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Mace

This is one of the pleasantest and most used of spices. It is the outer covering of the nutmeg. Mace is dried previous to its being packed tight in bags. Its general qualities are the same as those of nutmeg; it has an agreeable aromatic odour, and a hot biting taste. When fresh, mace is blood-red, and somewhat fleshy. It is prepared for the market by drying it in the sun for some days, and flattening it. The outer covering of a species of myristica, different from the true nutmeg, but coarse and very inferior, is sometimes sold as mace. When partaken of to excess, mace produces determination of blood to the head, and occasions intellectual disturbance.