We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how chilli powder is usually a spice mix while, confusingly, allspice isn’t.
We’ve even shared the fact that some paprika is made using bell pepper (yep, really).
But even those facts didn’t prepare me to learn that mace, that fragrant spice many of us associate with winter treats, isn’t a separate plant at all.
In fact, it’s made from the husk of another, equally seasonal spice.
What plant is mace made from?
According to Brittanica’s online encyclopedia, mace is made from “leshy arils surrounding the nutmeg seed”.
If, like me, you had no idea what an “aril” is, it turns out it’s the covering of a seed.
An example of an “aril” is the fruity part of pomegranate seeds, as well as the flesh of lychee.
The “aril” of nutmeg is bright red and looks a little shiny, sort of like the wax on the outside of Babybels (but with holes in it).
And yes, that does mean nutmeg is a seed.
Mace is dried and optionally ground into a powder to turn it into the spice you might have in your cupboard.
Featuring in dishes as diverse as eggnog, biryani, baklava, and lamb or beef stews, mace offers all the flavour of nutmeg without being as overpowering.
Does it have anything to do with the self-defence spray?
Mace the riot control agent, also sometimes known as tear gas, can contain a substance called oleoresin capsicum.
That’s an oil made from chilli peppers. It contains capsaicin, which is responsible for peppers’ spicy flavour.
It can also contain ortho-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, which science education site Science Direct says “is formed by incomplete combustion of carbon or organic compounds,” and chloro-acetophenone, which is made when benzoyl chloride is put through certain reactions.
But no… it does not contain the spice mace.
