Indonesian kitchen: Nutmeg in your pot

Whohas never heard of nutmeg?

Merchants and adventurers sailing from the western hemisphere and seekingfortunes in the East once considered this spice one of the top commodities nextto cloves.

But where does nutmeg actually come from? According to history books, theregion of Maluku and the small island of Banda are places where the nutmegtrade began in times gone by.

People in the region regard the nutmeg tree and its fruit as one of the mostbeautiful and useful plants around. On opening the fruit, we can see thenet-shaped fuli (mace), which has a blazing deep red-orange color. This notonly serves as a flavor enhancer but can also be used as a very attractivedecoration for dark-colored dishes such as semur (stew), which is usuallyprepared with the addition of sweet soy sauce.

Waterbirds in mangrove forests under threat

Thenumber of species and the populations of waterbirds in Muara Angke naturalconservation area, North Jakarta, have decreased because of water pollution andhuman encroachment into the area, an environmental organization says.

During its annual survey on Saturday, volunteers of Jakarta Green Monster (JGM)found 206 waterbirds, down from 333 last year, with only 18 species identified,down from last year’s 23.

JGM reported that the missing species were the Little Cormorant (Phalacrocoraxsulcirostris), Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana), White-browed Crake(Porzanna cinerea), Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) and Black-naped Tern(Sterna sumatrana).