Nutmeg and Mace
- John Amundson
- Jan 31, 2018
- 2 min read
Hi everybody! Sorry for the late post, this took longer than the other ones because it's a new kind of format and I was still figuring out how to write it and such. Because we've had such an influx of new subscribers, I thought I'd post something special. So I decided to try an idea I've had ever since starting this blog: talk about spices. I mean, this blog is centered around Herbs and spices. I don't know how this will work yet, if this will be a weekly thing or just something I do every now and then. It depends on how much people like it I guess. So today I thought we could talk about two of my personal favorite spices: nutmeg and it's lesser known cousin, mace.
What is it?
The plant myristica fragrans, gives us two spices: nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the seed of the fruit from the tree and mace is the bright red, aromatic webbing, or aril that, when dried becomes mace.
What does it taste like?
It's hard to say what nutmeg tastes like. It's sweet, intoxicating, complex. It has hints of citrus and herbs, cinnamon, clove, and a flavor that is all it's own. The best way to describe nutmeg would be as a spice that tastes like a spice blend. But despite, or maybe because of, this complex flavor profile, it blends with almost anything. It's depth and sweetness adds complexity to sweet and savory dishes alike.
Culinary uses
Nutmeg's culinary uses are almost endless. There's the obvious choices of baking with it or grating some onto eggnog or vanilla ice cream. But some of the best soups I've ever made were finished off with a little nutmeg. You can add it to sauces or grate it over your mac n cheese. And the even better news is that anything nutmeg can do, mace can do better. Since it comes from the same plant, it has all the same aromatic compounds, just in different amounts. It's lighter than nutmeg and doesn't overpower flavors the way nutmeg can. Think of it kind of like ginger, lifting up flavors and enhancing them rather than deepening them. I usually add the blades Whole to soups and stocks or put them in spice blends where I don't want an overbearing nutmeg flavor. Aside from that, the two can be used interchangeably, although the flavor will be subtly different.
Other Uses
As many people on Internet.com will be more than happy to tell you, the flavor of nutmeg is intoxicating. Literally. It contains the essential oil myristicin, which, when consumed in large quantities can induce hallucinogenic effects similar to LSD. I don't recommend it though because the same essential oil is also a potentially lethal neurotoxin that can cause stomach and nerve damage many hours before and after your high. Stay in school and don't do nutmeg.
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