GRINDED NUTMEG

Nutmeg The well-known nutmeg fruit comes from a tree grown in tropical countries from which they get nutmeg and mace, which, although incorrectly, is known as nutmeg flower and is a spice of excellent quality.

The trunk and leaves resemble the walnut. It bears a fruit similar to a small peach, containing a nut that smells sweetly like musk. The fruit when ripe opens to reveal the red flesh surrounding a naked seed, the nutmeg.

  The active substances contained in the spice are 40% lipids (nutmeg butter) and 10% an essential oil containing alcohols, safrole and a toxic benzene derivative, myristicin. The flesh of the fruit is richer in essential oil, but poor in butter.

Nutmeg first came to Europe in 1512 by Portuguese sailors who procured it from the Banda Islands. Then it gained a reputation as a panacea (it was used for 138 different diseases) and was widely eaten as a tonic.

In China, it is called Rou dou kou and has been used since the 7th century for stomach problems. Specifically the Chinese take it to warm the stomach and regulate the flow of Qi (energy).

The herb acts as a digestive, tonic, antispasmodic, antiemetic, appetite stimulant and anti-inflammatory. We use the fruit as a digestive medicine for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, especially if it is due to food poisoning. Clinical studies have shown a positive effect of the herb in the treatment of Crohn's disease. In folk medicine, they used the outer shell of the nutmeg to make an ointment that they applied to rheumatism problems. The essential oil is used for rheumatic pains and in the treatment of toothache.

Of course, the use of the spice in cooking is extensive. It is used (usually grated) to season various ordinary and gourmet foods such as pheasant pate, meat pie, stuffed pitsounia, cheese pie and elsewhere. Its taste is spicy, but when freshly ground it is much stronger. Nutmeg in small quantities is suitable for soups, béchamel, meat soups, purees, potato meatballs, apple pies, walnut pies and fruit tarts. It also gives a distinct subtle flavor to sauces, broths, meats, spinach dishes, cauliflower, snails, omelettes and sweets.