[Sca-cooks] "Sweet" Pepper?

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

Bill Fisher wrote:

>"Israeli sweet pepper" or "Israel sweet pepper"  takes me to either
>paprika or sweet bell peppers.  I had to drag myself out of the 
>"look for medieval spice reference mode."
>
>
>Cadoc
>  
>
I did an advanced Google search, looking for "sweet pepper" on Israeli 
websites.  One that popped up was a site on Havdalah, the ritual that 
concludes the Jewish Sabbath.  Part of the ritual involves smelling a 
box of sweet spices.  This particular site suggests "cloves or sweet 
pepper".
http://www.shabat.co.il/howto/appendixa.htm

Although the site above does not recommend cinnamon, many others do.  
Spices mentioned elsewhere are cardamon, allspice, nutmeg, cardamon, bay 
leaves, and myrtle.  I'm wondering if "sweet pepper" might be allspice.  
Its common name in many languages is some variant of "pepper".  The 
Hebrew name is Pilpel angli, which means "English pepper".
http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_noframe.html?Pime_dio.html

The Spanish name is "pimienta dulce", sweet pepper (not to be confused 
with pimiento dulce, paprika).  It is perhaps worth pointing out that 
some Jews speak Ladino, a language which descends partly from Spanish 
(as Yiddish descends partly from German).

I don't know that the "sweet pepper" of Havdalah is the same as the 
"sweet pepper" of the spiced nuts recipe, and I'm not positive that 
either is allspice, but I think it's plausible.

-- 
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Robin Carroll-Mann *** rcmann4 at earthlink.net