Two spices for the price of one

Posted by noelbynature under Food, Heritage Sites and Trails
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One of the world’s most influential spices, nutmeg is a native of the Banda Islands in Indonesia. But there was a time when Singapore grew some nutmeg as well. Today, we don’t grow any nutmeg for export any more, but it turns out that we’re one of the largest re-exporters of nutmeg in the world. yg introduces us this fascinating fruit that is really two spices in one.

How is nutmeg a two-in-one? yg explains:

using my walking stick, i managed to hit and knock a few fruit down. at home, when i cut open the fruit, i was surprised to see a red membrance encasing the seed. i found out that this red lacy stuff is called the mace. another thing that i learnt is that the spice that is called nutmeg is actually enclosed in the seed. the spice nutmeg is not the fleshy part of the fruit. when the fruit is ripe, it actually split open to reveal the mace within. the mace turns crimson only when the fruit is ripe.

Yes, the nutmeg tree produces both the nutmeg spice (the seed) and mace (the red stuff). And grated nutmeg tastes great on your morning bowl of oatmeal, too. Read about the nutmeg in yg’s blog… and see if you can find the answer to where the nutmeg tree is in Singapore.

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