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Nutmeg is a common spice used in baking, Indian cuisine, and even some savory dishes like cheese sauces, potato and meat dishes, and soups. It can also be used to enhance the flavor of drinks like cider or wine. Nutmeg is also used in spice blends, such as the Middle Eastern garam masala, and in Japanese curries.

Nutmeg is made from the seeds of the plant Myristica genus (the red membranes are made into another spice mace). This plant can be found all over the world, from Australia to Southeast Asia and even the Pacific Islands.

There are over a hundred different varieties of nutmeg. It is relatively easy to cultivate and has been incorporatd in many different types of cuisines. Some cultures also use it for medicinal purposes, though in these cases, nutmeg oil is more freuquently used.

Nutmeg oil is said to be a good way of treating toothaches and arthritis. Others mix it with honey to relieve digestion problems. Others dilute it with almond oil to turn it into a massage balm. It is said to help with muscle pain. Many pregnant women rub nutmeg oil on their bellies because of the way it relieves itchiness and supposedly makes the skin more supple and less prone to stretch marks. Interestingly, nutmeg oil is also used in making toothpaste and softdrinks.

The ripe fruit of tamarind tree is used as a condiment. It is a moderate size to large, evergreen tree, up to 24 mtr in high and 7 mtr in girth. Bark is brown or dark gray, longitudinally and horizontally fissured. Leaves are paripinnate up to 15 cm long, leaflets are 10-20 pairs, oblong, 8-30 mm. Flowers are small, yellowish with pink stripes, pods are 7.5-20 cm long, 2.5 cm broad, 1 cm thick, more or less constricted between seeds, slightly curved, brownish coloured. Seeds are 3-12 oblong compressed, 1.5 cm, dark brown shining. Endocarp is light brownish, sweetish or acidic, edible pulp, traversed by branched ligneous strands. The outer cover of the pod is fragile and easily separable.

Turmeric is dried root that grows about 2 feet in length. The turmeric plant is about 3 feet long with funnel-shaped yellow flowers. Turmeric is bright yellow in color. It has an earthy aromatic and spicy fragrance with slightly bitter flavor. Turmeric is an important spice in India having great religious significance.