The benefits of nutmeg
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What nutmeg does
What this vegetable does
It warms the Spleen and Stomach and is held to ease stomach trouble and loose bowels that come from cold.
How to eat it
Used to flavour cooking. At its best as a spice in stews and baking.
A yakuzen note
An ingredient looked to for settling digestion upset by cold.
By warming the Spleen and Stomach it is held to ease trouble that comes from cold. It is looked to in particular for heaviness in the stomach and loose bowels, and is also held to help the circulation of qi. Added to stews and curries it not only lifts the flavour but supports the body in warming from within.
TOC
What nutmeg is, its types, and how to choose it
Sweet and mellow in scent with a faint bitterness, nutmeg is a spice that sharpens the impression of a dish in tiny amounts. Knowing where it comes from and what types there are makes it easier to choose for the dish in hand.
Nutmeg and mace come from the same fruit
Nutmeg is a spice made from the seed of the fruit of an evergreen in the nutmeg family. The same fruit in fact yields a second spice, mace. The kernel of the seed is nutmeg, and the red lacy covering around that seed, the aril, is mace, held to be the finer and more delicate of the two. Two spices of different scent from a single fruit is what makes nutmeg nutmeg.
| Spice | Which part of the fruit | The kind of scent |
|---|---|---|
| Nutmeg | The kernel of the seed | Sweet and mellow, with a faint bitterness |
| Mace | The red covering around the seed, the aril | Finer and more delicate |
The main growing areas are Indonesia, in the Banda Islands, and Grenada in the Caribbean, and between them they account for most of the world production. Grenada is so closely tied to the spice that nutmeg appears on the national flag.
When to use whole and when to use ground
Nutmeg comes whole, as the seed, and ground as a powder. Choosing by the job makes the most of the scent.
- Whole: grated on a fine grater just before use, for a bright, freshly grated scent. Holds its scent and keeps longer
- Ground: easy to measure, and mixes evenly into batters and sauces. Handy when you want a little, quickly
Freshly grated whole nutmeg if scent matters most, ground if ease matters more. Split it that way and you will rarely go wrong.
How to choose it and how to keep it
Nutmeg loses its scent easily, so how you buy and store it decides how long the flavour lasts. If your household uses little of it, buy it whole, since the scent holds up better after opening, and grate only what you need. If you buy ground, choose a small packet you can finish, and you will use it up before the scent fades. Store it in an airtight container away from damp and light, somewhere cool and dark. Ground nutmeg weakens little by little once opened, so buying small and often keeps the scent better than buying in bulk.
How to use nutmeg
Nutmeg is the supporting player that sharpens a dish in small amounts. It sits well in everything from meat to dairy to baking, so knowing where and how much to use lets you get the scent right.
In minced meat dishes and white sauce
The classic use for nutmeg is minced meat, in hamburg steak, meat sauce and the like. It softens the smell particular to meat and gives the flavour depth. A little worked into the mixture is all it takes to make the usual hamburg steak fragrant. It also goes well with white sauce, or bechamel: added to a gratin or a doria, the richness of the milk and the sweet scent lift each other. A shake over sauteed spinach or greens cooked in butter suits the flavour of the leaves too. Potato dishes such as mash are another classic pairing, the sweet scent layered over the richness of butter and milk. Dairy, greens and potatoes are where nutmeg comes into its own.
In baking and hot drinks
The sweet scent of nutmeg takes it into baking and drinks as well. A little in the dough for cookies, pound cake or doughnuts gives a warm scent, different from cinnamon. In the cold months, the smallest shake over hot milk makes a cup you can settle into. It is one of the scents used in chai, simmered from spices, and nutmeg with cinnamon and ginger makes for depth. If making tea with spices interests you, see Tea OEM is worth a look.
How much to use, and how not to overdo it
Nutmeg has a very strong scent, and too much of it covers the flavour of the dish. As a guide, a pinch to about an eighth of a teaspoon for four servings. Start on the low side and adjust as you taste and you will not go wrong. The scent goes off with heat, so in a long-simmered dish, adding it near the end keeps more of it. Since a little scents a lot, work in small amounts and build the flavour up rather than using a lot at once.
Alongside this, it is worth knowing about The benefits of ginger or The benefits of cinnamon likewise held to warm the body, as a guide when building a table around spices.
From taking the edge off the smell of meat to scenting baking, nutmeg works across a wide range. Start with a pinch in something close at hand, a hamburg steak or a cup of hot milk, and try that sweet scent for yourself.
