Spicy Thoughts

I've been thinking since Thanksgiving that this time of year is probably the time of the year when we use spices the most in our cooking.  Poultry seasoning, sage, cinnamon, and nutmeg just to name a few.  So that being said I thought I would share some trivia with you about spices. 

What is the most expensive spice in the world by weight?  If you guessed Saffron, then you are right.  Saffron is the stigma of a tiny purple crocus flower grown in  primarlIran.  Each flower on produces 3 stigma.  It takes 75,000 flowers to make 1 pound.  It's so rare  that it isn't always available.  Thanks goodness most recipes only call for a few threads.  There are many counterfeit versions on the market since most people aren't aware of rarity.  So if you see Saffron cheaply priced at your local market, the odds are it isn't even really Saffron.  So be careful because you really do get what you pay for.  The next spice is Mace.  Do you know what mace is? I didn't either other than to purchase some because the recipe called for some.  Lots of recipes call for it this time of year.  So me being the inquisitive type that I am, I decided to check it out.  I love history so where things come from and how they came to be is incredibly fascinating to me.  I know I'm a dork lolily .  Back to the matter at hand, Mace is the outer cover of the nutmeg fruit.  Who knew?  It grows primarily in the Caribbean and West Indies.  I had the pleasure of actually seeing a nutmeg tree when I visited Jamaica.  If you open up the fruit, the nutmeg is covered by a lacy looking membrane. That's Mace.  It has a lighter and sweeter flavor than Nutmeg.  I found a wonderful website thespicehouse.com  You can find out the history of spices as well as purchase some high quality spices.  Stop by and check them out!