Nutmeg

By Orange Kitchen (Nick Luster, Allison Menard, Mariah Bencivenga,

James Siegel)

Basic Information

• Nutmeg is a spice, it is indigenous to The Banda Islands of Indonesia.

• Nutmeg is the seed of the plant, roughly egg shaped.

• It has a warm, nutty, and slightly sweet flavor.

History of Nutmeg

• During the 1500’s European explorers traveled to Asia to retrieve spices such as nutmeg from Indonesia.

• After imperial conquest over the Banda Islands in the 17th century by the Dutch, and wiped out most of the nutmeg plants, which caused them to need to harvest nutmeg from other places.

Culinary Uses• Nutmeg is used mostly in sweet

and/or spicy dishes. It can be added to pastry dishes, cheese sauces, soups, and in eggnog.

• Nutmeg can be bought pre-grated or in nut form and grated straight into the dish.

Cultivation of Nutmeg• The nutmeg tree grows on

tropical islands, mostly in Asia.• The tree can reach the

height of 20 meters but are normallybetween 8 and 12 meters.

• The round fruits thatgrow on the tree can be cracked open and the nut inside can be ground intonutmeg.

Health Effects/ Medical Purposes

• Nutmeg is used infrequently to help treat indigestion and nausea.

• In large enough doses Nutmeg will produce a hallucinogenic experience, although it’s dangerous and often very unpleasant. Ingesting too much can cause death, these effects will not be induced, however, even with generous culinary usage.

Bibliography

• "Growing Nutmeg on the Worldwide Gourmet, your food reference." The Worldwide Gourmet - Gourmet Recipes. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/products/articles/nutmeg-cultivation/>.

• "Growing Nutmeg on the Worldwide Gourmet, your food reference." The Worldwide Gourmet - Gourmet Recipes. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/products/articles/nutmeg-cultivation/>

• "Nutmeg." The Epicentre Exotic Herbs and Spices. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/nutmeg.html