When nutmeg was first imported into Connecticut in the 18th century, it quickly became the rage among young, wealthy gentlemen to carry nutmeg and a silver grater with them, so they could sprinkle the spice on food whenever and wherever they dined. But fraud followed fashion, as it often does: merchants whittled tree bark into nutmeg look-alikes and sold the fake “spice” for the same steep price as the authentic version. Imagine the chagrin when a young gentleman intent on impressing a young lady pulled out his shiny grater and began to try to shred a wooden “nutmeg” over a piece of pie! The widespread practice of this deception, say some historians, led to Connecticut’s unofficial moniker: The Nutmeg State.
Now, it’s more like Nutmeg Nation—Americans enjoy nutmeg as a flavoring in baked goods, and in classic beverages such as hot chocolate, mulled cider, and eggnog. And when nutmeg is sprinkled in your drink, you might be toasting to your own good health.
The Healing Promise of Myristicin
Nutmeg is unlike any other taste in the world. That intense, sweet flavor is from myristicin, a volatile oil found in many plants (including carrots, celery, and parsley) but most abundant in nutmeg. And while there aren’t any human studies on myristicin, scientists have conducted test tube and animal studies on its healing powers (as well as that of other compounds in nutmeg).
High cholesterol. Two animal studies by researchers in India found that nutmeg reduced total cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Cancer. Researchers in Thailand found that extract of nutmeg killed human leukemia cells.
Wrinkles. Researchers in South Korea tested 150 plants to find compounds that could inhibit elastase, an enzyme that breaks down elastin, the protein fibers that keep skin youthfully taut and flexible. (When elastin is broken down, skin sags.) Nutmeg was one of six plants with the ability. Added to a cosmetic, nutmeg could have “anti-aging effects on human skin,” the researchers concluded in theInternational Journal of Cosmetic Science. In another study from Korean researchers, a compound in nutmeg protected skin from the sun’s skin-damaging UVB rays.
Anxiety. In an animal study in India, nutmeg was similar to common anti-anxiety drugs in alleviating anxiety-like symptoms.
Depression. In an animal study in the Journal of Medicinal Food, treatment with nutmeg was as effective as antidepressants in producing “significant antidepressant-like effects.”
Memory. In an animal study, Indian researchers found nutmeg “significantly improved” learning and memory.
Low sexual desire. Nutmeg is a central nervous system stimulant, and is considered an aphrodisiac in Unani medicine (a healing system from ancient Greece, now widely taught in India and Pakistan). To test this use, researchers in India gave experimental animals nutmeg—and they went nuts. “The resultant significant and sustained increase in sexual activity indicated that extract of nutmeg possesses aphrodisiac activity, increasing libido,” the researchers concluded in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Epilepsy. In an animal study, researchers in Pakistan found nutmeg “possesses significant anticonvulsant activity,” preventing seizures. The findings were in Phytotherapy Research.
Diarrhea. In a study by Brazilian researchers, myristicin killed 90 percent of rotaviruses, the most common viral cause of diarrhea. Nutmeg “can be useful in the treatment of human diarrhea if the etiologic agent is a rotavirus,” concluded the researchers in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Another study found that Medbarid, an Ayurvedic remedy containing nutmeg, is an effective natural medication for diarrhea.
Getting to Know Nutmeg
Take a trip to the Caribbean island of Grenada—where nutmeg trees are prolific, the spice scents the salty sea air, and a nutmeg fruit is pictured on the national flag—and you’re as likely to come across someone massaging nutmeg butter into an arthritic joint as you are to encounter someone sprinkling the spice on rum punch. Nutmeg is an enduring folk medicine. Traditional healers use it to ease stomach cramps, diarrhea, and other digestive disorders, relieve headaches, calm troubled emotions, stimulate menstruation, and soothe hemorrhoids.
Nutmeg also has a long political and economic tradition: it was at the center of the world’s spice trade for many centuries, with the source of the spice (the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, formerly known as the Moluccas and as the “spice islands”) kept a closely guarded secret by spice traders. From the 14th to the 18th centuries, the Dutch, Portuguese, French, and English warred over the islands, until the English began to grow nutmeg trees elsewhere—including Grenada.
Today, nutmeg still thrives in the Maluku Islands and on Grenada, with these two areas providing most of the world’s supply.
The spice is the kernel of a nut-like seed housed in the fruit of the nutmeg tree. The tree actually produces two culinary spices: nutmeg, the kernel, and mace, the aril or sheath that surrounds the seed like a net. Nutmeg is sweet, while mace is tart and strong.
Is Nutmeg a Narcotic?Nutmeg has a reputation as an inexpensive narcotic—and that’s not an urban legend. Ayurveda, the Indian system of natural medicine, calls nutmeg madashaunda, meaning “narcotic fruit.” Many scientific studies conducted on nutmeg have examined it for its intoxicating effects—and found them. However, these studies also confirm that you have to ingest a lot of nutmeg—about two ounces—to produce intoxication, an amount impossible to consume in a normal culinary context, where a teaspoon can flavor an entire cheesecake.
That’s why the Drug Enforcement Administration isn’t conducting raids on the spice cabinets of Americans: the FDA considers nutmeg GRAS (generally recognized as safe) when used as a culinary spice. (Needless to say, never experiment with nutmeg as an intoxicant. There is more than one case of fatal nutmeg poisoning in people who did just that.)
Nutmeg’s use varies from country to country. In the US and England, it’s mostly used to flavor sweet dishes and beverages, both alcoholic (eggnog, hot rum, mulled wine, Kahlùa and cream) and non-alcoholic (cocoa and milkshakes). In England of old, it gave a spicy lift to pease porridge, the food of nursery-rhyme fame that is served hot, cold, or nine days old.
In the Caribbean, nutmeg is used in a variety of dishes, including jerked meats, curries, and spice mixes. In Grenada—where nutmeg syrup, made with sugar and rum, is a popular condiment—nutmeg goes in just about everything, including ice cream, soup, sweet potato pie, chicken, and a medley of rum cocktails.
France’s fondness for nutmeg goes back centuries, when trees smuggled from the “spice islands” were planted on French soil. Nutmeg helps cut the richness in the French white sauce called béchamel, and in potatoes au gratin. Nutmeg is also one of the four spices in the blend quatre épices.
Nutmeg is a standard spice in Germany, where it is used to cut the richness in potatoes, puddings, and dumplings. Germans also sprinkle it in chicken soup.
India grows its own variety of nutmeg, which contains more oil and is therefore slightly stronger than Grenadian or Indonesian nutmeg. It is used in Moghul and Kashmiri cuisines to flavor vegetables and some desserts. It is a key ingredient in the spice mix garam masala.
Nutmeg also is an ingredient in Indian betel leaves that are rolled tightly and chewed (like chewing tobacco) for their digestive and stimulant effects.
How to Buy Nutmeg
Nutmeg is available whole or powdered, but it is most flavorful purchased whole and used freshly ground. Whole nutmegs are about 1 to 1¼ inches long, with a rough, light-brown shell. Quality can vary. Look for nutmegs that are unbroken and that show no signs of worms (such as wormholes), which can infest them. Whole nutmegs will keep in a tightly sealed jar in a dark and dry place for a few years. Whole nutmegs that have been stored too long dry out and lose their volatile oils.
Nutmeg may help prevent and/or treat:
Anxiety
Cancer
Cholesterol problems (high total cholesterol, high “bad” LDL cholesterol)
Depression
Diarrhea
Epilepsy
Memory loss
Sexual desire, low
Wrinkles
___________________________________
Nutmeg pairs well with these spices:
Allspice
Amchur
Cinnamon
Clove
Cocoa
Coconut
Coriander
Ginger
Lemongrass
and complements recipes featuring:
Avocado
Bananas
Biscuits and breads
Lobster
Scallops
Soups
Tomatoes
Vegetables
White sauces
___________________________________
Other recipes containing nutmeg:
Apple Pie Spice
Banana Cinnamon French Toast
Baharat
Garam Masala
Jamaican Jerk Marinade
La Kama
Mulling Spice
Quatre Épices
Ras-el-hanout
Spiced Mixed Nuts
Spicy Vanilla Rice Pudding
Because it is high in oil, ground nutmeg retains its flavor well and keeps for a year or more under the same conditions as whole. Unless you are heavily into baking, buy ground nutmeg in the smallest container possible, as a little goes a long way.
Nutmeg’s flavor can vary from sweetly spicy to strong and slightly bitter, depending on its place of origin. The major exporters are Indonesia (the Maluku Islands), Grenada, France, and India. Indonesia is by far the largest supplier, and most of the nutmeg imported into the US is from Indonesia, but Grenada’s nutmeg is considered by many to be the best. You can purchase Grenadian nutmeg (as well as French and stronger-flavored Indian nutmeg) from a specialty spice dealer or online. (See the “Buyer’s Guide” for a list of top specialty spice dealers.)
Whole nutmeg seeds are hard and require a grater to extract the spice. Nutmeg graters are small, cylindrical, handheld gadgets that you can find in any kitchen store or kitchen section of a department store. Once an expensive specialty item, nutmeg graters are now widely available and relatively inexpensive, ranging in price from $3 to $15. They are usually either acrylic or stainless steel. (You might come across an English silver grater in an antique shop.) Nutmeg graters are nice because they contain a small compartment to store nutmeg, but an all-purpose stainless steel kitchen grater will also do the trick.
In the Kitchen with Nutmeg
Nutmeg’s flavor is richest the moment you grate it, so grate it directly over the food when it’s time to add it to a dish. It retains its flavor best when added toward the end of cooking.
Nutmeg is a favorite for flavoring cakes, pie fillings, and piecrusts, but it’s also great in savory dishes. A tiny bit sprinkled at the end of cooking in a braise or slow-cooking casserole, for example, imparts a sweet spiciness and a new layer of flavor.
Grenada Nutmeg SyrupDrizzle this over ice cream, cocoa, or fruit desserts. It stores well in the refrigerator.
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup dark rum
4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1. Put the water and sugar in a small saucepan and stir until dissolved. Add the rum and nutmeg and simmer until slightly thick, about 10 minutes.
Makes about 1½ cups.Nutmeg and dairy make a perfect marriage. Nutmeg cuts through the fat of milk, cream, eggs, cheese, and custards. It goes especially well in rich, flour-thickened white sauces. It’s a natural in potato dishes, and with strong vegetables, such as cauliflower, eggplant, brussels sprouts, and spinach.
Here are some other ways to put more nutmeg in your diet:
• Sprinkle nutmeg in thick soups, such as split pea, lentil, and black bean.
• Add a sprinkle of nutmeg to mask the sulfurous taste of cabbage.
• Add nutmeg to quiche.
• Grind a little nutmeg over slow-cooked stews and braises.
• Sprinkle nutmeg over creamed vegetables. It goes especially well in creamed spinach and potato casseroles.
• Sprinkle nutmeg over onions in an onion tart.
• Sprinkle it in hot cocoa, or over ice cream, milkshakes, or smoothies.
• Sprinkle it in thick stews and in curries made with a coconut milk base.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire