The Science of Spice

Flavour Group | WARMING TERPENES | Nutmeg 103

BLENDS TO TRY

Use and adapt these classic blends

featuring nutmeg:

Turkish baharat p23

Bumbu p52

Jamaican jerk rub p64

Mulling spice p73

Quatre épices p74

RELEASE THE FLAVOUR

Nutmeg’s flavour oils are so powerful

they can easily overpower a dish, yet

they are also short-lived.

BLENDING SCIENCE

Nutmeg’s woody aroma comes from myristicin, which is integral to its flavour

profile, although it makes up only a small proportion of the oil. Nutmeg also

contains peppery, fruity sabinene, floral geraniol and safrole, clove-like eugenol,

eucalyptus-scented cineole, and conifer-like pinene.

FOOD PARTNERS

Spinach Grate over buttered or

creamed spinach or add to the filling

for spinach and ricotta ravioli.

Lamb Add a generous grating to

meatball mixture or use in moussaka.

Sauces and drinks Include nutmeg

in béchamel, cheese fondue, soufflés,

Indian golden latte (haldi doodh), eggnog,

and Caribbean nutmeg ice cream.

Sweet bakes Use in a Sienese

panforte or sprinkle over custard tarts.

Neolignans’ cooling effect

A group of chemicals

called neolignans were

recently discovered in

nutmeg oil. These act

on the temperature-

sensing nerves on the

tongue and in the mouth

to give a numbing sense

of lingering coolness.

add depth to the

sweetness:

allspice contains

similarly floral linalool

and shares eugenol

and cineole

curry leaf has

many flavour profile

overlaps with nutmeg,

sharing both these

compounds, as well as

pinene and cineole

bolster with other

penetrating spices:

cardamom shares

both compounds and

brings floral sweetness

and hints of camphor

grains of Selim

shares cineole and

also pinene, bringing a

medicinal camphorous

flavour like rosemary

clove’s flavour is

owed to cineole and it

brings added depth

and sweetness

cassia has cineole

and its cinnamaldehyde

can resist nutmeg

complement with

warming spices:

ginger’s zingerone

adds zesty heat, with

citrus-sweet crossover

black pepper also

has a a shared floral

and citrus background

anise has some

myristicin and

enhances nutmeg’s

sweet woodiness

bring out sabinene’s

fruity piquancy:

garlic shares

sabinene, and its

sulphurous pungency

stands up well to

powerful nutmeg

juniper shares

nutmeg’s pinene, and

citrus notes from

limonene work well

with orangey sabinene

GERANIOL AND

SAFROLE

rosy | sweet

MYRISTICIN

woody | warm |

balsamic

SABINENE

orangey | peppery

| woody

Kitchen

creativity

Nutmeg’s deep, sweet, woody flavour works in both sweet and savoury dishes.

Somewhat penetrating and astringent with tannins, it can easily overpower a

dish, but blends happily with other strong spices.

Use sparingly: a

grating literally

means one stroke

on a grater

Add towards the end of the cooking time

for a stronger, more complex flavour, as the

oils are very quick to evaporate.

EUGENOL AND

CINEOLE

clove-like | eucalyptus

| penetrating

Neolignan molecules

False cold signals are

sent to the brain

Tongue papilla

Surface of

tongue

Taste bud

Cold temperature

receptor

Tongue turns slightly

numb from the effect

NUTMEG

Nu

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