Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento,[a] is the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world.

[3] The name allspice was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who valued it as a spice that combined the flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.

[7] 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, as well as tomato sauce.

[citation needed] In Northern European and North American cooking, it is an ingredient in commercial sausage preparations and curry powders, and in pickling.

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.

In Portugal, whole allspice is used heavily in traditional stews cooked in large terracotta pots in the Azores islands.

[citation needed] Christopher Columbus became aware of allspice on his second New World voyage, and the plant soon became part of European diets.

[10] In modern times, Central American countries like Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Belize also play a large role in world exports of Allspice.