Distribution: Nutmeg are native to the Moluccas, but are also cultivated in Sri Lanka, Malasiya, West Indies, and Indonesia.
Appearance & Growth: The Nutmeg Tree is an evergreen that grows to 12m (40ft) or more in height. It has dark green oval leaves and small pale yellow flowers. Trees start to bear fruit in the seventh or eighth year and continue to bear for up to fourty years. They are best suited to a tropical maritime climate, and thrive in the rich volcanic soil of the Moluccas and the fertile loam of Grenada. Plantation are usually below 750m (2500ft), and trees are sheltered from hight winds.
Harvesting: The fruit ripens six to nine months after flowering and is usually gathered when it falls to the ground. The outer husk is stripped off and the mace is removed, pressed flat and dried on mats.
This process may take as little as two to four hours, during which time the mace retains its scarlet colour.
Once the mace has been removed, the seeds are dried on trays for four to six weeks until the nutmegs rattle in their outer shell. They are cracked open and the nutmegs removed, then graded according to size and quality.
“Defectived”, “Shrivelled” and “bwp” (broken, wormy, punky) nutmegs are sorted out from the rest, which are graded by size as 80s or 100s, and so on, according to the number in the pound.