The Classic Seasoning Your Grandma Probably Used On Most Dishes

While 2025's biggest food trend may be global culinary crossover, in times past, cooking techniques like seasonings defined the times. For instance, look back into European-inspired cuisine, and nutmeg appeared more readily than now. Sure, the seasoning's still used to make pumpkin pie spice or to finish off eggnog, but it's not the kind of flavor that's reached for daily.

Yet for hundreds of years, from approximately the 17th into the early 20th century, nutmeg was readily sprinkled into dishes of both a sweet and savory context. Back then, the now utilitarian nutmeg grater even served as a marker of wealth, with the European upper class liberally grating the spice into food and drink. And indeed, the uniquely floral, warm, and earthy tones of nutmeg do upgrade cream sauces, add an intricate flavor to savory puddings, or even sausages and meat dishes — all classic applications for the spice. Furthermore, nutmeg upholds a diverse array of spice blends, like French quatre épices still used in dishes like soup and pâté, or a garam masala mix employed in biryani.

The more nutmeg reveals its history, the greater the breadth of its reach, with its accompanying trade routes intertwining continents for centuries. So, what happened then, since when the older generations carried a nutmeg grater in their pocket, to the modern moment when the spice is sparingly used? No one's quite certain, but as Reddit discussion proposes, it's likely a combination of evolving tastes and availability.

Nutmeg originated in modern-day Indonesia, with a globalized history for most of its existence — the spice may have already appeared in ancient Rome by the 1st century A.D. Over the next two millennia, the seed derived from the fruit of the tree (Myristica fragrans) spread into an incredible range of global cuisines, both in growth and utilization. It, quite literally, fueled the spice trade, driving countries to seek new routes to avoid tariffs from other nations.

In regard to American cuisine, nutmeg was especially integrated into New England's cuisine. Here, the spice historically appeared in a wide range of foods and beverages. You'll find nutmeg's notes accompanying ham, carrots, and celery in a bean soup, as well as a spiced flavor in a creamy oyster stew. In the dessert realm, the aromatic appears in old-school dishes like molasses and cornmeal Indian pudding or a nutmeg maple-cream pie. And drinkers even used to add nutmeg to beer or on top of a flip — a centuries-old cocktail made with a whole egg. Sure, nutmeg's flavors still circulate the zeitgeist in a pumpkin spice latte, but the breadth of dishes isn't like prior times.

As discussed on Reddit, 20th-century events like the Great Depression, World War II, and then the Baby Boom forever changed American dining habits. Economic downturn and wartime rationing first eclipsed nutmeg from availability. Then — excluding sausage production — the spice didn't become widely integrated into quickly expanding processed foods. And so, the flavor stuck around predominantly with beverages and desserts instead, a marker of a once more expansive culinary era.