The Turkish pantry

Allspice

A single aromatic spice for warm savory fillings and sweet baking; it is not a mixed-spice blend.

Last updated: 17 October 2026

Ground allspice is the dried berry of Pimenta dioica milled to a brown powder. Its aroma recalls several warm spices, but the ingredient itself is one plant. Whole berries, ground allspice and mixed seasoning blends are distinct products.

Finely ground brown allspice mounded in a cream bowl with a blue patterned inner rim, on pale stone beside a linen cloth.

Types & forms

Ground allspice

Fine brown powder that disperses through a filling or batter. This guide and its nutrition table concern the ground spice.

Whole berries · comparison

Hard dried berries for grinding or infusing. A counted berry is not interchangeable with a spoon of powder.

Mixed spice · comparison

A blend may contain cinnamon, cloves or other ingredients. Check the label rather than treating its name as allspice.

What to look for when buying

Choose a package listing allspice or yenibahar as the ingredient. A seasoning blend can contain salt or other spices.
Buy a quantity you can use while its aroma remains lively. Check that the packaging is intact and the powder is dry rather than damp or caked from moisture.

Prepare & cook

Measure the ground spice before adding it; its warm aroma can dominate a delicate filling. Use the recipe amount, then judge the finished dish.
Distribute it through the rice, meat mixture or batter. If a recipe calls for whole berries to be removed later, ground allspice will remain dispersed and change the result.

Store it well

Close the container tightly and keep it in a cool, dry cupboard away from the cooker and direct sunlight.
Measure into a dry spoon or small dish away from a steaming pan. Replace spice with signs of dampness, mold or contamination; fading aroma is a separate quality issue.

Substitutions depend on the dish

A recipe designed for ground allspice

Cinnamon or cloves alone will change the balance. Use a recipe-supported alternative rather than an automatic equal-volume replacement.

Whole berries instead of powder

Grind them first if the dish needs an evenly distributed seasoning. Do not add intact hard berries to a filling meant to be eaten without removing them.

Nutrition

Spices, allspice, ground ^[1]

Per 100 g edible portion
Nutrient	Amount
Energy	263 kcal
Protein	6.09 g
Total fat	8.69 g
Saturated fat	2.55 g
Carbohydrate	72.1 g
Dietary fiber	21.6 g
Total sugars	Not reported
Sodium	77 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg
Calcium	661 mg
Iron	7.06 mg
Potassium	1,040 mg
Vitamin D	0 µg

Plain dried ground spice, before adding it to food. Values are per 100 g of the spice, not per spoonful or per cup of a prepared drink. This generic record is not a separate analysis of every species, brand or batch. Values are rounded for readability; “not reported” does not mean zero. A “<” value is below the source’s measurement limit.

Nutrition values come from the reference source named above. They are published reference values, not our own measurements. Actual products and cooking methods may change the values.

At the Turkish table

The linked Turkish rice and stuffing recipes show how a small amount of yenibahar can sit alongside other seasonings. These are examples from this collection, not a claim that every Turkish filling contains allspice.