Nutmeg (jaiphal) and mace (jaipatri)

It’s always nice when a tree yields one useful spice, but when it gives you two, you just might become a tree hugger. The nutmeg tree, indigenous to Indonesia, is cultivated along India’s western shores. The pear-shaped nutmeg fruit is revered for its seed. Pry the fruit apart and you can see a beautiful orange-brown web that wraps its tentacles around a hard, dark brown shell. The web is the spice known as mace; it is found in pieces (“blades”) in Indian grocery stores and is available from many mail-order sources. Ground mace is more common, but it loses its sweet, musky flavor within a short time (two months after grinding, in my opinion). When the shell dries and is broken open, a hard, light brown nut with little specks of white emerges: This is nutmeg. Just like mace, nutmeg is best when freshly ground (or in this case grated).