Nutmeg

The peeled seeds of the nutmeg tree are called nutmeg  or nutmeg. They are just like the seed coat (mace) very aromatic. Our nutmeg is organically grown and comes from India.

The nutmeg tree is an evergreen tree that originally comes from the Moluccas and is called pala there. But what is nutmeg actually?

We know it as a 'nut', but in fact it is a kernel, the inner part of the seed, stripped of the hard shell. Elsewhere you can buy the nutmeg with shell and all, in our country nutmeg is almost only available without shell. Not only this part, but also the seed coat and the pulp are edible. The skin is considered a separate spice, and we call it mace.

The nutmeg, to use that word again, is oval  -elliptoid - in shape and about one and a half centimeters long. The outside is ribbed, a pattern that you also see on the inside. Our nutmeg is a selection that consists of nuts that weigh between 5 and 5.5 grams each.

The word nutmeg is a corruption of the Latin "nuces moschatae”, which means 'musky smelling nuts'. These are the main essential oils, those with an arterisk * are the main flavor and scent determinants of this warm, fragrant spice:

• α- and β-pinene, woody pine odor, as in cumin, pine (cone), juniper and hemp,
• elemicine*, hallucigonene, pungent smelling substance in nutmeg,
• limonene, the scent of lemon peel,
• methyl eugenol*, a floral aroma (mimosa),
• myristicin *, warm spicy, like balsamic, in cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, assam pepper and parsley
• sabinene, responsible for the woody, camphor-like flavour of black pepper, among other things, with citrus and pine notes, and
• safrole*, the smell of a candy store, present in cinnamon and nutmeg, among others.
  
  

Is this nutmeg organic?

In order to be able to supply this organically grown nutmeg under the predicate organic, we as a packer/producer of the spice will have to be certified. That's just the way it is. We are not. Although we process and store the organic products and products from regular cultivation strictly separately, we are not allowed to use the predicate organic.

Smell and taste

Nutmeg has a scent and aroma that is often referred to in other herbs and spices because it is so characteristic of nutmeg. The scent palette combines excellently with products that carry the same ethereal building blocks, including cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root, dill, sage, thyme and parsley, vegetables such as cabbage, carrots (cavalo nero, cauliflower), pumpkin and spinach, potatoes and onions, lamb, chicken, sharp-tasting cheeses such as Gruyère (think cheese fondue) but also cream cheese or ricotta salata, and fruits such as pear and banana. And of course in béchamel sauce.

Usage

To grind nutmeg you still need tools, a grater, a plane or a mortar. Not every nutmeg grinder is equally handy, and many people therefore fall back on the old grater. We sell the Crushgrind nutmeg grinder from the Billund series, where you can grate any hard spice, not just nutmeg.

Nutmeg is seriously underestimated in Western European cuisine. Cookbooks stammer about green beans and cauliflower, but that's usually where it ends. In Indonesian cuisine, nutmeg is of course indispensable, and in Indian cuisine too.

History in a nutshell

In the Middle Ages, the nutmeg trade was in the hands of Arabs, who supplied Europe with what was then called the nut muscate, a popular but expensive spice and medicine at the time. In the seventh century, the demand for this medicine was enormous. It was used against the plague, a pandemic that cost 75 million (!) people their lives worldwide.

The Arabs kept the location of the find a closely guarded secret, and saw the price skyrocket.

The Arab monopoly was broken when Vaso de Gama discovered the group of islands where nutmeg grew. The Banda Islands in the Pacific Ocean. In the seventeenth century, these islands fell into the hands of the Dutch East India Company, which did not shy away from any means to secure the monopoly. In 1621, Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen proceeded to the violent 'extirpation' of the Banda Islands, under the pretext that the population continued to sell nutmeg to the Portuguese and the British, despite the VOC ban.

Coen ordered his troops to exterminate the population. At the same time, all nutmeg trees were cut down, except those on the island of Banda neira. There he reorganized production by dividing the largely depopulated island into plots and giving them out on leasehold to so-called perkeniers. These were only allowed to supply the Company. The perken, as the plots were called, were maintained by perkhorigen, slaves from all parts of Asia.

The British succeeded in breaking the monopoly of the Dutch state at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The VOC had been nationalized shortly before, in 1796. The British presence was short-lived, because the Dutch quickly regained control of Banda. In that short period of time, the British secured the planting stock and introduced cultivation in Grenada, Pendang, Ceylon, India and Zanzibar.

Zanzibar was not the first island off the East African coast where nutmeg was grown. In the seventeenth century, the French botanist Jean Poivre succeeded in obtaining fertile seed under the VOC monopoly and planting it on the Île de France, as Mauritius was then called.

Africa has several native alternatives to nutmeg, such as the West African ehuru or pèbè or calabash nutmeg (Monodora myristica). The taste is similar to that of the 'real' nutmeg, but the nut is more peppery, and for that reason is also referred to as 'pepper'. Unfortunately, the domestic market for this very own 'nutmeg' is shrinking due to the rise of the 'real nutmeg'. In Madagascar, for example, several false nutmegs grow naturally, such as the Rarabee, the Bashi-bashi and the Rhanha-horac.

The Banda Islands have always remained an important production area, but most nutmeg nowadays comes from India, especially from Tamil Nandu. However, most nutmeg that enters the Netherlands comes from Indonesia (86%). In our country, only 1% of all imported nutmeg comes from India.

Our nutmeg for example. It comes from Ernakulamu, a district with Kochi as its capital, formerly Cochin. Ernakulam is in Kerala, the region where our Malabar and Tellicherry pepper also comes from.  Our nutmeg farmers, united in a corporation, grow nutmeg organically.

Features:

• 100% dried seeds of the Myristica fragrans
• not powdered!
  
• origin: India, Ernakulam (Kochi/Cochin)

Assortment

• available in glass and stand-up pouch (no test tubes)
• glass jar contains approximately 45 grams
• stand-up pouch with 45, 75, 250 or 500 grams (8, 14 or 45-50 nuts respectively)
• larger quantities on request

Gift wrapping

• The jar is available in a tasteful gift packaging, consisting of a cube box filled with black tissue paper
• For an overview of our gift packaging, please refer to the gift packaging section

Health aspects

Raw nutmeg, including freshly ground nutmeg, contains a lot of myristicin and elemicin, hallicinogenic substances. When you use nutmeg as a spice, you don't notice it, but in higher doses you do. This is the basis for the popularity of the Indonesian nutmeg cigarette, the kretek, which also contains cloves. Nutmeg is harmless when used normally. Overdose is defined as eating one or more whole nuts per day.

General advice

• grind nutmeg just before using it in a preparation, once ground it loses its aromas quite quickly

Save:

• store your nutmeg in a closed container, for example an opened nut in the storage compartment of the nutmeg mill
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• at least good until august 2027 (08-2027)
• This expiration date is an indication

Batch number

The batch number helps us trace which supply an item originates from. It is stated on the packing slip and the invoice