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Jamaican Curry Powder |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Rotherham
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Jamaican Curry Powder
Hi Guys
Is allspice and pimento the same thing? Also does anyone have any really authentic curry goat recipes. The type handed down generation to generation in a Jamaican family? Hope you can help! |
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: UK Garage, GoT, Brasil & steak
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I don;t think they are the same thing. I am sure pimento is a type of red pepper, maybe even a chilli pepper, and allspice is....something else! Sorry I am not much help but I am sure someone will be able to come along soon to give better advice.
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#3 |
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OK...after doing some reading, it looks like allspice is dried pimento. Ok I'll shut up now!
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#4 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
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Quote:
OK...after doing some reading, it looks like allspice is dried pimento. Ok I'll shut up now!
Sure i've also heard paprika called pimento before also. |
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#5 |
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Quote:
Sure i've also heard paprika called pimento before also.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Aug 2012
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Allspice =/= pimento
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#7 |
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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Thank you everyone, it was confusing me.
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#8 |
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Join Date: Nov 2008
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Quote:
OK...after doing some reading, it looks like allspice is dried pimento. Ok I'll shut up now!
I can't help with the curry recipe unfortunately. I got a recipe from an African lady years ago which included scotch bonnet peppers and dried crayfish - it was the foulest smelling and tasting...thing. The recipe and the 'curry' went in the bin, never to be attempted again. |
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#9 |
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Quote:
No, you were right first time. Allspice is a dried berry, definitely not a pepper. I always have them in the cupboard. Wiki says it can be referred to as pimenta, not to be confused with pimento, which is a small red pepper.
I can't help with the curry recipe unfortunately. I got a recipe from an African lady years ago which included scotch bonnet peppers and dried crayfish - it was the foulest smelling and tasting...thing. The recipe and the 'curry' went in the bin, never to be attempted again. The curry powder I bought from the Carribean stand at the market has pimento listed as an ingredient but all the recipes to make your own curry powder use all spice berries. I really wanted to recreate the taste from the bought curry powder but using freshly ground spices. I guess it is not to be! |
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#10 |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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Allspice is rather different to pimento... lol
In Trinidad we use it as well. Whenever I'm in London I can never find allspice so I just substitute it. The substitution is ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground black pepper. Usually people say equal parts of all, but I hate strong cinnamon and nutmeg flavouring so I go heavier on black pepper. Anywaaay, try the combination of those four and I guarantee you that it's the same flavour as myrtle pepper. (That's what we call allspice but I promise we're talking about the same thing) Oh, and I have Trini family secret curried goat recipes if you'd like to try that. We say curried goat, they say goat curry - there's an ongoing rivalry about that. Besides, I think our food tastes way better than the Jamaicans.
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#11 |
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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In Jamaica and the West Indies, "pimento" means allspice berries. In Spanish and Portuguese, "pimento" means a variety of (mild) chilly pepper. The confusion is what is called a "false friend" in language teaching. Same word, but different meaning between languages. So ladymoanalot, all you have to do is get yourself to a West Indian grocers if you live near a big city, or there are plenty of dead cheap online spice stores. ![]() Quote:
The curry powder I bought from the Carribean stand at the market has pimento listed as an ingredient but all the recipes to make your own curry powder use all spice berries. The pimento in your spice mix will definitely be allspice. You can tell anyway from the smell. It is an excellent idea to make your curry powder fresh so as long as you have some idea of the proportions, go for it.
I really wanted to recreate the taste from the bought curry powder but using freshly ground spices. I guess it is not to be! |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Rotherham
Posts: 21,505
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Quote:
Allspice is rather different to pimento... lol
In Trinidad we use it as well. Whenever I'm in London I can never find allspice so I just substitute it. The substitution is ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground black pepper. Usually people say equal parts of all, but I hate strong cinnamon and nutmeg flavouring so I go heavier on black pepper. Anywaaay, try the combination of those four and I guarantee you that it's the same flavour as myrtle pepper. (That's what we call allspice but I promise we're talking about the same thing) Oh, and I have Trini family secret curried goat recipes if you'd like to try that. We say curried goat, they say goat curry - there's an ongoing rivalry about that. Besides, I think our food tastes way better than the Jamaicans. ![]()
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#13 |
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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Quote:
In Jamaica and the West Indies, "pimento" means allspice berries. In Spanish and Portuguese, "pimento" means a variety of (mild) chilly pepper.
The confusion is what is called a "false friend" in language teaching. Same word, but different meaning between languages. So ladymoanalot, all you have to do is get yourself to a West Indian grocers if you live near a big city, or there are plenty of dead cheap online spice stores. ![]() The pimento in your spice mix will definitely be allspice. You can tell anyway from the smell. It is an excellent idea to make your curry powder fresh so as long as you have some idea of the proportions, go for it. I am having people around so I hope it turns out OK
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#14 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Up North
Posts: 58,791
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Quote:
Allspice is rather different to pimento... lol
In Trinidad we use it as well. Whenever I'm in London I can never find allspice so I just substitute it. The substitution is ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground black pepper. Usually people say equal parts of all, but I hate strong cinnamon and nutmeg flavouring so I go heavier on black pepper. Anywaaay, try the combination of those four and I guarantee you that it's the same flavour as myrtle pepper. (That's what we call allspice but I promise we're talking about the same thing) Oh, and I have Trini family secret curried goat recipes if you'd like to try that. We say curried goat, they say goat curry - there's an ongoing rivalry about that. Besides, I think our food tastes way better than the Jamaicans. ![]() |
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#15 |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: London
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Quote:
Many thanks. i can not wait!!
I am having people around so I hope it turns out OK ![]() ![]() Quote:
Are you sure you're not mixing up Allspice and Mixed Spice?
I recommended a mix of substitute flavours for when you cannot find allspice. |
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#16 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
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Quote:
Allspice is rather different to pimento... lol Because in this instance Allspice is Pimento, meaning the dried berry and not the chilli pepper. Quote:
An aromatic spice that looks like a large, smooth peppercorn (about the size of a pea), allspice is the dried berry of the West Indian allspice tree. It’s also called Jamaican pepper or pimento and is so called because its taste is said to resemble a combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pepper. Allspice is used in both sweet and savoury dishes including mulled drinks, Christmas pudding, pickles and marinades and Jamaican jerk chicken. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/allspiceWiki Quote:
Pimenta - The name pimento, often substituted when pimenta is intended, is properly used for a certain kind of large, red, heart-shaped sweet pepper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AllspiceDifferent languages with different names for things and sometimes things get mixed up. Farmhand's post explains it well. |
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#17 |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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Quote:
Because in this instance Allspice is Pimento, meaning the dried berry and not the chilli pepper.
Different languages with different names for things and sometimes things get mixed up. Farmhand's post explains it well. Even in one of your quotes it lists the taste to resemble the four flavours I recommended as a substitute. |
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