A very old spice indeed, nutmeg has been part of Indian a Arabic herbal medicine for over 1000 years, and has been traded around the world for about half that time. Native to Indonesia , nutmeg trees have since been transplanted to other countries, notably Grenada , whose nutmegs are considered the world's best. The nutmeg tree bears juicy apricot-colored fruit that actually yield two different spices. Plucked when mature and split open, they reveal a brown-black shiny seed covered with bright red lacy strings; these fibres, carefully peeled off the seed and dried and cured for a few months, become orange curls - probably called blades - of mace. The seed is dried for a few weeks, then cracked open. The pale kernel inside is the nutmeg. In Indonesia , the flesh of the fruit is candied and eaten as a snack.
Nutmegs contain essential oils that give them a strong, warm, penetrating, aroma - as well as some hallucinogenic properties if eaten in large quantities! (But don't try it at home, you'll be ill well before you've eaten enough to experience any warped perceptions.) Mace has a sweeter pungency than nutmeg. Both spices are usually used ground; a few hundred years ago in Europe , it was common for a well-off citizen to carry a personal nutmeg around inside a pendant, that could be taken out and grated over any foodstuff.
Cooking tips
- Nutmegs keep better when stored whole, and taste best when grated fresh. Whenever possible, buy them whole (gourmet supermarkets stock them), store then somewhere cool and cry, and grate only as needed. The same goes for mace. Ready-ground forms of both spices quickly lose the delicate complexity of their aromas.
- Nutmeg and mace make good substitutes for each other - test and taste to see which is most compatible with your recipe. A little of both spices goes a long way.
- Out of all the meats, nutmeg and mace complement pork the best. Try rubbing pork with a mixture of salt, pepper, nutmeg and brown sugar before roasting, or spike minced pork with ground nutmeg, ground cloves, a little cream and salt and pepper to taste, then shape into patties and pan-fry.
- A dash of nutmeg also benefits both pork and beef sausages, and sauces made with minced beef such as Bolognese sauce.
- Nutmeg goes very well with spinach in particular, as well as pumpkins and other orange-fleshed squash, and onions.
- Sauces based on milk or cream are extra delicious with a sprinkle of nutmeg. This is also true of sweet and savoury custards, and cheesecakes, especially when the sweetener is honey.
- Mull dry red wine or red grape juice by heating it with a pinch each of nutmeg or mace, cinnamon, cloves and ground ginger, orange slices, and water and sugar to taste.
- Brighten your morning by scrambling eggs beaten with milk and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Candied nutmeg, which can be found in stores selling Indonesian or Chinese snacks, can be finely chopped and added to fruitcakes.
- Nutmeg is always a part of sweet spice mixture used for fruitcakes, kueh lapis and so on, and in fact makes most baked goods more aromatic.
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