Nutmeg

Highly aromatic nutmeg is one og the oldest cultivated spices. It is the hard stone of the fruit of the nutmeg tree and is covered with a lacy, red webbing that is harvested as a separate spice, mace. Once nutmeg is grated, its volatile oils quickly begin to evaporate and its flavor diminish. So it is better to buy whole nutmegs, rather than pre-ground, and you can grate nutmeg as needed. Use nutmeg grater, a tool with fine, sharp rasps and a small compartment for storing one or two nutmegs, or the finest rasps on a shredder-grater.