Generally found in powdered form, Jamaicans use cayenne as both a base and finishing seasoning when we want more of an understated heat, the way other cuisines might employ black pepper.
Pimento (Jamaican Allspice)
Along with vanilla, this dried fruit of the Jamaican bayberry has the distinction of being one of two spices native to the Americas. There is a Guatemalan variety, but the Jamaican species has a higher volatile oil content, making it much more potent. Though the ground spice shows up as expected in applications like the Jamaican Easter spice bun—(the spicy, fruit-studded wild child of the English hot cross bun)—or jerk marinade (see below), it’s the whole or lightly crushed berries that actually run the show, infusing long-simmering stews or fermented drinks such as Christmas sorrel (a cocktail of rum, wine, puréed red sorrel flowers, and ginger) in much the same way that Indian cuisine uses cardamom, though the peppery, clovesy, nutmeggy bite of pimento is unabashedly itself.
