Nutmeg Nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus "Myristica". "Myristica fragrans" (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, and mace, from the seed covering. It is also a commercial source of an essential oil and nutmeg butter. The California nutmeg, "Torreya californica", has a seed of similar appearance, but is not closely related to "Myristica fragans", and is not used as a spice. If consumed in amounts exceeding its typical use as a spice, nutmeg powder may produce allergic
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy were becoming available. The recipe for "Elder-Shoots, in Imitation of Bamboo" makes use of a homely ingredient to substitute for a foreign one that English travellers had encountered in the Far East. The same recipe also calls for a variety of imported spices to flavour the pickle: "an Ounce of white or red Pepper, an Ounce of Ginger sliced, a little Mace, and a few Corns of Jamaica Pepper." There are two recipes for making chocolate, calling for costly imported ingredients like musk (an aromatic obtained from musk deer) and ambergris (a waxy substance from sperm whales), vanilla and cardamon: