Nutmeg 豆蔻

I was eager to write about this for long and finally here it is - The Nutmeg. I have tried numerous products of nutmeg: nutmeg juice, nutmeg rind as well as its pickle BUT I have never seen the real crop. (Yes, I'm a typical city girl who despised going out and only played barbie dolls when I was young.) Well, my mum cited homemade nutmeg juice is a must in every Penang family during my grandparents' era. 

There would be bountiful nutmeg trees in the whole kampung and every child could collect the fruits freely. However, now they are scarcely seen and we managed to find the fruits at Balik Pulau market eventually.

相信大家对豆蔻水一点都不陌生吧。而我其实真的没看过豆蔻树。（本小姐小时候不喜欢出门，最爱在家玩芭比娃娃) 妈妈说以前槟城到处都是豆蔻树，每家每户都会自制豆蔻水解暑。好啦，这次老妈子特地在浮罗菜市场买到豆蔻子，就是让我这井底之蛙看一看啦。

Looks like a gigantic long kong/ langsat but it is definitely not edible rawly.

棕褐色的外表光滑，看起来很像龙宫果/兰撒果。

Crush the nutmeg into halves through the mere depression on the skin. It is easily cut with a sharp kitchen knife and you would see the pulp and also the fiery red seed as below. 

轻轻的用小刀在那凹线滑一滑，就可以把果肉和种子分开啦。

It was creamy white in colour but it became discoloured once it got exposed to the air。

奶白色的果肉一旦一接触到空气，就变成黄黄的。

Carefully remove the scarlet red nutmeg mace from the seed. If you wish to produce nutmeg oil or any essential oil, these maces have to be utilized. Since we are just making the pure juice, we need its white flesh only. 

果肉被一层红红的丝包围着。它们的功用呢，就是拿来制作豆蔻油。而我们要做豆蔻水，就不需要它们啦。

Subsequently, place all the nutmeg flesh into your cooking pot. As for my preference, we use slow cooker to let it simmer overnight. Remember to add some sugar to enhance the sweetness.

最后就把豆蔻肉放入闷锅，煮上一整晚。记得加一点糖来调味。

Well, I have no idea why the cooked nutmegs turned red after all. Anyhow, what we really concern is the aromatic tangy taste. The advantage of homemade nutmeg juice is we could adjust our own flavour amd sugariness, unlike the commercialized nutmeg juice in bottles which is dull and purely candy-coated.

我也不明白熟透的豆蔻会转成橘红色。其实最重要的是那香甜的味道啦。商场上卖的大多是味道偏淡还添加了很多糖，味道不佳。而自己DIY就可以自己调味，也比较健康。

The Health Benefits of Nutmeg Juice 豆蔻水的好处

1. Skin care 养颜美容

2. Potent brain booster 刺激脑部活动

3.  Relieve indigestion 促进消化

4.  Detoxification for liver and kidney 肝脏解毒

However, it is not recommended to consume nutmeg juice in excessive amount according to medical research as it might cause toxic and also neurological effects like dizziness and hallucination. 可是根据某些研究，服用过度的豆蔻会造成脑部症状。

Hope you guys enjoy the zesty extract of nutmeg like I do!