How Nutmeg Is Produced

You’ve probably used nutmeg in your cooking, but have you ever wondered how nutmeg is produced?

Nutmeg comes from the Myristica fragrans tree that is native to the Molucca Islands and produces both nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the seed from the tree and mace is a red covering that is over the seed. No wonder the two are often used in the same types of recipes!

The tree that produces these spices can grow up to 60 feet tall and take a full 7 years to bear fruit. Yet, nutmeg can be grown for up to 90 years from one tree, so waiting for the first 7 to get anything doesn’t seem so bad.

Nutmeg is grown for it’s culinary and medicinal uses. There are many products that can come from the nutmeg seed including the spice used in the kitchen, essential oils and nutmeg butter. The essential oils are used in perfumes and pharmaceuticals. The oil is said to have hallucinogenic properties. It can also be used externally to treat toothache and rheumatic pains.

Nutmeg trees thrive in altitudes from sea level to 500 meters above sea level. The tree propagates through seeds and, while it does take 7 years to produce, the older it gets the more it produces. One tree can yield 5 kilograms of nutmeg and full production is achieved at around 15 to 30 years, but the tree can still yield fruit for 60 years after that.

Once the seed is harvested from the tree and taken out of it’s covering, it is dried in the sun. The drying time can be anywhere between 1 and 2 months. Growers know it is “done” when they can hear a rattling when they shake it. The pit is broken open and the 2 centimeter large nutmeg is exposed and immediately dipped into a lime concoction that repels insects and minimizes damage. The substandard quality nutmegs are sent off to have the oil extracted which will then be used in foods, perfumes, and essential oils for medicinal purposes.

While once exclusive to the Molucca Islands, today nutmeg is grown in the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Sumatra.

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