What is nutmeg powder made from?

What is nutmeg power exactly? Before we can answer that we need to know what nutmeg is. Nutmeg is a spice made from the seed of the nutmeg tree. The nutmeg tree is native to Indonesia and is an evergreen This tree is actually the source of two spices, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the inner seed and mace is the red, lace-like substance that covers the seed. Nutmeg can be either found whole, which is the seed, or ground into a powder. Whole nutmeg is the size of a peach pit, will last longer than the ground powdered version.

Flavour of nutmeg

It’s hard to talk about nutmeg without mentioning mace. Mace comes from the outer coating of the seed; it is removed; grown into a red coloured spice. Mace has a spicier taste than nutmeg and almost has a flavour combination of cinnamon and pepper. Nutmeg has a milder, sweeter more delicate flavour compared to mace.

While nutmeg and mace come from the same plant and grow together they are rarely used together.

Nutmeg in cooking

Nutmeg can be used in sweet and savoury dishes. It can be used whole, as a powder or grated from the whole seed to give a more intense flavour. Ground nutmeg is an ingredient in spice blends such as pumpkin spice, ras el hamout and garam masala. It can be use din and on hot beverages like cappuccino and eggnog. Ras El Hamout is associated with Moroccan cuisine.

Ras El Hamout

2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cardamom
2 tsp mace
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp anise seeds
¼ tsp cloves

Use all ground versions of the above spices.

Pumpkin spice

3 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
1.5 tsp allspice
1.5 tsp cloves
0.5 tsp cardamom (optional)

Garam masala

1 tbsp cumin
1.5 tsp coriander
1.5 tsp cardamom
1.5 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp nutmeg

There are no proven medicinal benefits and uses of nutmeg. It is a hallucinogenic. Grinding and eating one nut can and will have an effect, probably making you sick and nauseated. It can be poisonous in large doses.

Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge.Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family.Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!