Processing

Nutmeg tree yields up to three times in a season. Once harvested from the tree, the outer coat or husk is removed and discarded. Just underneath the tough husk is the goldenbrown color aril, known as mace, enveloping nutmeg kernel. Mace is gently peeled off from the kernel surface, flattened into strips, dried, and sold either as whole or finely ground. The nutmeg kernels are then dried under sun for several days to weeks. At larger commercial setups, this process is done rather more rapidly over a hot drier machine until the whole nutmeg rattles inside the shell.