Nutmeg does not figure at all in Filipino cooking, so it was interesting to learn that the Dutch waged a scorched-earth campaign to gain control of the Banda group of islands (in what is now Indonesia), for the longest time the only source of nutmeg in the known world. That ancient Muslim sailors kept the islands’ location a secret makes one wonder: What makes this spice so goddamned special?
I wish I could help you there. The truth is, I can do without nutmeg and still consider my culinary life “spicy” enough. Oh, I like it just fine, just not that much to look for it. As for the Dutch, they had no qualms ceding control of New Amsterdam over to their British rivals (who renamed it New York) in exchange for the island of Run, one of the smallest of the Banda group (but rife with nutmeg), thus sealing their monopoly of the trade (this article is a particularly good read).
Historically, the demand for this spice in 16th- and 17th-century Europe was fueled in large part by its purported pharmaceutical properties, the most appealing of which was its supposed ability to ward off plague (it was also believed to be an aphrodisiac, but who needs that when you’re dead?), and cure many an ailment as well, from flatulence to scarlet fever. Charles Dickens was said to keep a monogrammed grater in his pocket (along with the gratee, one supposes), presumably to sprinkle on the sweet alcoholic punches he favored so much.
Now for scientific fact: In large doses, nutmeg induces hallucinations. How large a dose? I have no idea, nor did I bother to find out (those were the days, my friend). I’m not even sure if said property (like its taste) degrades when nutmeg has been pre-grated, so I wouldn’t advise you to snort out of a McCormick tube. All I can say is that I have enough whole nutmeg in my possession (by way of New York, no less) to probably get me executed in Saudi Arabia, where the stuff is illegal. Then it’ll be my friend Aimee’s fault for sending/giving me so much of the stuff.
Why nutmeg? I could just as easily have said Old Bay or cornmeal, which I also can’t seem to find locally, but nutmeg was the first thing that came to mind when she asked if I wanted anything. More’s the pity since I can not seem to appreciate/tell the difference in the dishes I have used it in so far. Have my taste buds been dulled by decades of smoking to the point that they can’t register the taste of this spice? Maybe I’m just not sophisticated enough? Or have my seeds lost much, if not all, of the oil that gives nutmeg its flavor? (They smell just fine.)
If you’re a fan of nutmeg who lives in my general vicinity, leave a comment below (with a working e-mail address) and I will give you some. Maybe you can show them the appreciation they deserve. I’m keeping a few, of course. A sprinkling makes my scrambled eggs look (and smell) so much classier.
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