What is nutmeg? (And why should you add it to your recipes?)

Do I smell Christmas?

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Second to our desire to actually taste food, I’m sure we can all agree there’s nothing quite like the sense of smell to trigger an emotional response when eating. 

Now when it comes to special occasions like Christmas, we all have our unique food rituals that often come with familiar aromas. Perhaps nutmeg is a very well-loved spice in your pantry at this time of year?  

Nutmeg definitely has that festive aroma for me… and I think it’s overlooked as an ingredient. Not just at Christmas time (hello, eggnog) but all year round – this spice can make a world of difference when it comes to flavour. My Nonna makes good use of it in all her cooking.

What is nutmeg?

Native to Indonesia, nutmeg can be identified as a large seed that grows inside a pear-shaped fruit on a tropical evergreen tree. Being a spice, it has a warm and slightly nutty flavour – pungent and therefore best consumed in small amounts. At 50c a seed ($3 a bag of them at Coles) or $2.50 for ground nutmeg, it’s safe to say this ingredient is widely underrated and deserves to be celebrated (not just at Christmas time). 

What does nutmeg do?

If you enjoy spiced food or have an extremely well-stocked pantry, you may have nutmeg in your rotation of spices already. If not, you heard it from us that it’s extremely versatile and plays a vital role in bringing depth of flavour to both sweet and savoury dishes.  

Nutmeg is well-suited to rich, creamy savoury sauces such as cheesy bechamel sauce which is used in lasagne and moussaka. In fact, our Food Director Michelle Southan says that nutmeg is the “secret ingredient for the best-ever white sauce.” 

“Nutmeg adds a warmth and just a hint of spice which provides an extra depth of flavour to a creamy bechamel taking it to the next level”, she explains.

How to use nutmeg

Now I know why my Nonna’s food tastes so good: she peppers some nutmeg over her baked potatoes, in her bolognese, gravy – and needless to say – it works wonders. 

Michelle also loves using it with veggies such as pumpkin and spinach. The nutty flavour of nutmeg pairs beautifully with spinach and “nutmeg and pumpkin work wonders together – adding extra warmth, nuttiness and a touch of sweetness”, explains Michelle.

The whole seed can be thrown into your cooking to diffuse flavour, before removing it when serving. Alternatively, you can grate the nutmeg to taste (this is our preferred method, as it means you can use the pod again).

More dishes that thrive off nutmeg: rice, seafood, lamb, casseroles, souffle and carbonara.

Desserts to use nutmeg in

But it’s not only savoury dishes that I love using this earthy spice in. It’s great in sweet, warm milky drinks, rice pudding and anything with a custard base. 

When Michelle makes baked custard, she says: “Nutmeg is essential.”

“The warm smells and comforting aromas of nutmeg, bring back my childhood memories of going to my nana’s house for Sunday lunch and waiting with excitement for her baked rice custard pudding to appear.”

If you want your house to be filled with the aromas of nutmeg then try our baked nutmeg custard recipe. This recipe really shows how nutmeg is a superstar dessert ingredient. 

Nutmeg benefits

Taste aside, nutmeg’s health benefits are in abundance. Our nutritionist Chrissy Freer once rated nutmeg in her Top 100 foods, saying: “ Nutmeg has antibacterial properties, thought to assist in destroying food-borne bacteria. It also contains eugenol, which acts as an antioxidant and may play a role in preventing heart disease by inhibiting blood clots. Nutmeg contains the minerals copper and manganese.”

The appropriate question is: what doesn’t nutmeg do?

Nutmeg substitutes

You’re probably no stranger to cinnamon – which has a similar warmth and earthiness to nutmeg, but is slightly more suited to sweet dishes. There are other (less sweet) spices, including cardamom, ginger, and cloves (not the garlic kind) that could be used in similar ways. 

But in my opinion (and my Nonna’s), this spice is one of a kind. 

Nutmeg recipes

Warm up with some of our best-ever nutmeg dishes:

• Nutmeg slice
• Creamy potato nutmeg bake
• Easy creamy rice pudding
• Gingerbread granola recipe 

Originally published as What is nutmeg? (And why should you add it to your recipes?)