Nutmeg

Nutmeg is one of the spices, along with mace, derived from the seeds of Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree of the Banda Islands. The kernels may be used whole, grated, or ground, lending warm, sweet-spicy notes to baking, dairy desserts, sausages, and mulled beverages. Characteristic flavour compounds include α- and β-pinene, myristicin, camphene, dipentene, and sabinene. Quality grading covers size, soundness, and freedom from mold, since nutmeg is susceptible to aflatoxin contamination in humid storage. At culinary doses it is safe, but the myristicin content makes excessive consumption toxic, a standard caution in food-safety education.