Nutmeg has been used in cooking to enhance the taste and aroma of desserts, fruit jams, all kinds of drinks, meat and fish, mushroom and vegetable dishes since ancient times. Once merchants hid the habitats of nutmeg, highly valued for its outlandish aroma, by the 16th century the demand had become so huge that the spice was valued more than gold. The deep, sweet, woody taste of nutmeg is good in both sweet and savory dishes. Often, nutmeg is sold ground, but its aromatic oils evaporate quickly, it is better to buy whole nuts and grate them if necessary. A little harsh and astringent, it can drown out other spices, the main thing is not to overdo it, “grated” in recipes means literally one or two passes of a nut on a fine grater, for a stronger and more complex taste, add the spice at the end of cooking