Whole nutmeg: Once you try it freshly-
grated, you’ll never go back to pre-grated.

We use it to flavor apples and other seasonal fruits (pies, compotes, sautéed sliced fruit), to make cookies and pastries and in custards. We love it in egg dishes and vegetable purées. It’s our favorite seasoning with spinach in any form, and on pasta with broccoli rabe.

For beverages, use it in addition to (or instead of) cinnamon on hot chocolate, coffee, cappuccino, mulled cider, warm milk, cold milk, chocolate milk and of course, eggnog!

If you’ve had the nutmeg for several years, you can check the quality by piercing it with a needle. If the skin pierces slightly and a drop of oil flows out, the nut is still fresh. If the skin won’t pierce, it’s dried out. (See how to check your other spices for freshness.)

The nutmeg is the seed of an evergreen tree fruit. The tree, botanically known as Myristica fragrans, is indigenous to tropical southeast Asia and Australasia. Mace is the milder-tasting dried hull of the nutmeg—the part you peel off to get to the nut.

If you’re making deviled eggs for New Year’s Eve, serve them in flavors. Fresh dill, curry, infused tobiko roes and wasabi are popular choices.

Just divide the mashed yolks mixture after you’ve added the binder (mayo, dijon, sour cream) and salt.

But filling the eggs—even just one flavor—can be a devilish chore. Instead of struggling to spoon in the filling, do what caterers do and put it in a Ziploc-type bag. Cut off a corner of the bag and simply squeeze the filling into the egg whites.

Now that you know the easy way, here are more favorite flavors to try: bacon (“bacon and eggs”), chopped chives, chutney, crab, crumbled blue cheese, jalapeño, kalamata olives, lemon herb and smoked salmon.

We also have a favorite caviar deviled egg recipe. It has a cap of caviar, but you can also mix tobiko into the filling.

See our recipe for these deviled eggs, topped with caviar from The Little Pearl.
  

1. Natural & Artisan Cheeses: Americans are getting better taste in cheese. Between 2001 and 2006, sales of natural cheese increased 10%, while sales of processed cheese declined 9.1%, according to research firm Mintel International. Specialty cheese sales at supermarkets that gross over $2 million per year have grown 8.6%, according to The Nielsen Company.

2. Convenience: Pre-seasoned cheese, along with grated and crumbled cheese, string cheese, stick cheese, cubed cheese and natural cheese slices are growing at an annual rate of up to 17%.

3. Ethnic Cheeses: In 2006, Italian cheeses surpassed American natural cheeses in popularity (note that this popularity is highly influenced by the amount of mozzarella on pizzas). Additionally, Latin American and Spanish cheeses are no longer considered a niche market, since many non-Hispanic consumers incorporate the cheeses into their cooking. Half of the top 10 fastest-growing specialty cheeses at retail are Hispanic cheeses.

4. Probiotics: There is a large increase in cheese products with probiotics, beneficial bacteria that aid digestion that were previously found largely in yogurts. In September 2007, Kraft introduced LiveAction cheese sticks, the first probiotic cheese in North America with national distribution. For more information about probiotics, read our article, What is Probiotic Food?

5. Increased Snacking: According to Mintel International, two-thirds of consumers like the convenience of natural cheese snacks in single-serving packages. Dieters eat more cheese on average than non-dieters, as the snack offers both protein and calcium. (However, they are also high in fat.)

Overall, consumers are interested in cheese that “tells a story.” Rather than boring sliced, processed cheese from a large manufacturer, consumers have turned their attention to cheeses produced in a certain region, or even a single farmstead. Still, convenience remains a top issue, and consumers will pay more for pre-grated cheese, even though freshly-grated is more flavorful. Check out the Cheese Section in THE NIBBLE online magazine for many cheese ideas for 2008.