He made his way home from India. I’d asked him to bring me something, anything, preferably not malaria or bedbugs. He can’t be named because he’s now an international food smuggler: I received a beautiful silk scarf and even more exciting the following:

Star anise

Cardamom

I have no idea what this is. Please help me. I got smart, and asked my friend Scarth who once ran a restaurant & cooked in India for several years. It’s Mace.. Well, the part of the nutmeg that surrounds the actual nut but is inside of the fruit.