The Nutmeg has a long and wild history .
Nutmeg is native to the Banda islands of Indonesia. When the Portuguese rounded the Cape of Good Hope in Africa in the late 1400s, they took control of the spice trade because they could transport nutmeg far more cheaply in the hold of a ship than it could be transported by caravan. Soon the Dutch became the predominant traders of this precious spice. At the time, the only source of nutmeg was on Run Island. Because the British also wanted in on the lucrative trade there were many struggles between the British and the Dutch over control of the Island.
During the Napoleonic wars, the English finally gained control of Run Island and proceeded to plant nutmeg trees in Grenada and Zanzibar. This ensured that the British would not lose complete control of the Nutmeg trade should they ever decide to give up the island again.
1690 Nutmeg grater NewAmsterdam, I think that screw is a little newer.
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Nutmeg was very sought after but only the well off could afford it. a LB. of nutmeg was worth seven fat oxen in the 1400
1882
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In the 1600s, "the Dutch and the British were kind of shadowing each other all over the globe," explains Cornell historian Eric Tagliacozzo. They were competing for territory and control of the spice trade. In 1667, after years of battling, they sat down to hash out a treaty.
"Both had something that the other wanted," explains Krondl. The British wanted to hold onto Manhattan, which they'd managed to gain control of a few years earlier. And the Dutch wanted the last nutmeg-producing island that the British controlled, as well as territory in South America that produced sugar.
"So they [the Dutch] traded Manhattan, which wasn't so important in those days, to get nutmeg and sugar."
And back then, the Dutch considered it a sweet deal.
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And if you never seen the fruit with mace on the nutmeg
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The fruit is edible it is often dried and taste of candied ginger.