Some historians argue that Christopher Columbus and other explorers of the New World and Asia were after nutmeg, not the pepper we learned about in school. That's because doctors touted nutmeg as a cure for plague, the most feared illness of the Renaissance and late Middle Ages. Nutmeg is native to a few islands on the tip of what is now Indonesia. These islands were the site of bloody massacres of natives and troops from European countries who struggled to control the trade. The Dutch won, for quite a while, and kept a tight grip on victory, destroying any trees outside their monopoly. The British acquired the American colony of New Amsterdam, soon thereafter rechristened New York, as part of the settlement of a war over nutmeg. When the British finally also took over the nutmeg trade, the English occupiers rapidly spread nutmeg production around the globe, including to the Caribbean island of Grenada. An entire book has been written about nutmeg's impact on world history: "Nathaniel's Nutmeg: Or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History," by Giles Milton" (Penguin, 2000). Gourmets in Colonial America and in Europe used to carry their own nutmegs and graters to meals in public and in private homes. The graters are now highly prized antiques. Today, virtually all nutmeg consumed in America comes from Grenada. Nutmeg flavors all sorts of dishes in the Caribbean, including some jerk seasonings and nutmeg ice cream. Nutmeg and mace are parts of the same tree: The nutmeg is the seed of the fruit, and mace is a substance that covers the seed. Although the two taste somewhat different, in a real pinch you can substitute one for the other. Reprinted from azstarnet.com