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Although nutmeg was available in Europe since the 13.th century, significant trade started not before the 16.th century, when Portuguese ships sailed to India and further, to the famed Spice Islands (Moluccas), today the Maluku province in Eastern Indonesia. During the 17.th century, the Dutch succeeded in monopolizing the nutmeg trade, as they did with cloves. Keeping the monopoly was easy as the Banda islands, the only place where nutmeg grows naturally, were so tiny and isolated.
The natives, unwilling to cooperate with the Dutch colonial regime and its governor Jan Pieterszoon Coen, were nearly exterminated: Only a few hundred of former 15000 Bandanese survived the 1621 war and fled to the more Southern Tanimbar archipelago. Arab traders and Chinese workers came to fill up population, working force was cheap because of slavery, and thus nutmeg production brought enormous profits despite the expensive wars. This was simply because the demand for nutmeg in Europe was constantly high during the whole 17.th century and the Dutch East-India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) could dictate the prices at will. This situation changed only in the 18.th century, when the French succeeded in smuggling nutmeg trees from the Bandas and thereby broke the Dutch monopoly.
To any visitor of the beautiful Banda islands, nutmeg's history is still present: An ethnically divers population, a Chinese temple side-to-side to the mosque, European-style streetlights with their bases shaped like a ripe nutmeg, beautiful colonial houses now inhabited by locals, a dominating Dutch fort (benteng belgica) and a city museum showing both greatly decorated colonial living rooms and paintings of the cruel wars – all these are witnesses from a time when the Bandas were the center of Dutch power and interest, and not just a romantic and quiet archipelago, far away from economical or political importance.
Today, nutmeg's popularity has shrunken and the spice is less used, still most
in Arab countries, Iran and Northern India, where both nutmeg and mace appear
in delicately-flavoured meat dishes. The Northern Indian spice mixture garam masala (see cumin) also may
contain nutmeg or mace, as well as compositions of Morocco (ras el
hanout, see cubeb pepper), neighbouring Tunisia
(gâlat dagga, see grains of
paradise) and Saudi Arabia (baharat, see paprika).
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| Streetlight in Banda Neira: Note the base in the shape of an upside-down nutmeg fruit. |
In Western cuisine, nutmeg and mace are more popular for cakes, crackers and stewed fruits; nutmeg is sometimes used to flavour cheese (fondue, Béchamel sauce). The combination of spinach with nutmeg is somewhat a classic, especially for Italian stuffed noodles, e.g., ravioli. The greatest lovers of nutmeg in today's Europe, though, are the Dutch. They use it for cabbage, potato and other vegetables, but also for meat, soups, stews and sauces.
Nutmeg is the characteristic flavouring of sauce Béchamel (white sauce), which despite its French name is today common to several European cuisines. Wheat flour is dispersed in molten butter (temperature must be low to prevent browning), hot milk is added and the mixture is boiled till it thickens; the only spices used are nutmeg and ground white pepper. Sauce Béchamel is rarely served at the table, but more often used for the preparation of baked foods, for on baking it forms a delicious, golden brown surface, especially if sprinkled with some grated cheese (e.g., parmigiano).
Lasagna is one of Italy's most famous dishes: Flat noodle pasta pieces, stuffing (often meat sauce, ragù alla Bolognese, but also spinach or other vegetables) and often cheese are layered in a casserole, topped with a sauce and baked. Most recipes prescribe Béchamel sauce, but some lasagne are actually prepared using a fruity tomato sauce. A somewhat similar recipe from Greece is mousaka [μουσακά], made from an aromatically spiced ground meat sauce and vegetables, most often aubergines, also arranged in layers. The sauce used for that recipe is of Béchamel type, but also contains egg and cheese, which gives a less liquid texture and a phantastic, flavourful crust after baking.
The classical French spice mixture quatre épices (meaning “four spices”), which goes back to cooking traditions in the baroque era, contains nutmeg in combination with much white pepper (some variants use black pepper), cloves and ginger; further, optional ingredients are allspice and cinnamon. All components are finely ground together. The resulting powder is mostly used to flavour meat dishes, especially such which are cooked or braised for a rather long time, e.g. stews and ragouts, sometimes also for sausages and pastries. In character, it is a kind of “enhanced” and “fortified” pepper; thus, it may be used whenever black pepper is prescribed, but a richer and deeper aroma is desired.
Since quite a large fraction of nutmeg is today grown in Grenada, nutmeg has
entered several Caribbean cuisines. In Grenada, it's omnipresent, the locals
even eating nutmeg-flavoured ice cream (see also
vanilla)! Nutmeg is an optional ingredient in a
famous Caribbean spice paste, Jamaican jerk (see allspice).
