FOOD ACCESSORIES AND SPICES 



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distilling cloves with steam, has many more uses in medicine and 

 dentistry as well as in the perfume and soap industries and in the 

 preparation of microscope mounts of plant and animal tissues. 



Nutmeg and mace, the seed kernel and seed covering respec- 

 tively of a small tropical evergreen tree native to the Spice Islands 

 (fig. 164), were probably unknown to ancient civilization. The 

 ripe fruit of this tree is golden yellow, looking very much like an 

 apricot or small pear. The yellow, 

 fleshy covering splits when the fruit 

 is mature, revealing a bright red 

 leathery covering over the kernel. 

 This covering, known as the mace, is 

 removed, flattened, and dried, to 

 furnish ultimately the delicately fla- 

 vored spice used so widely in prepar- 

 ing pastries, desserts, pickles, and 

 ketchups. The kernels or nutmegs are 

 dried, then have their seed coats re- 

 moved, and finally receive a coating 

 of lime to guard against insect attack. 

 For use, nutmegs are grated or 

 ground, often in the home, after which 

 the granular product is used especially 

 as a flavoring for custards, puddings, 

 pies, and beverages. Nutmeg oil, extracted from the ground 

 product, is used in medicine and in tobacco and perfume 

 manufacture. A fixed oil is extracted and used in soap 

 making. 



Allspice or Jamaica pepper consists of the dried unripe fruit 

 of a small evergreen tree native to the West Indies. Jamaica 

 produces most of the world's supply of allspice, the flavor of 

 which resembles that of a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nut- 

 meg. Allspice is collected when the small berries are mature but 

 still green, and dried for several days during which time they 

 become more aromatic and turn to a reddish brown color. In 

 preparing pickles, allspice is often used whole, for most other 

 culinary uses it is ground to a powder and used alone or in com- 

 bination with other spices. The essential oil responsible for the 



A c 



Fig. 164. — Nutmeg and 

 mace are the seed kernel and 

 seed covering respectively of a 

 small tropical evergreen tree; 

 figured above are the fruit 

 (A), nutmeg (B), and mace 

 (C). 



