A most versatile spice keeps its appeal

Press, 12 March 1983, Page 10

A most versatile spice keeps its appeal

Food & Fable by

David Burton

The days when the Netherlandscontrolled the lucrative spice trade from the East Indies, the Colonial Governor once received orders from home to cut the number of nutmeg trees in production and increase the plantings of those bearing mace. Three centuries later the joke may still be lost onsome people: nutmeg and mace are products of the same tree. A tropica] evergreen growing up to 20 metres high, it produces yellowish-green fruits about the size and shape of an apricot. The outer flesh of the fruit (which in Indonesia is used for confectionery) encloses the nutmeg, which itself is surrounded by a fleshy scarlet net. This is the mace. After drying the mace turns leathery and brown, and while it used to be sold like this as blade mace, today it is usually ground before sale. Botanists quaintly call the. nutmeg a “harem tree,” in that one male is sufficient to pollinate 10 to 20 nearby females. The trees do not begin bearing for eight years, but once started, continue' for 60 years or more, a good tree yielding 1500 to 2000 nutmegs a year. Nutmeg is a native of the Moluccan Islands (now part of Indonesia), just to the west of Papua-New Guinea. The spice spread westward with Arab traders, and in 1000 AD we find mention of it in the writings of the Persian physician. Avicenna. The first reliable record of nutmeg in Europe was in 1190, on the visit to Rome of Henry VI, the German king and Holy Roman emperor. For the benefit of his regal nostrils, his route through the city was fumigated with “India nut” and other spices. Following their first successful shipment of spices from the Moluccas- in 1512, the Portugese jealously guarded their secret trade route, even to the extent of distributing false sea charts of the Moluccan seas designed . to lead ships on to rocks rather than away from them. In the seventeenth century the Dutch ousted the Portugese from the East Indies and before long could afford to employ 80,000 to 90,000 people in the spice trade. Having a complete monopoly over the spice trade in Europe, the Dutch kept prices artificially high. In 1770, when it seemed the supply of cloves and nutmeg might outstrip demand, the equivalent of an entire year’s harvest was taken from warehouses in Amsterdam and burned. Such a trade was only made possible by the incredible fashion for nutmeg which swept through Europe in the sixteenth century, and lasted right through into the eighteenth. Those forced to live largely on a diet of vege-

tables, found the novel spices added extra interest and flavour. More particularly, the strong aroma helped to disguise the rancidity of meat laid down in brine since the end of autumn. Nutmeg now appeared in every sort of sweet and savoury dish, and there is little doubt that the seasoning was often overdone. In England, it became the vogue to own a personal nutmeg grater, used at the table to grate more nutmeg over dishes which probably already contained it. These tiny graters were usually made from sterling silver and came in a variety of shapes and sizes — circular, square, tubular, octagonal, heart-shaped — and so on. Today the finest part of a standard three-sided grater will be found to do the job just as well. Obviously the Dutch spice monopoly could not and did not last, in spite of such drastic measures as burning off three quarters of all their nutmeg plantations, leaving only those on the most easily defended islands, and imposing the death penalty on anyone caught smuggling out nutmeg tree seedlings. About 1773 a Frenchman by the name of Pierre Poivre finally succeeded in smuggling out some trees, after fifteen years of attempting to do so. He planted them on the island of Mauritius and in 1780 the first harvest reached France. The Dutch monopoly was broken. Only just broken, however, for the plantings at Mauritius were not particularly successful. Only on the island of Grenada in the West Indies has its introduction been successful. Even then the output is comparatively small and the quality not so good as Indonesia, the nutmegs being coarser and oilier. Not surprisingly, nutmeg plantings have spread to islands neighbouring the Moluccas, but Indonesia as a whole still accounts for 70 per cent of the world crop. Like most spices, nutmeg has been accredited with medicinal value. In the Middle Ages it was scattered about in a vain attempt to hold back the Black Plague. Taken in large enough quantities, (a teaspoon or more) nutmeg is said to have narcotic properties, which may explain why an oil of

nutmeg used to be widely prescribed for insomnia. Inferior quality nutmegs were used for making this oil, mostly those which had been attacked by a worm (which still plagues the crop today and keeps prices up.) Nutmeg should be grated fresh if possible, since its fragrant volatile oils evaporate soon after grinding. It can almost always be substituted for the more pungently aromatic mace, which is a little harder to obtain. Generally speaking, mace is used for savoury dishes, nutmeg in both savoury and sweet dishes. Nutmeg goes especially well with cream sauces and milk dishes, and is the traditional garnish of eggnogs and hot chocolate. Both mace and nutmeg are good with fish, and certain soups such as chicken or mushroom. A little nutmeg greatly enhances a liver pate, a momay sauce or fish or chicken, or a pumpkin pie. Spinach, carrots, squash, cabbage and witloof all benefit from a light sprinkling of nutmeg, and it goes into innumerable cakes, biscuits and puddings. A most versatile spice indeed. Peppers stuffed with beef and pork Ask your butcher to mince the pork for you. Instead of peppers you can use 6 to 8 cabbage leaves, blanched several minutes in boiling water to make them soft and pliable. 1 tb butter 1 medium onion, finely diced 2- cloves garlic, crushed 150 g minced beef 150 g minced por IOOg fresh breadcrumbs 1 tsp beef stock powder (optional) salt and pepper 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 3- large green peppers. Melt the butter in a frypan and fry onion until glazed but not browned. Add garlic, minced beef, and minced pork and fry for about five minutes, turning constantly with a wooden spoon to ensure even cooking. Add breadcrumbs and beef stock powder and fry another five minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle over nutmeg, using more or less than a teaspoon according to personal taste. Stuff whole peppers or cabbage leaves and place in a very hot oven for about 10 minutes. Serves three.

Bread and butter cake (Boterhamkoek) Not surprisingly, the Netherlands’past possession of the East Indies has led to spice-rich national dishes such as this cake, which as the name suggests, is best served sliced and buttered.

500 g plain flour IOOg brown sugar 3 tsp baking powder 2 tsp anise seeds 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger '/ 2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 250 g golden syrup 300 ml (‘/z pt) milk

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 degrees Farenheight). Sift flour into a bowl and mix in other dry ingredients. Stir golden syrup into milk until well dissolved.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in about three quarters of the milk mixture. Stir, adding more liquid as necessary, but retain a fairly firm mixture. This should be done quite quickly.

Transfer to a floured surface and mould into the approximate shape of a 20cm (Bin) baking tin. Place in the

greased baking tin and bake 1 to PA hours until the cake begins to leave the sides of the tin and a trial skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool on a cake rack before slicing and buttering.