Shawon Hasan

THE HISTORY OF OUR REGULAR SPICE: NUTMEG

NUTMEG: A unique spice with a lush history. INTRODUCTION: The nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans) is a tall, evergreen species originally from Southeast Asia. Prior to the late 1700s, it was found only in one part of the world—a small cluster of northeast Indonesian islands in the Banda Sea, hair of the Moluccas—historically referred to as the Spice Islands. Characterized by a dense canopy of leathery, dark green ovate leaves, the tree also bears small, bell-shaped yellow blossoms and distinctive pale-yellow, pear-like fruits. Its fruit is pale yellow and shaped like a pear, enclosed in a fleshy outer covering When fully ripe, the outer layer splits open along a natural seam, revealing a glossy, purple-brown seed roughly 2–3 cm long and 2 cm wide. Surrounding this seed is a vibrant red, lacy membrane known as the aril. From this single fruit come two different spices: nutmeg, which is made by drying the seed, and mace, which is derived from the aril.