Nutmeg: a spice full of properties

Nutmeg is a popular spice, especially in European, Indian, and Indonesian cuisines. With its warm, slightly earthy and spicy aroma it is used in soups, stews, potato dishes, vegetables and béchamel sauces. But in addition to its flavor, it is loaded with medicinal properties.

nutmeg

From a botanical point of view, nutmeg is not a dried fruit, it is the endosperm of the seed of the tree. Myristica fragrans and it is inside a fruit similar to an apricot.

The seed, in turn, is covered by a casing, a kind of bright red mesh, similar to leather, called mace. Once this shell is dried and separated from the rest of the fruit, it is used as a spice just like the seed and has a milder flavor.

A nutmeg tree provides about 1,500 to 2,000 nutmegs per year. As soon as its fruits are ripe, they split open, revealing the nutmeg and mace.

It is then harvested by hand and the nutmeg is separated from the fruit and mace. The fruit itself has a rather sour taste, although in Indonesia jam is made from it.

Cooking with nutmeg and mace

Nutmeg is ideal for seasoning potatoes, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, spinach, carrots, red cabbage, and kohlrabi.

Mace tastes similar to nutmeg, but is a bit milder and tends towards cinnamon.

It can be used for the same dishes as nutmeg, but its sweet aroma makes it especially suitable for desserts, chutneys or mulled wine.

Grind nutmeg and mace

It is better to grind the nutmeg just before use to get a more aromatic flavor.

A specific grater for nutmeg is very suitable, because its fine teeth and holes make the powder extremely fine. If you don’t have a nutmeg grater, you can use a conventional one.

Mace also tastes best when ground just before use. However, due to its irregular shape, the risk of injury with a grater is too great. Therefore, it is better to grind it in a spice grinder or in a mortar.

The aroma of nutmeg dissipates quickly. Therefore, it should be added at the end of cooking time. A pinch is usually enough to give the dish a wonderful aroma.

healthy properties

The nutmeg has from 8 to 15% essential oil, which is composed of myristicin, elemicin, eugenol and safrole.

Based on animal and cell studies, nutmeg has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antidiabetic, aphrodisiac, analgesic, antioxidant and heart protective effects, among others. It is traditionally used in:

Indigestion (diarrhea, stomach cramps, gas) Rheumatism Headache Fever Hemorrhoids Erectile dysfunction Cholera Halitosis

Nutmeg for indigestion

Nutmeg too It is used in Europe for digestive disorders. For stomach cramps, gas and diarrhea, you can infuse a pinch of grated nutmeg in a glass of warm water.

If you have diarrhea, you can also take the nutmeg with a grated apple. Symptoms should improve after the first intake.

antidepressant effect

Ground nutmeg extract it is effective in depressed mice. 5, 10 or 20 mg of the extract was administered per kilogram of body weight per day for three days. The dose of 10 mg per kg showed the greatest antidepressant effect. So far no human studies have been conducted.

Researchers suspect that nutmeg interacts with the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.

An earlier study also found that it improves memory, suggesting that nutmeg it also affects the brain in other ways.

As a sleep aid

Nutmeg calms the nerves and promotes sleep. A pinch of grated nutmeg boiled in a cup of milk (can be goat, soy or rice) helps with anxiety, stress and sleep disorders.

This nutmeg milk It is drunk half an hour before going to bed.

External use of nutmeg oil

Nutmeg essential oil it has an analgesic effect when used externally.

In aromatherapy, 1 to 5 drops of nutmeg essential oil are mixed with 50 ml of carrier oil (for example, jojoba oil), because the oil can cause skin irritation when used alone.

The affected parts of the body are rubbed with this mixture once a day. The essential oil can relieve rheumatic complaints and muscular tension, for example.

Potential Side Effects of Nutmeg

Nutmeg should be used sparingly, because it has been known since the early 19th century that high doses of nutmeg (above 5 g) can cause hallucinations, due to myristicin. The doses that are used in the kitchen or in natural remedies are much lower.

Nutmeg can be consumed in normal doses during pregnancy and can also be taken by children.

Scientific references:

Ha MT et al. Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Myristica fragrans Houtt.: an updated review. Archives of Pharmacological Research. Dhingra D et al. Antidepressant-like activity of n-hexane extract of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seeds in mice. Journal of Medicinal Food. Dhingra D et al. Comparative brain cholinesterase-inhibiting activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra, Myristica fragrans, ascorbic acid, and metrifonate in mice. Journal of Medicinal Food. Zhang WK ​​et al. Nutmeg oil alleviates chronic inflammatory pain through inhibition of COX-2 expression and substance P release in vivo. Food and Nutrition Research.