pimento

1. See allspice.
2. Variant of pimiento.

[Spanish pimiento, red or green pepper, pepper plant, from pimienta, black pepper, pepper fruit, from Late Latin pigmenta, pl. of pigmentum, vegetable juice, condiment, pigment, from Latin, pigment, from pingere, to paint.]

A type of pepper, Capsicum annuum, grown for its thick, sweet-fleshed red fruit. A member of the plant order Polemoniales, pimento is of American origin, and gets its name from the Spanish word designating all sweet peppers. In the United States, however, the term pimento generally refers to the heart-shaped varieties (cultivars) grown for canning and used for stuffing olives and flavoring foods. Georgia is the only important pimento-producing state. See also Pepper; Solanales.

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Heat: Mild (SR: 0-999)

Pickled cherry peppers

Pimento is sometimes a synonym for Allspice.

The pimento or cherry pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) that measures 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) long and 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3 inches) wide (medium, elongate). The flesh of the pimento is sweet, succulent and more aromatic than that of the red bell pepper. Some varieties of the pimento type are hot, including the Floral Gem and Santa Fe Grande varieties. Pimento or pimentão are Portuguese words for "bell pepper", while pimenta refers both to chili peppers and to black peppercorns. It is typically used fresh, or pickled and jarred.

Stuffing

Green Spanish olives stuffed with pimento visible

These sweet pimento peppers are also the familiar red stuffing found in prepared Spanish green olives. The pimento was originally cut into small pieces and shot via hydraulic pump through the olive getting rid of the pit to complement the strong flavor of the olive. For ease of production pimento is often pureed and formed with the help of a natural gum (such as sodium alginate or guar gum) into strips. This allows the olive stuffing to be completed by a machine and increases the availability of the olives by lowering their cost of production. However, it also makes the olives less accessible to consumers with peanut allergies, as those individuals may have a cross-reaction to guar, an annual legume mostly produced in India.

Other uses

Pimentos are commonly used for making pimento cheese, a sandwich filling in the Southern United States and the Philippines.

v • d • e Capsicum Cultivars C. annuum Aleppo  · Anaheim  · Ancho  · Banana pepper  · Bell pepper  · Cascabel  · Cayenne  · Chilaca  · Chiltepin  · Cubanelle  · De árbol  · Dundicut  · Fresno  · Guajillo  · Hungarian wax  · Italian sweet  · Jalapeño  · Japanese  · Mirasol  · Macho  · Mulato  · New Mexico (Anaheim)  · Pasilla  · Pepperoncini  · Piquín  · Pimento  · Poblano  · Puya  · Serrano  · Tien Tsin C. chinense Adjuma  · Ají Limo  · Ají dulce  · Datil  · Fatalii  · Habanero  · Red Savina  · Madame Jeanette  · Naga Jolokia  · Scotch bonnet C. frutescens African birdseye  · Malagueta  · Thai pepper  · Tabasco C baccatum Ají  · Piquanté C. pubescens Rocoto

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - piment, allehånde

Nederlands (Dutch)
piment(boom), (rode) paprika

Français (French)
n. - piment doux, piment de la Jamaïque, pimenta (arbre)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pimentbaum, Nelkenpfeffer

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) αγριοκανέλα, ψευδοκινάμωμο

Italiano (Italian)
pimento

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pimentão-doce (f)

Русский (Russian)
душистый перец

Español (Spanish)
n. - pimienta de Jamaica, pimiento morrón

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - pimento, kryddpeppar

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
红色柿子椒, 多香果

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 紅色柿子椒, 多香果

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 피멘토나무, 그 열매로 만든 향신료

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ピーマン, スペイントウガラシ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) البيمنت : فلفل حلو‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פימנטו (מין פלפל)‬

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