Nutmeg and Mace

This nutmeg plant is grown mainly for it's fruits; and two spices are derived from the fruits are, nutmeg and mace.

The nutmeg fruit is shape oval or pyriform about 2 inches long, colored mottled yellow, and consists of an outer fleshy husk with an inner seed. The husk splits when ripe, exposing the seed. Immediately surrounding the seed, a dried lacy membrane - a leathery in texture, the seed coat(aril of the fruit) is called as 'mace'. The seed kernel inside the fruit is called as 'nutmeg'.

Both nutmeg and mace are similar in taste. The nutmeg has a warm, spicy sweet flavor. The flavors of the nutmeg and mace is due to the volatile oils, present in both tissues. The oil of the nutmeg is obtained by crushing and pressing the seeds, and is called as nutmeg butter.

Nutmeg is usually associated with sweet and spicy dishes — pies, custards, puddings, spice cakes and cookies. It can be also added in soups such as tomatoes, slit pea, chicken or black beans. One whole nutmeg grated equals two to three teaspoons of grounded nutmeg.

The freshness and shelf storage life can be maintained longer if stored in an airtight container.

The first harvest will starts about 7-9 years after planting of the tree, but the trees takes up to 20 years to turn their full potential.

The nutmeg tree is native to the Moluccas and is now cultivated in the West Indies and especially in Grenada.

[image: nutmeg and mace]

Peppermint

Peppermint is a hybrid mint variety, which is a cross between the watermint and spearmint. It is naturalized from Europe; and now it is largely being cultivated in Indiana, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and California. It is also called by other names like american mint, brandy mint, lamb mint, lammint.

There has been constant demand for the leaves and flowering tops, and are collected as soon as the flowers begin to open and then carefully dried. The main product derived from this herb is it's oil, which is produced by distillation of the cultivated herb; and is called as peppermint oil.

Peppermint has high in menthol content, and is often used as a flavouring in tea, ice cream, confectionery, chewing gum, and toothpaste. Peppermint is added in some shampoos and soaps, to give the hair a minty scent and to produce a cooling sensation on the skin.

Various medicinal uses and effects of peppermint oil are described in the following article, http://nccam.nih.gov/health/peppermintoil/

Vanilla

Vanilla is highly valuable for its flavor.

Vanilla beans are a bit long capsular size fruits. The vanilla beans, when the color changes from green to yellow are harvested in the early morning, spread on woolen blankets in the sun all morning(up to five hours), and then by midday are wrapped in the blankets for fermentation. They are stored overnight in metal-lined, air-tight boxes to sweat. This sweating process continues for several weeks, until a substance in the vanilla bean, a glucoside, is changed into vanillin. Other methods of sweating includes the use of warm water scalding and ovens.

The fermented product vanillin is the aromatic phenolic compound which produces the characteristic aroma and flavor of vanilla.

The vanilla extract mixed with sugar and made into a powder called vanilla sugar.

The essential oils of vanilla and vanillin are sometimes used in aromatherapy.