Nutmeg is a particularly versatile spice. It lends a wonderful aroma to potato dishes such as mashed potatoes, baked potatoes and potato pancakes. Its subtly spicy flavor also makes traditional dishes such as spinach, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, soups, stews and pies a special treat. Cherry or apple pie, rice pudding and semolina porridge, drinking chocolate, punch and mulled wine are also refined by nutmeg. In Christmas dishes and pastries such as cookies, cookies, speculoos and gingerbread, nutmeg provides a pleasantly subtle contrast to the sweet notes that predominate there. Our gourmet secret tip: What many people don‘t know, nutmeg also goes wonderfully with vegetable and meat dishes from Indian cuisine, such as chicken masala and fish curries.
Nutmeg should be used sparingly, as it has a very strong aroma. Here, less is more. The aroma develops best when the nutmeg is freshly ground on a nutmeg grater or grinder and only added to the food at the end of the cooking time. Otherwise, its aroma can quickly dissipate.
At Spicebar, only nutmegs from a smallholder project in SW India in the state of Kerala make it into the can. The nutmeg fruits are harvested by hand, cut open, the seed kernel including seed coat removed and then gently dried. This ensures that a high proportion of essential oils is retained and that the nutmeg grates very well.
