Mace
Also known as Myristica fragrans, macis, Muskatblüte, fleur de muscade, macis de nuez moscada
The scarlet lace that wraps the nutmeg seed inside the same fruit. Lighter, more floral and slightly bitter where nutmeg is round and sweet, and the classic seasoning of the pale fine emulsion.
Mace and nutmeg grow together. The fruit of Myristica fragrans splits to reveal a dark seed wrapped in a bright scarlet net, and that net is mace, prised off by hand and dried until it fades to a brittle orange-brown. The seed inside is nutmeg. One tree gives both, in a ratio of roughly a hundred parts nutmeg to one of mace, which is why mace has always cost several times as much.
The two are constantly listed as alternatives in recipes and they are not the same seasoning. They share the principal aromatics, so the family resemblance is obvious, but mace is lighter, more floral and carries a slight bitterness and a peppery edge that nutmeg does not have. Nutmeg is rounder, sweeter and heavier. A formula that names both is exploiting the gap between them; a formula that names one specifically has usually been arrived at by tasting.
Mace is above all the spice of the pale fine-ground sausage. It belongs with white pepper in the German Brühwurst family, in Fleischwurst, Lyoner and the Mortadella branch, in boudin blanc, in fine veal and poultry preparations, and in the English potted and pressed meats. Its advantage over nutmeg in these products is partly colour: ground mace is a warm orange rather than brown and disappears in a pale emulsion, where nutmeg can leave a faint muddiness in a very white product. Its lighter aroma also suits delicate meats that heavier spicing would bury.
It comes in two forms. Blade mace is the whole dried aril, which keeps its aroma for a long time and can be infused into a brine or a stock and removed. Ground mace is the practical form for a farce and, like all ground spices, it goes stale, losing the floral top note first and leaving a dull bitterness that is easily mistaken for having used too much.
Doses are small, typically 0.2 to 0.8 g per kilo of meat, and mace is less forgiving than coriander at the top of its range. Beyond the point where it is pleasant it turns soapy and faintly medicinal, the same failure mode as its sibling.