Mace is a spice. What's the difference between an herb and a spice? Well, it is generally agreed that an herb is from the leaves, flowers or stem, or soft part of a plant that has medicinal and/or culinary uses. A spice is from the seed, bark or root or hard part of a plant and its use is primarily culinary and secondarily medicinal.

Mace is the aril, or covering, of the nutmeg seed. The nutmeg tree is an evergreen, growing to 12 metres (40 feet). It has fragrant leaves and tufts of small yellow flowers. The tree is native to the Molucca Islands of Indonesia (the Spice Islands), so forget about trying to cultivate one in your back yard.

The word mace is from the Old French maci, which in turn is derived from the Latin macir, meaning suitable for an ointment. Medicinally, mace is a carminative (that means it makes you burp and ....), stimulant and tonic and aids digestion. Some people take mace as a toddy for insomnia, but it is now acknowledged that prolonged use can actually cause addiction. Mace has an even higher concentration of myristicin, one of its volatile oils, than nutmeg and large doses of this can cause hallucination and epileptoid fits, although it would almost impossible to consume toxic levels in a culinary application. Ointments, called nutmeg butter, made from the fixed oil (containing myristine and butyrin), are used topically for rheumatic complaints. They have a counterirritant effect, stimulating blood flow to the area.

Mace is good sprinkled on broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage. It enhances the flavour of fish and shellfish, especially shrimp. If necessary, nutmeg may be substituted for mace, but the latter has a much more refined flavour. It is also more expensive.

File this pumpkin soup recipe for next Halloween. It can be cooked in the pumpkin or a pan:

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

1 small pumpkin
2 medium onions, chopped
Sea salt to taste
1 Tbsp. long grain white rice
tsp. ground mace
tsp. ground cinnamon
tsp. ground cumin
3 cups vegetable stock
1oz. salted dried shrimp (optional)
2 tsp. lemon juice (optional)

Cut a lid from the top of the pumpkin and reserve. Discard the seeds and stringy tissue, then scoop out most of the pumpkin flesh, leaving a fairly thick coating around the sides and bottom. Chop the flesh. Rub the inside of the pumpkin with a little salt and place it in a snug-fitting oven- proof dish. Put the pumpkin flesh, onions, rice and spices in the pumpkin cavity. Fill the cavity to three-quarters with boiling chicken stock and close it with its own lid. Cook at 325F for 2 hours. If using dried shrimp, soak them in a little water to soften for 5-10 minutes. Then pound them to a paste with the water and lemon juice. Stir the paste into the soup for the last 20 minutes of cooking time. To serve, lift the pumpkin into a warmed serving bowl.

Mace is also great in desserts and cakes. Try this:

Mace Lemon Souffl Pie

4 eggs, separated
cup of brown sugar
tsp. ground mace
cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Dash of salt
One baked 9" pie shell

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a double boiler mix the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the mace and the lemon juice. Cook, stirring over hot (not boiling!) water until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat.

Mix in the lemon zest and vanilla. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat until stiff. Gradually add the remaining sugar. Then fold into the hot lemon mixture. Fill the prepared pie shell with the mixture and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool before serving.