Herbs and Spices Untitled Document

Nutmeg

Muskot

Plant Description

Nut, Spice: The nutmegs Myristica are a genus of evergreen trees indigenous to tropical Southeast Asia and Australasia. They are important for two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace. Both nutmeg and mace are derived from the fruit of the plant. Mace is the lacy, fibrous covering around the nutmeg shell, nutmeg being the nut in the center of the fruit. Mace has the flavor of nutmeg but milder.

The most important species commercially is the Common or Fragrant Nutmeg Myristica fragrance, native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia; it is also grown in the Caribbean, especially in Grenada.

Uses in Cooking:

Popular for flavoring cookies, pies, and other baked goods, especially in combination with other sweet spices like cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Add a dash to applesauce, cheese dishes or cream sauces. In Middle Eastern cuisine, nutmeg powder is often used as a spice for savoury dishes. In Indian cuisine, nutmeg powder is used almost exclusively in sweet dishes.

Possible Substitutes:

Mace

How it comes:

Spice Mixes

Nutmeg comes commercially both finely ground or as whole nuts. It is always preferable that you use whole nuts and grind them at the time you wish to use the spice.

Poultry Seasoning

Other Uses:

The essential oil is obtained by the steam distillation of ground nutmeg and is used heavily in the perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. It contains numerous components of interest to the oleochemical industry, and is used as a natural food flavoring in baked goods, syrups, beverages, and sweets. It replaces ground nutmeg as it leaves no particles in the food. The essential oil is also used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, for instance, in toothpaste, and as a major ingredient in some cough syrups. In traditional medicine nutmeg and nutmeg oil were used for illnesses related to the nervous and digestive systems. Myristicin and elemicin are believed to be the chemical constituents responsible for the subtle hallucinogenic properties of nutmeg oil.