Researching food topics at times leads me down some interesting, and surprising, paths. Take this column, for example. While doing some holiday baking recently, the distinctive aroma of nutmeg wafting through the house sparked the idea of writing about this flavorful spice. As usual, I sat down at my computer and began to Google.
Really, the things I don’t know continue to astonish me. I’ve been cooking for many years but never did I realize that nutmeg has a dark side.
I was fairly familiar with nutmeg’s lighter side when I began my research. I knew, for instance, that Arab traders first discovered the spice in what is now Indonesia, and started selling it in Venice hundreds of years ago. It was so highly valued that when the Dutch set about exploring the East Indies, one of their primary goals was to find its source. They eventually found it on Banda Island.
Eventually, enterprising souls transplanted some of the tropical evergreens, of which nutmeg is the seed, to locations around the globe, and it is now grown in many tropical regions, although the nutmeg from Indonesia and Malaysia is still considered superior to that grown in the West.
I also was aware that nutmeg is used in the cooking of many cultures, from India to the Middle East, to Europe, and the Americas. In this country, we tend to use it in sweet preparations, but in other countries nutmeg shows up in curries (Japan), stews (India), stuffed pasta (Italy) and meat dishes (the Middle East). I like to grate a bit into cooked greens, and cruciferous vegetables. (Incidentally, freshly grated nutmeg is far superior to the pre-ground stuff.)
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Now for a little walk on the dark side. One of the first articles I came across in my Google search was “My Nutmeg Bender,” a piece by Wayne Curtis in the January/February 2012/01 edition of The Atlantic magazine. The author, when doing his own research, discovered that nutmeg contains myristicin, a psychoactive substance similar to amphetamine. Curtis also found out that nutmeg’s psychoactive properties were known as long ago as the 12th century.
Andrew Weil of Harvard Medical School wrote a paper back in 1966 summarizing the evidence (mostly anecdotal) of nutmeg’s narcotic nature for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He posits that because nutmeg was used so frequently in traditional healing throughout the world for many hundreds of years, opportunities for accidental overdoses produced abundant evidence of nutmeg “highs” and poisonings. (I should note that Dr. Weil was a friend of Timothy Leary’s while a student at Harvard, and spent many years researching in the field of psychopharmacology.) Weil was able to unearth only one nutmeg fatality, however: an 8-year-old boy who consumed two whole nutmegs.
Aside from accidental overdoses, most cases of nutmeg poisoning occurred in young people seeking a cheap high. Evidently, the word got out about nutmeg while I was living under a rock. I certainly don’t remember Malcolm X writing about his prison nutmeg highs in his autobiography. The younger generation was paying closer attention.
Kids, don’t go raiding your mother’s spice rack. Nutmeg inebriation is apparently not all it’s cracked up to be. First off, you have to consume two to three tablespoons to attain the desired effect, and Wayne Curtis states that nutmeg straight-up tastes like turpentine, and it left him in a foggy state of mind for days. Others have reported that it induced vomiting and rapid heartbeat, led to terrifying hallucinations, and felt like a two-day hangover. The negative reports far outweigh the positive; in fact, most nutmeg “users” experienced none of the promised highs, just abysmal lows. Personally, I would avoid any experience that leaves you feeling “like you’re moving through mud.”
The bottom line? Reserve the use of this spice for delicious culinary applications (and don’t let your toddlers, dogs or cats anywhere near a nutmeg).
Contact Cindy Bradley by emailing [email protected]. Please put “Cindy Bradley” in the subject line.
Armenian Nutmeg Cake
Read the recipe through before starting — it’s a bit unusual. I usually don’t add the nuts, and never the frosting, as I find this is one lily that doesn’t need gilding.
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups brown sugar light or dark)
- 1/4 pound cold butter, diced, plus additional for greasing pan.
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
- Mocha Frosting (optional) See recipe.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the brown sugar. Cut in the butter. Place half of this mixture in a greased 9-inch springform pan and pat down.
In another bowl, beat together the egg and vanilla. Add a mixture of the milk, nutmeg and baking soda; whisk thoroughly. Add this mixture to the remaining half of the flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour into pan. Top with nuts, if using. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack.
Mocha Frosting
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
Beat all ingredients together until creamy. Add a little hot water if needed to make frosting easier to spread.
Recipe from Cathy Gillespie-Jones, Canberra, Australia, 1989.
Creamed Kale
- 1 bunch kale, thoroughly cleaned, ribs removed
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the kale until it is tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and let cool until you can handle it. Squeeze as much liquid out of the kale as possible with your bare hands, then wrap the kale in a clean towel and squeeze some more. Finely chop the kale.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the shallot and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in the milk all at once. Return pan to heat and bring mixture to a boil, stirring. Add the kale, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir for a few minutes to allow the kale to reheat. Serves 4.
Turnip Puree with Orange and Nutmeg
Think you don’t like turnips? Give this a try.
- 3 pounds turnips, peeled
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Zest from 1 orange
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Halve the turnips if they are small or quarter them if they are large. Place in a large pan and cover with cold, unsalted water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until they are very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and pass through a ricer.
Place the riced turnips in a large saucepan set over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until some of the liquid has evaporated and they are the consistency of mashed potatoes, about 20 minutes. Stir in the cream, butter, orange zest, orange juice, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 more minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.
From NYT Cooking.
A portion of the instructions for this recipe was missing in earlier versions of this story, online and in print. It has been corrected.
