I really enjoy finding out some interesting facts about anything and everything, so I thought I would sort of combine the two! After all, we should all know something about the food we eat, right?
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is the only tree that provides two spices: nutmeg (the one we are all familiar with) and the lesser known mace. Mace was very popular in the 18th century as a flavor additive to meat products and is an essential ingredient in the traditionally made French white sauce, where the mace is steeped with an onion in hot milk before being added to a mixture of flour and butter to produce béchamel sauce – the French “mother” sauce. Pictured above the nutmeg is the brown seed and the mace is the red outer layer.
See? Notice how I managed to find out something about a spice often used in the baking of some pies? Think that is a coincidence? I wonder about that myself!
Coffee on the patio this morning. Gonna be a beautiful Spring morning!
