Most nutmegs come from the East Indies, West Indies, Molucca or Spice Islands and Brazil. The most common variety is Myristica Moschata. It is a handsome evergreen with a straight trunk about 25 feet high. It is covered with branches from base to tip. The flowers are small and yellow, with a perfume like lilies of the valley.
Nutmeg tree begins bearing fruit after about eight years of growth. The tree blossoms and bears fruit in continuous succession all the year round, but the principal harvests occur about three times a year. The fruit is about the size and shape of a pear.
When ripe, it is golden yellow in color. The fruit opens in halves. Inside is a red, fleshy part called “the mace” and the nut-like seed. Inside this seed is the portion of the nutmeg used as a spice.
After the nuts are separated form the mace, they are dried in ovens until the kernels rattle in the shells. Then the shells are removed. Although nutmegs are usually exported while still whole in order to retain their flavor, they are used for flavoring food only after they have been grated.
Nuts of inferior quality are grounds and the oils are extracted. This is called “Nutmeg Butter”.
