Nutmeg Question

I'm trying a new recipe for Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie. It calls for 3/4 tsp of ground nutmeg. I want to use fresh nutmeg. Is their a conversion method for fresh to ground spices. I've heard 3 fresh to 1 dried, but over 2 teaspoons of nutmeg seems like a lot. I found another pumpkin pie recipe that uses 1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg, should I go with that amount?


AValdoux

They're dried so the ratio would be the same. Just grate away on your little nutmeg grater. I've never seen a fresh nutmeg-meaning an undried one.

For herbs the ratio is 3 to 1. So if a recipe calls for 1 tsp of dried, you would add 3 tsp fresh.

It'll taste better than the pre-grated stuff that has oxidized in the bottle. You might actually use a little less since the freshly grated nutmeg will be more flavorful than the powdered version.

It never occured to me that whole is just as dried as ground. Its been a long week.


Avaldoux

Whole nutmeg you grind on a microplane will have a deeper and more complex flavor than the old stuff in those overpriced bottles at the supermarket, but you don't have to use less.

It's like the difference between packaged, ground black pepper and the whole pepper you grind in a mill. There's no comparison in flavor, but you don't actually use less.

The only time I'll use preground nutmeg is during the week before Xmas, when I'm doing a lot of intense baking for the neighborhood. I live near a store that specializes in fresh herbs and has a very fast turnover on all bulk herbs and spices.

Otherwise, I grind all my own sices either in a mill or a molcajete (AKA Mexican food processor) depending on what I'm doing with them.

:rofl:

I don't think the recipe called for 3/4 tsp. But the nutmeg was a nice addition. We plan to use it in our apple pies from now on.