Nutmeg is used as condiment particularly in sweet foods. The spice in the ground form is mainly used in the food processing industry especially as a standard seasoning in many Dutch dishes. Nutmeg oleoresin is used in the preparation of meat products, soups, sauces, baked foods, confectionaries, puddings, seasoning of meat and vegetable etc. The fleshy outer cover of the fruit is crystallized or pickled or made into jellies. Mace is used in savoury dishes. It is used as a drug in Eastern countries because of its stimulant, carminative, astringent and aphrodisiac properties. Excessive doses have a narcotic effect. Nutmeg oil is used in cosmetics and toiletries.
Nutmeg produced from a fruit of an evergreen tree usually 9-12 mtr high in which nutmeg is the dried seed kernel of the fruit. The trees are normally unisexual, bearing either male or female flowers.