The particle size, composition and antioxidant capacity of nutmeg ground by ambient, chilled and liquid nitrogen methods were studied. About 70% of nutmeg ground by each of the three methods was classified as 'medium' particle size. Grinding method did not affect moisture content, which averaged 6.8%. Nutmeg ground by the ambient method had a higher percentage of steam volatile oil (5.8%) than nutmeg ground by the chilled (5.5%) and liquid nitrogen (5.3%) methods. The percentage of oleoresin in nutmeg ground under ambient conditions varied widely from batch to batch, while nutmeg ground by the liquid nitrogen method had a more consistent batch-to-batch percentage of oleoresin. A series of standard solutions was prepared from pure nutmeg oleoresin and a color equivalent was calculated for each sample to indicate the amount of color compound in the sample relative to the standard curve. The color equivalent of nutmeg ground by the liquid nitrogen method (0.969 g/100 mL) was higher than that for nutmeg ground by the chilled (0.748 g/100 mL) and ambient (0.902 g/100 mL) methods. The addition of 2.5% nutmeg was found to have a slight antioxidant effect when tested in a model salad dressing formula.