If one season has the best desserts, it's fall. Sorry, summer popsicles and wintertime toffee puddings — when it comes to flavors, the delicious profiles of apple, cinnamon, pumpkin, nutmeg, and more are too hard to resist. And if you thought that your favorite fall desserts couldn't taste any better, then you probably have never toasted this one ingredient before.
Known for its warm, sweet, spicy, and sometimes bitter taste, nutmeg is one of the most popular ingredients during the fall season. It's pretty versatile, too, and can be found in a variety of dishes from mac and cheese to pumpkin pie. And while this spice is jam-packed with flavor, toasting your nutmeg can take it (and your dish) to a whole new level.
While sweet, nutmeg can be a bit bitter, too. Toasting the spice helps it to release its volatile oils, which helps to smooth out the bitterness and sharpness of nutmeg. Then, when added to your recipe, it can result in a more cohesive overall flavor.
The toasted taste adds a delicious depth. There are a few ways to toast your nutmeg Toasting your nutmeg is a pretty easy step to accomplish before adding it to your recipe. It's so easy, in fact, that you'll probably be incorporating it into a few of your go-to staples.
If you're using whole nutmeg, you can add it to a pan on medium-high heat and toast it for around four to five minutes, moving the seeds often. From there, you can grind up the spice or grate it, and add it to your recipe. But if ground nutmeg is all .