nutmeg butter

essential oil

Also known as: oil of mace

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Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Nutmeg butter, also known as mace butter, is a fixed oil derived from the nutmeg seed. It is one of the principal components of nutmeg and mace, which are spices from the fruit of the Myristica fragrans tree. Mace is the dried aril, or lacy covering, of the nutmeg seed. Both nutmeg and mace contain essential oils and have a warm, pungent, and slightly sweet flavor.123

Mace has a higher proportion of essential oil than nutmeg and is used to flavor baked goods, meats, fish, sauces, and vegetables. Nutmeg butter and its oils are used as condiments, carminatives, and in perfumes and soaps. Historically, nutmeg butter ointments have been used to treat rheumatism. In large quantities, nutmeg can have psychoactive effects.324

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carboxylic acid
Saturated aliphatic acids
Nutmeg butter is rich in myristic acid (C₁₄), which constitutes 60–75 percent of the fatty-acid content. Palmitic acid (C₁₆) constitutes between 20 and 30 percent of most animal fats and is also an important constituent of most vegetable fats (35–45 percent of palm oil). Stearic…
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Nutmeg butter is rich in myristic acid (C₁₄), which constitutes 60–75 percent of the fatty-acid content. Palmitic acid (C₁₆) constitutes between 20 and 30 percent of most animal fats and is also an important constituent of most vegetable fats (35–45 percent of palm oil). Stearic…
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nutmeg
Uses
…30 percent fixed oil called nutmeg butter, or oil of mace, the principal component of which is trimyristin. The oils are used as condiments and carminatives and to scent soaps and perfumes. An ointment of nutmeg butter has been used as a counterirritant and in the treatment of rheumatism. When…
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…30 percent fixed oil called nutmeg butter, or oil of mace, the principal component of which is trimyristin. The oils are used as condiments and carminatives and to scent soaps and perfumes. An ointment of nutmeg butter has been used as a counterirritant and in the treatment of rheumatism. When…
Read More