Nutmeg vs allspice
Two warm resinous spices that taste of several others at once, and both fade almost immediately once ground. Both were fought over by European powers, and only one of them travelled successfully.
botanical
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Nutmeg | Allspice |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The seed of an Indonesian fruit, with the red aril around it sold separately as mace. | The dried unripe berry of a Caribbean myrtle, one tree and one fruit. |
| Flavour | Warm, sweet and resinous with a woody bitterness underneath. | Clove-dominant with cinnamon and nutmeg behind it — which is what the name promises. |
| History | The Dutch monopoly on the Banda Islands, and Run traded to the Dutch for Manhattan in 1667. | Jamaican cultivation has dominated since the seventeenth century; it resists growing elsewhere. |
| In drinks | Grated into milk drinks, eggnog, mulled wine and Caribbean rum punch. | Caribbean sorrel at Christmas, jerk seasoning, and European mulled preparations. |
| Keeping | Whole nuts keep for years; ground nutmeg is stale within months. | Whole berries keep well and ground allspice fades fast and is often bulked. |
The short answer
Both are worth buying whole and neither is worth buying ground. Allspice is the closer of the two to clove; nutmeg is sweeter and more resinous.
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