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- 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Other uses
Pimentos are commonly used for making pimento cheese, a sandwich filling in the Southern United States and the Philippines.
