The Science of Spice

107

MACE

Ma

Flavour Group | WARMING TERPENES | Mace

BLEND TO TRY

Use and adapt this spice blend

recipe featuring mace:

Garam masala p40

BLENDING SCIENCE

Peppery sabinene is less dominating in mace than in nutmeg and mace has more

fragrant oils, with a wider diversity of perfumed compounds, including floral elemicin,

which works in partnership with terpineol, and small amounts of eugenol and safrole.

Mace lacks the mouth-puckering tannins of nutmeg, giving it a smoother mouthfeel.

FOOD PARTNERS

Vegetables Sprinkle ground mace

over a creamy potato bake, spinach or

carrot soup, or try it in a vegetable pilau.

Shellfish Add a blade of mace to a

shellfish broth, or sprinkle ground mace

over potted shrimp or crab before stirring

it through warm pasta or serving it on

toasted rye bread.

Pork, chicken Sprinkle a little

ground mace into the mixture for pork,

ricotta, and lemon-zest meatballs. Add

a blade to a béchamel sauce for a

creamy chicken pie.

Cheese sauce Infuse milk with a

blade of mace, then make into a cheese

sauce for lasagne or macaroni cheese.

Desserts Infuse into custard for a

trifle, or whisk into sweetened whipped

cream to serve with fruit.

Baking Add ground mace to spiced

cake batters, or sprinkle sparingly over

American pumpkin pie or milk puddings.

pair with another

spice that is smooth

with hyacinth-like

aromas:

coriander is

powerfully floral, with

distinct pine and citrus

compounds, making a

highly effective match

pair with other

sabinene spices:

black pepper is a

great flavour match,

sharing many of

sabinene’s qualities

black cardamom

also brings smokiness,

and limonene traces

to enhance the citrus

curry leaf also has

extra woody notes,

pine flavours, and

hints of mint

add safrole from

elsewhere:

star anise carries

this uncommon

compound too and is

strongly flavoured with

anise-like anethole; it

also brings penetrating

pepperiness

draw out eucalyptus

with eugenol from

other spices:

clove’s sweet scent

is from eugenol, which

strengthens mace’s

eucalyptus, and also

shares terpinenol

allspice also has

strong eugenol, and

adds deep, sweet

pepperiness with a

floral background

The oil-based compounds

in mace dissolve poorly in

water and its flavour can

change with prolonged

heating: some compounds

evaporate and degrade

while new terpene-like

compounds are formed,

producing tastes many

people dislike.

Mace’s more subtle terpene

flavours can be lost through

evaporation, so grind as

needed and use immediately.

Include oil in the cooking

liquor or gently fry, for example

with an onion base, near the

beginning of a dish.

Add whole mace early to

give maximum time for oils

to diffuse out of the blades, but

be wary of lengthy cooking.

Add powder later as it

diffuses and spreads more

quickly, and this reduces

evaporation of terpenes.

TERPINEOL

floral | citrus |

pinewood

SAFROLE

sweet | warming |

anise-like

EUGENOL

eucalyptus |

warming

Kitchen

creativity

Mace will substitute for nutmeg in most sweet dishes, but it is mostly used to

flavour savoury sauces, meat, pickles, and chutneys. Use whole blades to infuse

pale creams and clear broths where flecks of grated nutmeg are unwanted.

RELEASE THE FLAVOUR

SABINENE

woody | peppery |

citrus | camphorous

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