Nutmeg
Nutmeg
(Myristica fragrans -- Family Myristicaceae)
Nutmeg is one of two spices obtained from the nutmeg tree. The other is mace. True nutmeg comes from the genus Myristica, despite the fact that "nutmeg" is often applied to fruits of a large variety of trees and from different orders of plants. The nutmeg tree can reach heights of sixty feet, producing fruits that are a pale amber in colour and which resemble large apricots. When split open, the fruits release glossy, dark-brown nuts covered by lacy red arils. When the nut is dried, it becomes nutmeg and when the aril is dried, it becomes mace.
The seeds are used mainly as a spice, and to consume any more than that amount can be dangerous. Overdoses have been known to produce stomach pain, dizziness, and delirium. They can also be a mild hallucinogenic. One of the substances responsible for the 'warm' taste and special flavour is myristicin, which has a narcotic effect. The effect is not noticeable in small quantities used by cooks, but only in consumption of a large amount. The chemistry of nutmeg is such that the aroma and flavour disappear quickly as soon as it is grated. Thus, this is the reason for the profusion of nutmeg graters.
Nutmeg is probably the only nut that nations have fought over, slaughtering innocent people in the process. The tree is native to the Molucca Islands. The Arabs started buying these spice nuts from the Polynesians and the Malaysians. Later, the Portuguese arrived and took over the trade and the islands. A century later, the Dutch ransacked Portuguese warehouses and ships and took over the islands. They placed a monopoly on the spice and fixing the price so that it could only be delivered to Dutch warehouses. However, since the natives had obtained much higher prices from the Portuguese, they began to trade nutmeg again, but this time using their fast sailboats. There were secret nutmeg plantations on almost all of the small islands of the South Seas, and trade secretly flowed to Europe. When the Dutch received wind of this, they started an eradication program. Landing systematically on all the islands outside the Molucca Sea, the Dutch cut down all the nutmeg trees, wild and cultivated, and cut the throats of the native growers and traders of the spice. But it did not stop the trade. The fast flyboats of the natives escaped with their cargo by night through the cliffs of the Molucca Sea. By 1621, the Dutch were calling this contraband. When they realized that almost all of the natives of the Molucca Islands were secretly trading part of their harvests, they resolved to take more extreme measures. Island after island was blocked by the Dutch ships. Wherever their troops landed, every living soul was killed -- men, women, children, and animals. All were thrown into the sea. This event became known as the "Banda Islands massacre", where the whole indigenous population of the Moluccas was eradicated. Later, the Dutch brought in Malaysians from the overpopulated island of Java and taught them how to care for their nutmeg plantations. It was not until decades later that the Dutch admitted to what was done, and the historical facts became known. The history appears in O. Warburg"s Die Muskatnuss of 1897. One year later, however, the Dutch published in Batavia De Nootmuskaat-Cultuur, by J. M. Janse, omitting the most shocking details of slavery and slaughter. Other books on the history of the Molucca Islands, including some printed in Holland, also admit to the facts.
The tree has been introduced twice to Brazil by the Portuguese. A few plants were growing in 1798 near the mouth of the Amazon. In 1810, four plants were carried from Cayenne to Rio de Janeiro when the Portuguese troops invaded French Guyana. This was shortly after Napoleon invaded Portugal, causing the whole royal family and all nobility to flee to Brazil. For many years, these plants continued to fruit, and the fruits gathered and made into condiments. However, no one gave any thought to replanting in order to produce more trees. By the beginning of the 20th century, all the plants had died from old age. Plants from East Timor, which remained a Portuguese colony, were then reintroduced. A hybrid variety was obtained from a South Sea Dutch possession and used for propogation. Although nutmeg is cultivated primarily as a source of its spices, it is valued in some areas for the fruit. The principal sources for the spice are the Moluccas and Celebes Islands, but a considerable amount is exported from the West Indies, particularly Grenada, where the trees are often interplanted with cacao.
