More about Nutmeg, part II

I’m not the only one who thinks nutmeg is awesome.

There’s my friend Dallas, for one.  She bought balls of nutmeg to grate fresh into her food.  Then there’s my German friend Angelina, who commented on my last nutmeg post just a few weeks ago.  She says that she often adds it to savory and sweet dishes, and we concluded that it must be a European thing.

Then, thanks to Lindsay Hunt,my classmate at the French Culinary Institute and author of Lindsay Cooks, I found this article in Saveur:  Cooking with Nutmeg: Sweetness and Light.  It’s written by the great Beth Kracklauer, and it’s a fantastic introduction to the perplexing and pleasing contradictions of nutmeg.

She writes,

I realized I’d been eating nutmeg in cheesy, eggy, and creamy dishes all my life; it was both familiar and a total mystery to me….It can overwhelm if used in excess, but nutmeg has a remarkable capacity to enhance other flavors….  While its flavor blooms in buttery sweets, the spice also thrives in savory foods. In Italy, nutmeg is used to take the metallic edge off of leafy greens, in dishes like the ricotta-and-spinach dumplings called malfatti.

Check out the article to find out more about nutmeg’s illustrious history.  Looks like the article includes some great recipes, including one for Nutmeg Donuts and one for Nutmeg Ice Cream.