Nutmeg has been known and used for thousands of years all over the world. At times, it has been used as medicine. Some other times, it has been used recreationally. Today, the nutmeg we all know and love is used as a spice in many foods and drinks, having a sweet & warm flavor that feels good even in the smallest of quantities.
For hundreds of years, this spice has been used in all sorts of foods—soups, stews, meats and vegetables, nutmeg is there. But this spice has really made a grand entrance to popularity hand in hand with coffee. In recent decades, coffee went from very popular to the most popular beverage all over the world. And people are always looking to make their coffee better.
One of the spices that constantly shows up in many coffee recipes is nutmeg.
So, in this article, we’re gonna go over a little about what exactly nutmeg is and some of the best recipes that use nutmeg. Let’s go!
Nutmeg: What Is It?
Like many spices, nutmeg is a seed. But this seed is actually a tree seed, which is why this is one of the biggest seeds you’ll ever see used as a spice. Although there are many nutmeg trees and some are even native to North America, most of the nutmeg trees that produce this specific type of fragrant seed come from Southeast Asia. The biggest producer of nutmeg in the world is Indonesia.
How to Use Nutmeg in Your Coffee?
There are many ways that you can use nutmeg far beyond just sprinkling it on top of it—although that is a big part of it and it’s quite frankly delicious just sprinkled on top of your favorite coffee drink. But also let’s explore several ways of using it as well as several spice mixes that use nutmeg in them:
Chai mix
Chai is simply the Hindi word for “tea”. The most famous tea in India isn’t the typical leaf or fruit tea, but rather a tea that is made by combining several different spices. The result is a fragrant tea that has become very popular all over the world.
Although there are different types of chai mix out there, the ones that use nutmeg are, in this writer’s humble opinion, the best of them all. Here’s a simple recipe to make chai mix that you can sprinkle on all your coffee drinks:
Ingredients:
- 10 grams ground nutmeg
- 5 grams ground cloves
- 5 grams ground allspice
- 15 grams ground ginger
- 10 grams ground cardamom
- 45 grams ground cinnamon
Simply combine them all together and keep in a sealed container. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Mix
Another very popular spice mix is the pumpkin spice mix. This one is born from the spice mix that is used to make pumpkin pie, which is traditionally made around Halloween, which is the season when all the pumpkins are ridiculously big and ready to be harvested. The addition of nutmeg to this mix makes for a sweet, earthy flavor that is hard to say no to.
The flavor of this mix is so good that it has drinks named after it. Everybody knows the pumpkin spice latte by now. Here’s a simple recipe for you to make this mix—you’ll be able to make pumpkin spice latte at home!
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon clove
- A pinch of black pepper (optional)
If you like it extra spicy, add a pinch of black pepper in there. Enjoy!
Moroccan Spice Mix
Morocco, the northernmost of Africa, is very well known for its great cuisine. The way they use spices in all sorts of foods and drinks is legendary and has inspired many world-famous foods that are prepared all over the world.
This, of course, translates to the way they drink coffee. Since Moroccans love spices so much, they often add them to coffee. This is a great example of an utterly delicious Moroccan spice mix that is particularly tasty with coffee:
Ingredients:
- 20 grams grated nutmeg
- 80 grams ground cinnamon
- 10 grams ground cloves
- Crushed seeds from ten cardamom pods
- 5 grams ground ginger
- 5 grams black pepper
Mix them all together and add to black coffee for an authentic Moroccan experience. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: All the recipes above are meant to make for dozens of servings. They are for you to craft a big batch of spice mix, not for one cup or serving.
FAQ
Is Nutmeg Safe to Consume?
Yes! Nutmeg is safe to consume. In very high doses, nutmeg can actually cause hallucinations, which is one of the reasons why some people attempt to use nutmeg as a recreational drug. Beware! Nutmeg in high doses can also cause allergic reactions, so it’s probably best to stick to low doses like the ones in this article.
Is nutmeg expensive?
It depends. A lot of nutmegs have to be shipped from the other side of the world (Indonesia), so it can actually turn out to be quite expensive just because of the cost of transporting it. If you live in North or South America, it will be a little costlier than if you were in Asia or Europe.
Does Nutmeg Come from Trees?
Yes! Nutmeg comes from trees; they are the seeds of those very trees. That’s why they look so big. They have been consumed for thousands of years and there are records of these Asian seeds making their way into Europe all the way back to the Roman empire.
Is Ground Nutmeg not as Good as Fresh Nutmeg?
Like in many cases, fresh is always better. However, you aren’t always going to be able to find fresh nutmeg. And even if you do, it can be much more expensive to buy fresh, like it usually is. But ground nutmeg just doesn’t compare to freshly grated nutmeg—so, if you get the chance, you should go for it!