Ground Nutmeg

Ground Nutmeg is a powder that comes from grinding the seed of the Myristicaceae family of plants, which also produces mace. It has a pungent scent and warm, slightly sweet taste, ideal for flavouring a variety of foods. Those that are sensitive to heat, might detect some spiciness from it. Popular uses for nutmeg are in bakery, puddings, sausages, meats, vegetables and sauces and in drinks such as eggnog. It goes very well with dairy dishes such as cheese sauces and rice puddings. The intense flavour makes it perfect for spice blends including Garam Masala, Ras-El-Hanout, Fajita Seasoning and Jerk Seasoning.

Indonesia is the main producer of nutmeg (and mace) but it other countries export it as well. The seeds dry over the course of 6 – 8 weeks in the sun, slowly shrinking away from the seed covering. Once it rattles inside, the shell is broken and the seed extracted. Dry, whole nutmeg is greyish brown and egg shaped, with furrows on the surface, usually between 20 and 30mm long. As with so many spices, the ground version is very handy and convenient, but is often not as potent as whole spices that you grind yourself. This is due to the huge increase in surface area that powders have. Always open and close packs only when you need them to keep spices in the best condition.

As with any spice, add a little at a time as you don’t need much. You can always add more if you need to, but you can’t really take it out again.

Nutritional Information/ 100g

• Energy/kcal – 525
• Energy/kJ – 2196
• Protein (g) – 5.84
• Fat (g) – 36.31
• of which Saturates (g) – 25.94
• Carbohydrate (g) – 49.29
• of which sugars (g) – 2.99
• Fibre (g) – 20.8
• Salt (g) – 0.04