe, then, Jeff!

 OK then.

Jerk Chicken

Ingredients

12 chicken thighs

Juice of two limes
4 tsp of ground cayenne pepper
1 tbsp of brown sugar (optional)
1 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of ground ginger
1 tbsp of onion powder
A pinch of ground allspice
1 tbsp of dry thyme leaves
4 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of salt
4 tbsp of vegetable oil


Making the rub: Mix all the ingredients (minus the chicken and oil) and stir to form a paste. Rub this paste on the chicken, try to get some under the skin too. Drizzle the chicken with oil. Let the chicken marinade in the rub for at least an hour before cooking.
To cook in the oven: Pre-heat oven to 375 ºC (190 ºC). Place on a baking tray with a wire rack skin side up. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes, or until some of the skin has blackened. Remove from the oven.
To cook in an air fryer: Cook in pre-heated air fryer to 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes. First skin side down for 10 minutes, then skin side up for the remaining 10 minutes or until the skin is crispy and a bit blackened.
To cook on the BBQ: Cook on medium low (about 250°F [125 ºC]) for 45 minutes skin side down, rotate to skin side up and cook for another 45 minutes, or or until the skin is crispy and a bit charred.


Serve with Caribbean Rice and a refreshing mango salsa!

Now, how about a sweet recipe to finish?

Griddled Peaches and Ginger Cake Kebabs


Ingredients


4 scoops good quality Vanilla Ice Cream (100g/200ml)
4 peach halves in syrup (reserving 4 tbsp of syrup)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
135 grams ginger cake (4 slices)


Directions


Place a non-stick griddle pan onto a high heat.
Cut the peach halves and ginger cake in half.
Mix together the peach syrup and the allspice in a small bowl.
Place the peach quarters onto the griddle pan to heat through for 2 – 3 minutes. Turn over the peach pieces and then add the ginger cake to the pan.
Drizzle over half the spiced syrup, cook for 30 seconds.
Remove the peaches and cake from the pan and thread alternatively lengthwise onto 4 skewers. Place onto a serving plate.
Scoop the Vanilla Ice Cream onto each plate and serve drizzled with the remaining spiced syrup mixture.

(P.S. for a quick and easy ginger cake recipe, go here.)

Right, then... ready for another teaser? Name This Food!