BUT IS IT?
Nutmeg contains myristicin and elemicin which are hallucinogenics. Don't let your children eat nutmeg.
JUST SAY NO!
The CC couldn't resist that little parody but the basic thought is correct. Nutmeg does lead to colorful dreams. Of course, the CC doesn't know of a suitable "double blind" study but he's happy to go with the empirical evidence.
The Romans used to burn it. Whether or not they "inhaled" is best left to the imagination. We have no evidence but the CC will point out that people didn't exactly import exceedingly expensive spices (back in the day) just to toss them into the fire without any payoff from the Gods or otherwise.
In any case, what is clear is that the Italians adore their noce moscata ("Walnuts from Muscat", or "Oriental Walnuts" for a less-literal, more metaphorically-accurate translation), and use it in dishes both sweet and savory.
Artistically-minded readers will, of course, note the metaphorical (and literal) associative conjoining of "dreams" with the Orient.
1 comment:
"Myristicin is a strong hallucinogen, with such side effects as severe headaches, cramps, and nausea. Nevertheless it has been a popular drug among prison inmates and the poor because it is cheap and easily obtainable. In his autobiography, Malcolm X tells of using it in a Boston jail, and the great jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker is reputed to have eaten nutmeg with milk or cola. But there is no need to worry about the nutmeg you might scrape onto your eggnog or pudding. The average dose required to produce hallucinations is on the order of two whole nutmegs." Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking, p. 160.
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