Mace: Flavor, Cooking Use and Health Facts
Mace is warm, sweet and a little peppery, used in baking, curries and pâtés; a pinch in food is normal, but large amounts of mace or nutmeg can poison.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
In the kitchen at a glance
Flavor:Warm / woodySweetHot / pungent
Aroma: Warm, sweet and lightly peppery, like nutmeg but sharper and more delicate.
Used in: baking, desserts, curries, soups and stews
Usual amount in food: About 1 teaspoon of ground mace weighs 1.7 g (USDA); one cooking site suggests a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon per recipe.
What it is
Mace is the dried, lacy red covering (the aril) that wraps the nutmeg seed. It comes from the nutmeg tree, Myristica fragrans. [1] The tree is native to the Moluccas, the Spice Islands of Indonesia, and is also grown in places such as Grenada and Kerala, India. [1] After picking, the aril is taken off the seed, flattened and dried for 10 to 14 days. It turns from crimson to pale yellow, orange or tan as it dries. [1] The US FDA lists mace by name among spices generally recognized as safe for their intended use. [5]Flavor and aroma
Mace tastes like nutmeg, but cooks describe it differently. One source calls it more delicate and nutmeg slightly sweeter. [1] A retailer describes it as warmer and sharper, less sweet, with hints of pine, black pepper and citrus. [3] Another source says it adds a subtle sweetness without being overpowering. [2] So the sources disagree a little on sweetness. Taste yours and judge.Grinding whole mace just before use gives a brighter, stronger flavor. [3] The essential oil contains compounds such as pinene, limonene, safrole and myristicin. [1] Myristicin is the one linked to poisoning. [1][4] Mace goes well with apples, pears, berries, lamb, veal, pork, sweet potato, carrot, squash and dairy. [2][3]
How it is used in cooking
Mace is sold as whole pieces, called blades, and as ground powder. Whole blades are used like a bay leaf in long, slow dishes such as stocks, stews and rice. A piece can be broken in half to scent basmati rice. Ground mace suits baking, finishing a dish and drinks. [3] It gives a bright orange tint, so cooks like it in light-colored dishes. [1]- Sweet dishes: cakes, pies, custards, crème brûlée, pastry cream, baklava, pumpkin pie, berry cobblers and ice cream. [2][3]
- Savory dishes: stews, soups, curries, biryanis, sausages, barbecue rubs, pork pies and Swedish meatballs. [2][3]
- Indian cooking: whole blades toasted with cardamom, cloves and black pepper, then ground with ginger, garlic and turmeric for dishes such as lamb korma. [3]
- Scotland: nutmeg and mace are used together in haggis. [1]
- Pickling and cheese: mace appears in pickles and in some cheeses such as Gouda and Cheddar. [2]
- Drinks: tea, coffee and hot toddies. [2][3]
Two cooking sites agree on substitutes. Nutmeg is the closest, and because it is slightly different in strength you start small and taste. Allspice works at about half the amount, because it is stronger. [2] Retail guides do not agree on exact swap ratios, so treat any ratio as a starting point. [3]
Normal food amounts
| Measure | Grams | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon, ground | 1.7 g | USDA [7] |
| 1 tablespoon, ground | 5.3 g | USDA [7] |
| Typical recipe amount | A pinch to 1/4 teaspoon per recipe | One retailer's cooking guide [3] |
What one teaspoon (1.7 g) of ground mace provides, calculated from USDA values per 100 g:
| Nutrient | One teaspoon |
|---|---|
| Energy | about 8 kcal |
| Fiber | about 0.3 g |
| Calcium | about 4 mg |
| Iron | about 0.2 mg |
| Potassium | about 8 mg |
| Manganese | about 0.03 mg |
The USDA SR Legacy data are from 2018, and real products vary. [7] We did not compare these numbers with official daily values. One teaspoon gives very little of any nutrient, so mace is a flavoring and not a nutrient source.
Buying, storing and preparing
- Forms: whole blades and ground powder. [3] Whole dried pieces are flat, smooth and brittle. [1]
- Quality: freshness matters most. Grinding whole blades just before use gives the strongest flavor. [3]
- Storing and shelf life: keep whole or ground mace in a cool, dry, dark place away from heat. One retailer says ground mace is best within 6 to 8 months. [3]
- Adulteration and contamination: the sources we read do not describe quality problems for mace.
Health: what research says
Eating mace as a spice in food is very different from swallowing a large amount, or taking an extract or oil.Food amounts vs supplements
| In normal cooking | In supplements and extracts | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical amount | 1.7 g per teaspoon (USDA); a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon per recipe [7][3] | No official amount found |
| What studies mostly used | We found no study of mace eaten as a seasoning | Human evidence for mace is mostly poisoning case reports; the one trial on the herb page used a topical product with nutmeg and mace oils [4][8] |
| What we can say about benefit | None shown | No human trial we could read supports a benefit by mouth [8] |
| Main safety limit | Accepted as safe for its intended use as a spice [5] | Large amounts of mace or nutmeg have caused poisoning [4][8] |
What the evidence shows
| Use | What the sources found | Strength of evidence | Form and population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use as a seasoning | FDA lists mace among spices generally recognized as safe for their intended use. [5] | Established (regulatory status, not a health benefit) | Food amounts |
| Poisoning from large amounts | A child who ate six pieces became very drowsy and stiff, and recovered with supportive care. [4] The article says mace poisoning is reported much less often than nutmeg poisoning. [4] | Documented harm (case report) | Whole dried mace; one child |
| Any benefit from eating mace | We found no trial. | Insufficient evidence | Food amounts |
| Painful diabetic nerve symptoms (skin product) | On the nutmeg herb page, a 74-person trial of a product with nutmeg and mace oils found no added benefit. [8] | No good evidence of benefit | Topical oils; adults with diabetes |
| Digestive and other traditional uses | Reviews describe cell and animal findings only. [8] | Lab or animal only | Extracts in cells or animals |
For poison-center reports, medicines and nutmeg in depth, see the full herb guide: Nutmeg.
Official statements
- FDA (US), current rule: mace is on the list of spices and natural seasonings generally recognized as safe for their intended use. [5]
- EFSA (EU), 2023: in an opinion on nutmeg oil as a feed additive, classed the oil as a category 1B carcinogen because of its safrole, and advised the lowest possible levels of myristicin, safrole, elemicin and methyleugenol. [6]
- EMA, WHO, NCCIH: we did not find or open a statement specific to mace.
Related pages
Health connections for Mace
What research links to this spice, and how strong the evidence is. Most studies use concentrated extracts or doses far above what you eat; each card says which.
Accepted as a seasoning
Not enough evidenceFDA lists mace among spices generally recognized as safe for their intended use.
Supplements: Says nothing about extracts, oil or large amounts.
Painful diabetic nerve symptoms (skin product)
Preliminary or mixedA 74-person trial of a topical product with nutmeg and mace oils found no added benefit over the comparison preparation.
Supplements: No benefit shown; skin product, not food.
Digestive and other traditional uses
Lab or animal research onlyReviews describe cell and animal findings for nutmeg and mace; no human trial of mace by mouth was found.
Supplements: No supplement benefit shown.
Connected topics
Open a group to see how each topic connects and how strong the evidence is.
Body systems (1)
- Nervous SystemDocumented risk
A child who ate six dried pieces of mace became very drowsy and stiff; large amounts of mace or nutmeg can affect the nervous system. This is not about cooking amounts.
Body parts (2)
- BrainDocumented risk
A child who ate six dried pieces of mace became very drowsy and stiff; large amounts of mace or nutmeg can affect the nervous system. This is not about cooking amounts.
- Nervous SystemDocumented risk
A child who ate six dried pieces of mace became very drowsy and stiff; large amounts of mace or nutmeg can affect the nervous system. This is not about cooking amounts.
Documented risks and interactions (4)
- Poisoning risk from large amounts. A child who ate six dried pieces of mace became very drowsy and stiff and needed hospital care; she recovered with supportive care.
- Possible effect on mood medicines (monoamine oxidase). Myristicin moderately inhibits monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that some mood medicines also act on.
- Safrole content of the oil. EFSA classes nutmeg oil as a category 1B carcinogen because of its safrole, which caused cancer in rodents.
- Accidental exposure in young children. Young children made up a large share of accidental nutmeg exposures in a US poison-center series; the mace case was a six-year-old.
Frequently asked questions
Is mace sweet?
A little. Sources describe it as nutmeg-like, with subtle sweetness. [2] One retailer calls it sharper and less sweet than nutmeg. [3]
How much is normal?
USDA lists 1.7 g per teaspoon of ground mace. [7] One cooking guide suggests a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon per recipe. [3]
Is mace the same as nutmeg?
No. Both come from the same tree. Nutmeg is the seed, and mace is the red covering around it. [1] Mace can usually replace nutmeg, but it is a bit different in strength, so start small. [2][3]
Is it safe in pregnancy?
The sources we read describe no limit for food amounts. Large amounts are not described either. [8] Ask your midwife or doctor.
Can I take it with medicines?
In food amounts, the sources we read name no problem. Myristicin can inhibit monoamine oxidase, so ask a pharmacist if you take mood medicines. [4]
Can too much mace be harmful?
Yes. A child who ate six pieces needed hospital care. [4] Call Poison Help (1-800-222-1222 in the US) if someone swallowed a lot. [8]
More details: evidence, limits and cautions
The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.
Safety note at a glance
Safety in more detail
- Medicines: myristicin moderately inhibits monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that some mood medicines also act on. [4] The sources we read do not show whether this matters at cooking amounts. Ask a pharmacist if you take mood medicines.
- Pregnancy: the sources we read do not describe food-amount limits. The herb page says amounts above food use are not described. [8] Ask your midwife or doctor about large amounts.
- Breastfeeding: the sources we read do not describe breastfeeding. We could not open the NIH LactMed record.
- Children: young children are a large share of accidental nutmeg exposures in the poison-center series on the herb page. [8] The mace case was a six-year-old. [4]
- Allergy: the sources we read do not describe mace allergy.
- Liver and kidney: only animal findings at very high nutmeg powder amounts are described, and these are not cooking amounts. [8]
- Surgery: the sources we read do not describe a surgery warning.
- Quality and contamination: the sources we read do not describe contamination of mace.
- Amounts that cause trouble: no source we read gives a toxic amount for mace. [4] The case article lists, for nutmeg, about 50 g grated taken recreationally, and a fatal case in an 8-year-old after two nutmeg seeds. [4] Do not use these as limits. EFSA treats nutmeg oil as a category 1B carcinogen because it contains safrole, which has caused cancer in rodents. That finding is about the concentrated oil in animal feed. [6]
References
- Wikipedia — Nutmeg (section on mace; cites Britannica, FAO and others). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mace_(spice) (accessed 2026-10-24)
- McCormick — What is mace: uses, substitutes and recipes. https://www.mccormick.com/blogs/how-to/about-mace-spice-uses-pairings-and-recipes (accessed 2026-10-24)
- The Spice House — Mace spice explained: flavor, culinary uses and origin. https://www.thespicehouse.com/blogs/news/what-is-mace (accessed 2026-10-24)
- Mace poisoning: accidental toxic ingestion in a child leading to a reversible coma. Cureus 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11754422/ (accessed 2026-10-24)
- FDA (US) — 21 CFR 182.10, Spices and other natural seasonings and flavorings (mace listed). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/part-182/section-182.10 (accessed 2026-10-24)
- EFSA — Safety and efficacy of nutmeg oil as a feed additive for all animal species. EFSA Journal 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10273060 (accessed 2026-10-24)
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018) — Spices, mace, ground (fdc_id 170927), per-100 g values and household portions from the site's USDA data file.
- alternativemed.com — Nutmeg herb guide (summarises poison-center reports and a topical trial; we did not re-open those underlying papers). /herbs-botanicals/nutmeg