Nutmeg

Nutmeg is called the core of the fruit of the nutmeg tree. This tree has been growing for almost a hundred years, and the first 40 years of its life actively bear fruit. In just one year, it is able to produce more than 10000 fruits that look a little like apricot. After full ripening, these fruits burst, and the core appears.

The nut itself is, in fact, the seeds inside the stone. To get it, these bones are well dried in the open sun, and then cleaned. The resulting core is carefully dried over the fire until it becomes dark. To get high-quality nutmeg, you need to use fruits that bloom for 3-4 months. The finished nut will be round or oval in shape, small in size of 2-3 centimeters. Round types of nutmeg have a richer smell and taste than oval ones.

The application and the magical properties of nutmeg were known to ancient people in Rome and Greece. It was used as an additive to food, as a drug or as a pleasant flavoring. The first records about it are dated to the first century of our era, but they began to be used everywhere only about 1000 years ago.

In Europe, it was distributed much later, after the colonization of the Portuguese. In particular, it was on one of the colonized islands that muscat trees actively grew, which ensured its widespread occurrence. Until about 19 century, the Netherlands and Portugal were the only suppliers of spices, and kept a very high bar prices for this spice. But after growing nutmeg plantations in India, Ceylon, and Latin America, the price of this spice plummeted.

If possible, buy nutmeg in kernels – this way it will retain much more useful properties and its rich amazing taste. If you can’t buy whole nutmeg, choose ground nutmeg or buy it in sealed, airtight containers. Give preference to well-established manufacturers.

Useful Properties

The nutmeg fruit has a lot of useful properties: they contain a huge amount of vitamins and minerals, as well as essential oil and pectin. If consumed in small doses, their pronounced positive properties will become noticeable. But do not abuse the nut, as it has a serious stimulating and tonic effect on the nervous system and heart.

In eastern medicine, it is used to treat men with the problem of rapid ejaculation, as well as a cure for impotence and for other disorders of intimate life. Ground nutmeg is believed to act as an aphrodisiac, enhancing sexual attraction and arousal.

If you use the minimum dose, you can normalize sleep and somewhat calm the nervous system. Often it is added to massage oil, hot tea is made – these means can stimulate the immune system and treat colds in the early stages.

Beneficial features:

• stimulates immunity;
• improves blood circulation;
• helps the digestive system;
• improves arthritis;
• reduces the risk of rheumatism;
• strengthens hair and nails;
• prevents the spread of viruses in the body;
• has anti-inflammatory effect;
• improves the potency in men;
• helps with autoimmune diseases.

From the nutmeg tincture with the addition of sunflower oil make a special massage paste, which is used to treat osteochondrosis and arthritis. For this warm paste should be used as a compress, which is applied to the sore spot. Then you need to wrap this place with plastic, cover with a warm cloth and leave before it cools.

Excellent, it helps those with intestinal problems, particularly constipation or diarrhea. It saves from loss of appetite, as it stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, and also reduces the formation of gas.

For the treatment of the gastrointestinal tract, you need to take a little nutmeg and dry ginger, add yogurt and water in equal proportions. Yogurt can be replaced with kefir or fermented baked milk if you like their taste more. The result should be about a glass of the mixture, which you need to drink at a time. The effect will become noticeable after 2-3 hours, possibly later if you had lunch or dinner before.

Application in medicine

Nutmeg is excellent in helping to cope with various diseases, it is used as a supportive treatment. For example, it is used in the treatment of vascular dystonia, as it is able to normalize blood circulation. Including its use can relieve migraines or just headaches, as well as put blood pressure in order. For example, some people with severe migraines use an express treatment using a paste made from a mixture of milk and nutmeg. To do this, you need to take fresh and very high-quality cow’s milk, add ground nutmeg to it and apply this remedy on your forehead, waiting until the pain disappears.

Even in ancient times, nutmeg was used even to treat toothache, as well as to get rid of muscle pain. It has been used for various nervous disorders due to its stimulating effects. In any case, nutmeg with regular use only brings benefits. And also its regular use in small amounts helps to cleanse the liver and kidneys. It also purifies the blood and helps to remove all kinds of poisons and toxins from the body. In addition, the substances contained in nutmeg can cheer up and stimulate the appetite of adults and children.

For women

Nutmeg is very often used by women suffering from mastopathy. For maintenance treatment there is no need to cook something special, you just need to use nutmeg as you wish. It will be ideal if it is added to dishes without heat treatment. It is best used in combination with fresh vegetable salads.

During lactation, the benefits of nutmeg are invaluable if a woman has problems with lactation – it stimulates the production of milk, which will be enough to feed a child.

The healthiest and tastiest way to do this is to prepare a kefir-based cocktail: you need to mix nutmeg with kefir, add a little dill and drink as you wish in any quantity in the absence of an allergic reaction.

Even a serious problem such as varicose veins will help get rid of nutmeg. To help, you need to take the powder, add a glass of boiling water, a little honey and insist for 10 or 15 minutes. It is recommended to cook it once, without heating, and drink 2 times a day. It is advisable to do this in the morning half an hour before meals, and after dinner after half an hour.

For children

If your child is nut-tolerant and not allergic, you can add a little nutmeg to his meals while he is teething, but not more than a tenth of a gram. Give your child a mixture of nutmeg, milk and honey and it will act as a sedative. Then the child will reduce the unpleasant symptoms that occur when teeth are cut, he will stop refusing to eat and become calmer.

Grated nutmeg is also excellent for those who suffer from gas and bloating, as well as noticeable colic. It is also sometimes used to help babies by adding a very small amount of spice to various dishes. The main thing is to add it little by little, as the child may react badly to the nut.

Use in cooking

Due to aroma and spicy taste, such a spice as nutmeg is mainly added to desserts, most often to various pastries such as cakes, pies or cookies. It is also great as an additive to cottage cheese or chocolate, but in general chocolate and nutmeg are considered just the perfect combination, and also a powerful aphrodisiac.

If you like nuts, pay attention also to the beneficial properties of peanuts and Brazil nuts.

Real gourmets even add nutmeg to soups, poultry, game or meat dishes, as well as vegetables. It also goes well with side dishes, and nutmeg lovers add it to compote. It combines perfectly with tomatoes, so it is often added to tomato sauce or ketchup, including in factory production.

Nutmeg also pairs well with wine and other beverages, as it imparts its spicy, nutty flavor to them. Often it is used in combination with milk, especially in cocktails. For real lovers, it is added in very small quantities to canned fish, and also combined with curry. Nutmeg is very widely used in the factory production of meat dishes, including sausages or smoked meats, as well as for fish during conservation.

Essential oil with a pronounced pleasant aroma is also made from nutmeg. It is most often used for aromatherapy, as well as in perfumes and to shade a pleasant smell. In small quantities it is added to tobacco for cigarettes, cigars or pipes, making it more pleasant. Crusts from this nut are used to make nutmeg essence, which is popular in Europe for making various kinds of nutmeg sauces and additives, as well as in cheese production.

Storage and use

It is very important to know that nutmeg should only be used as a seasoning in small quantities. Use no more than 1 kernel per day as a food supplement. If you exceed the recommended amount, you may experience heart palpitations, headache, vomiting. From large doses, the gastrointestinal tract as a whole, and especially the pancreas, can suffer. The nut is carefully crushed using a grater, or ground.

Nutmeg is usually sold as whole kernels, as it loses flavor very quickly after grinding, so you need to grind it just before use. It is also desirable to store it in its entirety, and not in the form of a powder. Nutmeg massage oil is often used to massage the body for colds, especially the throat. In addition, with regular use, it can help with some benign tumors, including because it stimulates the immune system. He is also able to localize some formations, helps in the treatment of tuberculosis or staphylococcus aureus.

Hazardous properties

In addition to its undoubted benefits, nutmeg has dangerous properties. In particular, it contains very small amounts of a substance that acts as a drug and a mild hallucinogen. This does not mean that nutmeg is a drug or that it can have such a special effect, but if you eat a few kernels raw, you can get very bad food poisoning. The effect of it is individual and can be either just feeling unwell or ending with nausea, cramps, heart palpitations and disorientation.

Butter nutmeg oil is absolutely contraindicated for pregnant women because of its stimulating effect, for the same reason it cannot be consumed by people suffering from epilepsy and with individual intolerance to the components.

At the same time, a fresh product, among other things, can give the effect of drug intoxication, accompanied by hallucinations. In cases of consuming a very large amount of fresh nutmeg in allergy sufferers, severe coma or even death may occur. If you notice at least one of these symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.

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