Mace

Botanical particulars of the two spices and their history are described under nutmeg. Mace is prepared by detaching it from the nut, flattening it, and drying it. Simply dried, it retains most of its natural red colour, and Indonesian mace is usually exported in this form. That from Grenada is first stored in darkness for some months to ‘cure’ it, takes on a paler, orange-yellow colour, and commands the higher price. Mace from either source normally reaches the consumer in powdered form, but can be had in whole ‘blades’.