Non harmful mace

Fall is once again upon us, and that means it's time to start talking about autumnal classics because apparently that's a type of food.  I'm not sure who decided we're not supposed to eat gingerbread and stuffing all year round, but whatever.  So let's talk about a spice that's considered a major player in autumnal edibles, Mace, or myristica fragrans.  No, it isn't used in pepper spray.  It's also got nothing to do with the medieval weapon of the same name.  No, mace is a much more benign substance than the name would lead you to believe.

Mace is the same plant as nutmeg.  It's funny how we give such different names to different parts of the same plant.  For example, cilantro and coriander are the same plant, but are the leaves and seeds of it, respectively.  Though this distinction is lost outside of the US where they call both "coriander".  Cilantro is the Spanish name for the plant and we're most familiar with it through Mexican cooking so...  Wait, I'm rambling again...

Let's try that again...  Mace is the same plant as nutmeg.  The difference is that nutmeg is the, well, nut.  Mace is the aril, or soft skin that covers it.  It looks almost like something out of a SyFy original.  Like a weird alien egg.  This covering is peeled off in what is referred to as "blades".  These are rather delicate which is why you almost never find them sold whole.  In fact, the delicate nature of the plant makes this one of the most expensive spices second only to saffron.

Better not let Kane inspect them...

So what does it taste like?  All this time I've been talking about mace and I haven't mentioned the flavor at all.  Well, sit down and brace yourself.  You're not gonna believe this.  Mace tastes...  like nutmeg.  It's a little more delicate, woody and fragrant, but all in all the two are very similar.  Because of the expense of mace, it would be completely understandable if you decided to substitute nutmeg instead.  Apparently there's a saying that mace is for cooking while nutmeg is for baking, but the recipes I've seen tend to directly contradict that.

Speaking of recipes, this is the part where I give a recipe.  I don't use mace in much, I'll admit.  I tend to just throw it into sauce heavy dishes to add more flavor so I don't have a recipe of my own that I use.  However, this recipe calls out to me despite the fact that I haven't tried it yet.

Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)

UPDATE: Make that recipe if you want to. However, I have found a recipe that is AMAZING!!!!!!!!! You must eat it now!!!! I tried using veggie hotdogs but they were bland and useless. Use potatoes instead for easy vegetarian soup.

Yellow Split Pea and Frankfurter Soup

So while you might not use a whole lot of mace outside of festive fall confections, you'll get a lot of mileage out of it if you're into baked sweets.  While people might insist it shines best in savory dishes, I feel that it gets called for equally in both parts.

Look out! It's hatching! RUN!

McCormick to Clean Up

Well, I didn't see this one coming.  Apparently McCormick spices is trying to clean up and jump on board the organic bandwagon.  Full article here.

I have a few thoughts on this.  The first is this.  Yay!  Organic!  Yay!  As you could probably tell if you've read some of the entries I've posted on here, I like it when my food is made out of food and not out of product.  I like my veggies fresh and my sauces unprocessed.  I hate when people put things in my food that I don't want.  It's not part of the deal.  When you hear about things like gutter oil being used in food it can give you nightmares.  This is exactly why we need better food standards, and organic standards are just one.

But here's another thing.  Organic food is a market.  It's a very big, growing market.  So many companies want a piece of that pie.  Sometimes it's hard to even know what "organic" means when the USDA themselves has a few different terms all using "organic" that mean different things.  A lot of people are worried that "organic" is starting to lose its meaning and turn into a marketing buzzword.  I'm only half inclined to agree.  I think moving toward more environmentally friendly farming should be applauded and keeping hazardous pesticides off produce is good too.  However, I have to wonder if McCormick is doing this out of the goodness of their own hearts.

Another thing, and people will probably disagree with me on this, is the whole GMO thing.  Now, I'm not a scientist.  Far from it.  I'm just some guy writing a blog for my own amusement.  However, having looked at a few science type articles, I'm left with the impression that GMOs are not some scary big-pharma conspiracy to poison everyone.  Rather, I see at as more of a science that needs heavier regulation within the industry.  Sure, a particular modification can wind up having adverse effects.  However, modifying food has taken place all throughout recorded history.  The corn we eat today is itself a GMO.  Manipulating genes has some scary implications and we absolutely should not trust Monsanto ever, but saying something is "non GMO" shouldn't read as a gold star either.

Finally, the thing that bugs me the most is how shady the world of spice merchants is.  I'm not going to name names, but one clerk at a spice shop had a long talk with me about the various tricky methods that some merchants have of cutting their product and jacking prices.  Everything from iron shavings in rosemary to dirt in cumin.  These are sadly common methods of cost cutting.  I'm worried that McCormick isn't making these "organic" changes out of principal, but because of profit.  If that's not the case, why didn't it happen sooner?  Why did they wait until the organic market was taking off to a memetic degree?  I'm worried that they'll do whatever they can to cut corners while still being able to put "organic" and "GMO free" on their labeling.

Still a hell of a lot better than Cento, though.