Nutmeg: the Heady and Blood-Soaked Spice

Welcome to the third episode of Well-Seasoned History. Our protagonist of the day is nutmeg, the pit of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans). Ripe nutmeg fruits resemble yellowish apricots. They taste like ginger and can be made into nutmeg candy, syrup, jam. Fruits then crack open into halves and reveal the red mace that surrounds the pit. The mace has a similar taste to the seed itself but is more delicate. The seeds are then dried under the sun until. Farmers know they are well-dried when they rattle inside their hard seed shell when being shaken.