(Mace or Nutmeg)
Mace Nutmeg Plant Green Fruit Macassar Nutmeg Cross section of Fruit Ripe Fruit in act of bursting Nutmeg, in shell Shell partly removed Cross section of Nutmeg Penang Nutmegs ½ Natural size
Nutmegs and Mace
The Nutmeg-tree, genus Myristica (natural order Myristicaceæ), native of the Malay Archipelago, usually grows to a height of twenty to thirty feet. While the greater part of the world’s supply of both Nutmegs and Mace comes from the Banda Islands, the West Indies are by no means to be overlooked.
The Nutmeg fruit is about three inches long and about two inches in diameter. It includes, first, the outer or fleshy membranous part; second, the substance covering the outer shell of the Nutmeg, known as Mace, next the shell, and finally the kernel or commercial Nutmeg.
After harvesting, which in some places is done with long forked sticks or bamboo poles, the red colored network (Mace) is removed and the nuts are placed over a fire in mesh bottom receptacles, where they remain for perhaps a month, being kept about ten feet away from the flames. They are next exposed to the sun for two or three hours daily for several days, or until the kernels rattle within the shell. They are then removed from the shell and assorted into three general grades.
Among the many varieties of Nutmegs the Singapore, Penang, West Indian and Macassars are most esteemed, the price being regulated by the type, size and quality of the nut.
During the past few years ground Nutmeg has been placed on the market and is steadily finding favor with American housewives.