Although ground mace is found in many grocery stores, many gourmets and chefs swear by the fresher and more intense flavor that can be found in whole mace blades. Indonesian whole mace blade is sweeter and milder than nutmeg. It has a better aroma and flavor than mace powder (ground mace). Mace is the lacy, bright-red covering of the nutmeg seed. The mace is fastidiously separated from the seed by hand. After blanching, it is flattened, then air-dried at a high temperature until it turns the orange color of high-quality mace, with a flavor similar to but sweeter and milder than nutmeg. The amount of fruit it takes to make 100 pounds of nutmeg will produce only a single pound of these coveted mace blades.