Thursday, August 8, 2013

Substitutes For Ground Nutmeg

Use the right spices when substituting ground nutmeg in your recipes.


Nutmeg is a spice that comes from the nutmeg tree's fruit pit. It has a slightly sweet, somewhat nutty taste and is used for baking and in cooking dishes that demand its unique flavor. If you do not have ground nutmeg on hand, there are alternatives to use in its place. While some spice substitutions suggest how much to use teaspoon for teaspoon, for those that do not, Better Homes and Gardens recommends using half the amount that your recipe calls for and adding more to suit your taste.








Mace








Both mace and nutmeg come from the fruit of the same tree. While nutmeg is made from the seed, mace is made by grinding the coating or covering of the seed. This makes them very close in flavor. However, mace is slightly more bitter than nutmeg. For every 1 tsp. of nutmeg your recipe requires use 1 tsp. of mace.


Ground Cinnamon


Ground cinnamon is one of the more commonly used spices that is interchangeable for ground nutmeg. It has a distinctive, sweet flavor and often is used for baking. Sse 1 tsp. to 1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon in place of every 1 tsp. of ground nutmeg requested in the recipe.


Apple Pie Spice


Apple pie spice is a combination of spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and allspice. Because most of these spices are a suitable substitution for nutmeg, this works as a replacement in most recipes that call for nutmeg or nutmeg and cinnamon.


Whole Nutmeg


Nutmeg is sold in both ground and whole form. If you do not have ground nutmeg on hand, grate a whole nutmeg to use as a replacement. Grated whole nutmeg is the equivalent of 2 to 3 tsps. of ground nutmeg and will have a fresher taste.


Allspice


Allspice is another spice that is a useful substitution for ground nutmeg. It has a taste that is similar to a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. When using it in your recipe, ground allspice is used teaspoon for teaspoon for ground nutmeg.


Ground Ginger


Ground ginger often is used in baked goods and is one of the spice that can replace ground nutmeg in a recipe. It has a sweet, spicy flavor and like nutmeg, works well in both dessert and savory dishes.

Tags: ground nutmeg, ground nutmeg, spice that, your recipe, ground nutmeg hand, have ground