Nutmeg

Nutmeg is the spice derived from the seed of the fragrant nutmeg tree (*Myristica fragrans*), a dark-leaved evergreen native to the Banda Islands in Maluku, Indonesia. The same tree also produces mace, a spice made from the reddish, lacy covering (aril) that envelops the seed. Both nutmeg and mace are used as food spices, and the tree is also a commercial source of nutmeg essential oil and nutmeg butter. The Banda Islands remain the main producer of both spices. The nutmeg tree is dioecious, meaning individual trees are either male or female, and propagation is done sexually from seeds or asexually from cuttings or grafting. Because sexual propagation yields about half male seedlings, which are unproductive, and because the sex of a tree cannot be determined until it flowers in its sixth to eighth year, grafting—particularly epicotyl grafting—is the preferred method of cultivation. The first harvest occurs seven to nine years after planting, with full production reached after twenty years. In their native Banda Islands, nutmeg trees grow in a symbiotic relationship with the Kenari nut tree, which provides shade and acts as a windbreak. The seeds are dried gradually in the sun for fifteen to thirty weeks, during which the kernel shrinks away from its hard shell until it rattles inside. The shell is then broken with a wooden club, revealing greenish-brown, furrowed, egg-shaped seeds. The spice has a distinctive pungent fragrance and a warm, slightly sweet taste, used to flavor baked goods, confections, puddings, potatoes, meats, sausages, sauces, vegetables, and beverages like eggnog. Mace has a similar but more delicate flavor and is used in light dishes, as well as in preserving and pickling. In traditional medicine, nutmeg has been used for its psychoactive properties, but high doses can cause acute psychosis, with risks heightened during pregnancy and for those with psychiatric conditions. Two other *Myristica* species, *M. malabarica* and *M. argentea*, are sometimes used to adulterate nutmeg. Conifers of the genus *Torreya*, known as nutmeg yews, have edible seeds of similar appearance but are not related and are not used as a spice.