Pimento

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Pimento is sometimes a synonym for Allspice.

The Pimento, Pimiento, or Cherry Pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) that measures 3 to 4 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide (medium, elongate). The flesh of the sweet 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 .

Pimento as an olive stuffing

These sweet pimento peppers are the familiar red stuffing found in prepared Spanish green olives. The pimento was originally cut into small pieces and hand stuffed into fresh green olives to compliment the strong flavor of the olive. For ease of production pimento is often pureed and formed with the help of a natural seaweed gum (sodium alginate) 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.

Other uses

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

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Last updated on Sunday March 09, 2008 at 18:23:18 PDT (GMT -0700)
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