What is a nutmegger?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
November 28, 2003
Suggested Reading: Click here.
Nutmeg is the kernel of the seed from the fruit of Myristica fragrans Houttuyn, a tree native to the Banda Islands (Moluccas). The hard kernel must be grated before use and, although it loses much of its rich warm fragrance and taste, nutmeg is usually sold grated in the U.S. Prior to containerized spices, nutmegs were expensive and sold whole to preserve their aromatic oils.
In Medieval Latin, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the spice was called nux muscata, literally the musked or scented nut. The name, with a few linguistic changes, has stuck through the centuries.
In Old French, it was muguette or noix de muscade; Italian, noce moscada; Spanish, nuez moscada; Portuguese, noz moscada; Dutch, noot muskaat; German, muskatnuss. Most European languages have cognates for the spice. By Middle English, the spice was called nutmuge, notemuge, nutmigge, or nutmegge--all apparently deriving from the French.
The -meg or "musk" part of the name can be traced to the Arabic and Turkish traders--mushk, misk, and musk--all names referring to the fragrance. Musk and misk are ancient words dating to the Persians. They in turn apparently took the word from the Hindi, mushk. The Hindi is thought derived from the Sanskrit, mushka, meaning testicle. Musk came to mean the "odoriferous secretions of the male musk deer, Moschus moschiferus". (Compiled from: Century Unabridged Dictionary, 1889)
According to the Connecticut State Library, "Nutmegger" came to refer to residents of Connecticut, the Nutmeg State, but how the state received that nickname is unclear. A nutmegger may have been a peddler who sold nutmegs. It is difficult to imagine someone making a living off of a single product, perhaps the peddler sold spices. The alternative story is that nutmegger was a shrewd and ingenious con artist who whittled nutmegs from wood and peddled the fakes to gullible housewives. ("FAQs about Connecticut", Connecticut State Library)
Suggested Reading:
What was early American pumpkin pie? Herbal Folklore - November 18, 2002
What was nutmeg worth? Plants that Changed History - November 25, 2003
What is a nutmeg? Weird Plants - November 27, 2003
What is a nutmegger? What's in a Name? - November 28, 2003
How was nutmeg taken medicinally? Herbal Folklore - December 1, 2003
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