Mace

Mace is a spice made from the dried, lacy reddish covering, called an aril, that surrounds the nutmeg seed inside the fruit of Myristica fragrans, a tree native to the Banda Islands in present-day Indonesia. Once removed and dried, the aril turns a brownish orange color and is sold either whole, known as blades of mace, or ground into powder. Mace has a flavor similar to nutmeg but more delicate and slightly peppery, used in both sweet and savory cooking, notably in bechamel sauce, baked goods, sausages and spice blends, and it historically commanded high prices during the European spice trade because it came from the same rare tree as nutmeg.