There were some 170 of us at this all-day seminar on spices, one of the many programs offered by the Smithsonian Associates, the Institution's membership and continuing education arm. I know you're still thinking about spices and food, but I'd like to digress just a bit more to give you some examples of Associates programs. In 1996, Associates shared recipes with Julia Child, heard tales of the deep from Jacques Cousteau, enjoyed seeing Kenneth Branagh and Sir Derek Jacobi at a Washington premiere of the new film version of Hamlet , and learned about the beginnings of broadcast journalism with Walter Cronkite. The Associates also conduct the nation's largest museum-based educational travel program, each year offering more than 360 Smithsonian Study Tours and Seminars all over the world. My own favorite part of the spices seminar was the lunch, which included a Burmese green bean salad and a chilled carrot soup with ginger and mace.
Mace is the crimson, vinelike substance that covers the nutmeg seed.
It is peeled from the seed, dried and ground into powder. Many people think the flavor is just about the same as nutmeg, but I'm told that gourmets appreciate the unique subtlety of mace. It certainly did wonders for the carrots. Tellicherry black pepper, for example, is picked when red, and it takes one person a day to strip one vine of pepper. The berries are laid out to dry on the ground, where people and animals walk right over them.