About Ground Nutmeg
Nutmeg is a popular spice derived from the seed of the nutmeg fruit. It’s best-known in the United States as a baking spice used in cakes, pies, breads, and all of our favorite festive fall beverages (hello pumpkin spice!). The flavor of nutmeg is sweet, spicy, and slightly bitter with hints of clove.
Ground nutmeg is loved by cooks around the world — from Europe to the Middle East, Asia, and Africa to the Caribbean. Nutmeg can be used in savory mains such as meats, stews, soups, sauces, and chowders. It’s a key ingredient in most curry blends as well as Jamaican Jerk seasoning. For sides, ground nutmeg can be used to enhance rice dishes, sweet potatoes, veggies, and biscuits.
And of course, the nutmeg spice is a baking must-have: pastries, cakes, banana breads, muffins, fruit pies, pumpkin pies, and cookies. During the holiday season, our eggnogs, puddings, and mulled wines wouldn’t be the same without that pinch of ground nutmeg.
About the Nutmeg Tree:
The nutmeg tree is native to the Moluccas of Indonesia. It is a large evergreen tree that can grow up to 60ft tall, producing fruits that are fleshy on the outside (like an apricot) with an aril-covered seed on the inside. The nutmeg spice is the dried seed of this fruit. Nutmeg’s lesser known sibling, mace, is a spice made from the aril covering.
Nutmeg can be harvested when the trees are around 7 years old; these trees reach full maturity after twenty years and have been known to continue producing fruit up until they’re 90 years old!
