Cooking
What was the photo in my last post? Donna of Wine Stained Cloth guessed it--it's a fresh nutmeg, covered in mace. The seed is found inside the fruit and the red veins are mace. When peeled, the mace dries in about a week then it can be ground and used as spice. After the mace covering is removed, the pod can be cracked open and inside is the part of the nutmeg that is ground and used as spice.
Freshly ground nutmeg is wonderfully fragrant and adds a distinctive spicy flavor to a variety of baked goods and desserts such as pumpkin pie, gingerbread and custard. It is also used in eggnog and mulled wine or cider. Often paired with cinnamon, it is also used in savory dishes in some parts of the Middle East, Greece, and in Caribbean and Dutch cuisine. I like a tiny bit added to bechamel sauce and also to spinach. At home I use a microplane for grating whole nutmeg. I don't know if it is any stronger in the fresh form, but I'll let you know when I try it.
- Spice Rack Redux
Do you have an old-fashioned spice rack? You know the type I'm talking about. It looks so nice you probably put it on display. Lots of bottles, labeled and filled with herbs and spices. Sadly herbs and spices deteriorate rapidly when exposed to...
- Mondays With Maida - Connecticut Nutmeg Hermits
Page 37 in the old book / page 71 in the new book I love nutmeg - so I wasn't surprised that I liked these cookies so much, but I was surprised that I couldn't taste the nutmeg in them. The recipe calls for 3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and no other...
- Monday's Breakfast
Nutmeg Muffins with a Cinnamon-Sugar Top. Matt says: "Tender, and mildly sweet. The nutmeg is present, but not too strong. Nicely compliments the cinnamon topping." Alex says: "Yum-ee! Dee-licious!" ( Heather, let me know if you try them!) Tagged...
- Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins
Second recipe from this book, and we're just as happy with the finished product. A nice muffin batter, with buttermilk and nutmeg (I like to think I don't need to include the 'freshly grated' instruction every time...), baked till dry...
- Blowing The Dust Off...
Another 'oldie': from the August 1969 Gourmet, White Mountain Cake. This one came from one my favorite sections, the 'You Asked For It' column. The cake, apparently, came a bakery in Philadelphia, which had gone out of business. Interesting...
Cooking
Fresh from the tree...
What was the photo in my last post? Donna of Wine Stained Cloth guessed it--it's a fresh nutmeg, covered in mace. The seed is found inside the fruit and the red veins are mace. When peeled, the mace dries in about a week then it can be ground and used as spice. After the mace covering is removed, the pod can be cracked open and inside is the part of the nutmeg that is ground and used as spice.
Freshly ground nutmeg is wonderfully fragrant and adds a distinctive spicy flavor to a variety of baked goods and desserts such as pumpkin pie, gingerbread and custard. It is also used in eggnog and mulled wine or cider. Often paired with cinnamon, it is also used in savory dishes in some parts of the Middle East, Greece, and in Caribbean and Dutch cuisine. I like a tiny bit added to bechamel sauce and also to spinach. At home I use a microplane for grating whole nutmeg. I don't know if it is any stronger in the fresh form, but I'll let you know when I try it.
- Spice Rack Redux
Do you have an old-fashioned spice rack? You know the type I'm talking about. It looks so nice you probably put it on display. Lots of bottles, labeled and filled with herbs and spices. Sadly herbs and spices deteriorate rapidly when exposed to...
- Mondays With Maida - Connecticut Nutmeg Hermits
Page 37 in the old book / page 71 in the new book I love nutmeg - so I wasn't surprised that I liked these cookies so much, but I was surprised that I couldn't taste the nutmeg in them. The recipe calls for 3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and no other...
- Monday's Breakfast
Nutmeg Muffins with a Cinnamon-Sugar Top. Matt says: "Tender, and mildly sweet. The nutmeg is present, but not too strong. Nicely compliments the cinnamon topping." Alex says: "Yum-ee! Dee-licious!" ( Heather, let me know if you try them!) Tagged...
- Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins
Second recipe from this book, and we're just as happy with the finished product. A nice muffin batter, with buttermilk and nutmeg (I like to think I don't need to include the 'freshly grated' instruction every time...), baked till dry...
- Blowing The Dust Off...
Another 'oldie': from the August 1969 Gourmet, White Mountain Cake. This one came from one my favorite sections, the 'You Asked For It' column. The cake, apparently, came a bakery in Philadelphia, which had gone out of business. Interesting...