After Gary Feblowitz and his wife got married in Jamaica, they became obsessed with figuring out how to replicate authentic jerk flavor. After 10 years of dealing with logistics, legalities, and import/export paperwork, the two started importing pimento wood a couple years ago. In an effort to prevent deforestation, Feblowitz says they import wood only from trees which are more than seven years old, which are no longer bearing fruit and would typically be cut down and disposed of at that time. A few other companies import just the leaves and twigs, but Feblowitz believes he's the only American importer.

In Jamaica, he says, it's traditional to grill on wood sticks, so they're selling pimento planks, similar to cedar plank used to cook, to replicate the cooking process and give foods a distinctive allspice flavor--the pungent smoke has aromas of cloves, nutmeg, and citrus.

After a mention in this recent New York Times story, wood may be backordered. Twin Cities customers can use the promotional code "localjerk" to get reduced shipping costs.