Try This Alternative For Grating Nutmeg When You Don't Have A Grater

Just about anything can be made more extraordinary with a light dusting of freshly grated nutmeg. That's not hyperbole, either — even a humble plate of scrambled eggs becomes fit for royalty when it's given a light sprinkle of the spice. But, should your grater suddenly decide to call it quits, there's no need to panic. Your trusty coffee grinder can step in as a substitute.

Coffee grinders aren't all that different from spice grinders: They use burrs to pulverize whatever you feed them. In this case, that "whatever" happens to be nutmeg — just, not whole nutmeg, mind you. You'll need to crack open the tough shells, then further break the inner seeds into smaller, grinder-friendly pieces, first. 

Simply pop the nutmeg pieces into the coffee grinder, turn your coffee grinder to the finest setting, let it do its thing for a couple of seconds, and there you go — perfectly ground nutmeg that's just as aromatic and flavorful as anything your grater could give you! The only real downside is that, unless you want to drink nutmeg-scented coffee, you'll have to clean the coffee grinder very thoroughly afterward. 

If both your grater and your coffee grinder are out of commission, your high-speed blender's going to save the day. The same preparation rules apply here — don't even think about dropping whole nutmegs into that blender. Those rock-hard shells will either damage your blender blades or create an ear-splitting racket. 

When all else fails and your blender isn't an option, then it's time to fall back on the old reliable — your mortar and pestle. Plop that nutmeg into the mortar and give it a couple of solid whacks with the pestle until it cracks. Then comes the arm workout: Apply some elbow grease and grind away in circular motions until you've got that beautiful powdery nutmeg you're after. Fair warning, though, this is going to take some patience, and you'll definitely feel it in your arms afterward. But hey, if you're dead set on making roasted orange and nutmeg chicken for dinner and this is your only option, a little soreness is not a bad trade-off.