What is a nutmegger?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

November 28, 2003

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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
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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.
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"Unknowing buyers may have failed to grate nutmegs, thinking they had to be cracked like a walnut. Nutmegs are wood, and bounce when struck. If southern customers did not grate them, they may very well have accused the Yankees of selling useless "wooden" nutmegs, unaware that they wear down to a pungent powder to season pies and breads." Elizabeth Abbe, Librarian, the Connecticut Historical Society; Connecticut Magazine, April 1980. Peddler Showing His Wares to a Farm Family, c.1800 Giclee Print Buy Giclee Print at AllPosters.com

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. ("Connecticut's Nicknames", Connecticut State Library)

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"I use nutmeg on a regular basis and had been looking for an easier option for grating. (We've all had the experience of grating our fingertips and knuckles at one time or another!) This is an incredible product. The construction is high quality and the fact that it came with several whole nutmegs was just an added bonus. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's looking for an alternative to the standard metal grater." by Teresa William Bounds 3.25-in. Nut Twister Nutmeg Mill, Black, Click here.

Elizabeth David, who died in 1992, was a very private person who seldom gave interviews. However, a 1984 collection of her journalism entitled An Omelet and a Glass of Wine greatly revealed David to her readers and is now considered the best food book written in the 20th century. Now, nearly twenty years later, Viking will publish the sequel to that landmark book. Is There a Nutmeg in the House? contains material that has never appeared in previous collections. The emphasis throughout is on the practical aspects of cooking and eating and the book includes 150 recipes from around the world. Delightful essays on her various likes and dislikes–from the wonders of nutmeg to the utterly useless garlic press–complete a unique picture of what for so long made David the most influential writer on food in the English language. Is There A Nutmeg In The House?, Click here.

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