Nutmeg

Current Uses

Abundant culinary uses, especially in sweet and savory pies. Specifically recognizable in holiday and special occasion recipes. Often used as a garnish for cocktails, especially for milk-based concoctions. The spice increases absorption in the small intestine. Promotes calming of the mind and sound sleep.

Precautions

Not recommended during pregnancy or for high Pitta constitutions due to its warming effects.

Substitutions

Hailing from the same fruit of the same plant, Mace is technically an entirely different product. The outer aril is a lacy, red coating that grows over the nutmeg seed itself. It is dried, then ground to produce the Mace spice. Ground Mace closely resembles ground nutmeg in flavor, fragrance, and appearance.

Other warming “holiday” spices can be used in lieu of nutmeg, in various proportions and combinations to yield a similar sweet, woody scent and flavor, like cinnamon, clove, ground ginger, allspice, and white pepper.

History

Native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia, nutmeg was once more valuable than gold. It was highly sought after by elites who prized its medicinal, culinary, and aromatic properties. Territorial wars between the Dutch, English, and Portuguese were fought in order to gain control of the nutmeg trade. The Dutch famously traded Manhattan, New York for control of the Island of Run (Banda Islands) where nutmeg was exclusively grown. They maintained their control for hundreds of years until the English began growing nutmeg in Grenada, which broke the Dutch monopoly.