🇸🇦 Arabicar
بسباسة
Basbasa
Banda Islands, Indonesia
Mace
400
g of mace per tree
a mature Myristica fragrans yields annually
1
aril per nutmeg
the lace-like scarlet net over each seed
Banda
Islands origin
Maluku, Indonesia — the original Spice Islands
30
volatile compounds
including myristicin, elemicin and safrole
Visual atlas
Profile
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus Myristica; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, and mace, from the seed covering. It is also a commercial source of nutmeg essential oil and nutmeg butter. The Banda Islands, in Maluku, Indonesia, are the main producer of nutmeg and mace, and the true nutmeg tree is native to the islands.
Mace is the dried aril — a net-like crimson coat — that wraps the nutmeg seed inside the apricot-like fruit of Myristica fragrans. Because the aril is separated from the seed by hand and dried flat in the shade, mace is rarer and more expensive than nutmeg itself: a mature tree yields barely half a kilo of dried mace a year. The color deepens to amber-orange on drying, and the flavor is a refined, lace-edged cousin of nutmeg: less sweet, more floral, with a pepperiness at the tail. It colors and perfumes béchamel, French sausage, Indonesian rendang, Indian garam masala and Moghul biryanis.
Process
01Years 1–8
Tree establishment
Myristica fragrans takes 7–8 years to fruit in Banda's volcanic soil. Trees live for a century; the oldest still producing date to the 17th century.
02Twice yearly
Fruit drop harvest
Ripe nutmeg fruits split open and fall. Workers collect daily — the mace-wrapped seed must be processed within hours.
03Same day
Mace removal
The scarlet aril is peeled from the nutmeg by hand, its lace-like strands spread flat on bamboo mats to dry in the sun.
04Days 3–5
Sun-drying to pale gold
As mace dries, colour changes dramatically: scarlet deepens to amber, then fades to pale golden-orange. Moisture drops to 10 %.
05Your kitchen
Blade or whole blade
Use a whole blade in long braises — remove before serving. For baking, grate fresh: pre-ground mace loses its floral nuance in weeks.
Inside the berry
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
Mace is the lacy red aril around the nutmeg seed. Its essential oil yield is similar (10–13%) but the ratios shift: more alkenylbenzenes, sharper top, less of the deep warmth.
11%
Essential oil
from dried blades
3.2%
Myristicin
vs ~2.5% in nutmeg
1.8%
Elemicin
almost 1.5× nutmeg
1 nut
Per fruit
tiny aril, scarce harvest
Volatile compound profile
- Sabinene22.6%
Peppery-pine — even higher than in nutmeg, the lifted top.
- α-pinene16.4%
Fresh pine resin — the green shoulder.
- Myristicin11.2%
Warm, sweet, slightly heady — the molecule that pushes mace beyond nutmeg.
- β-pinene9.8%
Dry pine — sharpens the column.
- Limonene5.1%
Citrus — a brighter top than nutmeg.
- Elemicin4.6%
Floral-aromatic — softens the alkenylbenzene heat.
- Terpinen-4-ol3.4%
Spicy, woody — cedar undertone.
Versus other peppers
| Pepper | Piperine | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Banda blade Indonesia · the historical reference, deepest red | 11.2% | 11% |
Grenada blade Caribbean · brighter orange, milder heat | 9.8% | 10% |
Sri Lankan blade Matale · paler, more delicate | 8.6% | 9% |
Indian blade Kerala · smaller blades | 7.9% | 8.5% |
Whole nutmeg (Banda) Same plant · less myristicin, deeper warmth | 8.6% | 12% |
Cuisines
How the world cooks with it.
3 signature dishes
Mace is the secret of nineteenth-century English potted-meat and pie cookery — and it never quite left.
- Potted shrimpgrade: blade
Brown shrimp set in spiced butter — mace, white pepper and cayenne, clarified butter on top.
- Steak & kidney puddinggrade: blade
Suet-crust pudding — a single blade of mace lifts the offal.
- Bread saucegrade: blade
Christmas-table classic — milk infused with onion, clove and a blade of mace.
Around the world
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
🇧🇩 Bengalibn
জয়িত্রী
Joyitri
🇨🇳 Chinesezh
肉豆蔻衣
Ròu dòukòu yī
🇳🇱 Dutchnl
Foelie
🇬🇧 Englishen
Mace
🇫🇷 Frenchfr
Macis
🇩🇪 Germande
Macis
🇮🇳 Hindihi
जावित्री
Javitri
🇮🇩 Indonesianid
Bunga pala
🇮🇹 Italianit
Macis
🇯🇵 Japaneseja
メース
Mēsu
🇰🇷 Koreanko
메이스
Meiseu
🇲🇾 Malayms
Bunga pala
MLml
ജാതിപത്രി
Jathipathri
🇮🇷 Persianfa
بسباسه
Basbāseh
🇵🇱 Polishpl
Kwiat muszkatołowy
🇵🇹 Portuguesept
Macis
🇷🇺 Russianru
Мускатный цвет
Muskatnyy tsvet
SIsi
වසාවාසි
Vasavasi
🇪🇸 Spanishes
Macis
🇸🇪 Swedishsv
Muskotblomma
🇮🇳 Tamilta
ஜாதிபத்திரி
Jathipathri
🇹🇷 Turkishtr
Besbase
🇵🇰 Urduur
جاوتری
Javitri
Pairings
Protein
- Potted shrimp
- Bisque & chowder
Plant
- Béchamel & lasagne
Sweet
- Eggnog & custard
- Mulled wine ganache
- Poached peaches
Substitutes
- Banda Nutmeg75% match· soon
- Allspice45% match· soon
- Zanzibar Cloves30% match· soon
Frequent questions
Mace is the aril — a scarlet, lace-like membrane that wraps directly around the nutmeg seed inside the fruit of Myristica fragrans. Same tree, same fruit, two spices. Mace is lighter, more floral and peppery; nutmeg is denser and more resinous. Dutch traders in the Banda Islands valued both equally during the 17th-century spice monopoly.