Mace Calories & Nutrition Calculator

Ground mace delivers 13.9mg iron per 100g — 77% of the daily value and one of the highest iron concentrations among warm baking spices. Within this spice family, only cardamom (14.0mg) is on par; cloves (11.8mg), cinnamon (8.3mg), allspice (7.1mg), and nutmeg (3.0mg) all rank lower. Among all kitchen spices, cumin (66.4mg) and thyme (17.4mg) exceed mace ^[1][2].

Per teaspoon (1.7g): 0.24mg iron (1.3% DV). Per tablespoon (5.1g): 0.71mg iron (3.9% DV). While single-teaspoon portions contribute modestly, mace used in combination with cardamom and cloves in a garam masala blend can collectively deliver 1–2mg iron per tablespoon of the blend — a genuinely measurable contribution from spices alone ^[1].

For food journaling, mace's iron density means that spice-heavy recipes (korma, biryani, Béchamel-based sauces) can accumulate iron contributions that simpler dishes lack. Tracking the spice components separately reveals these hidden micronutrient additions.

Mace and nutmeg come from the same fruit of the *Myristica fragrans* tree. Mace is the lace-like crimson aril (seed covering) that wraps around the nutmeg seed inside. Despite this shared origin, their nutritional profiles diverge meaningfully: mace has 475 kcal vs. nutmeg's 525 kcal per 100g, driven primarily by nutmeg's higher fat content (36.3g vs. 32.4g) ^[1][2].

Gram-for-gram, mace has less fat (32.4g vs. 36.3g), less saturated fat (9.5g vs. 25.9g), and roughly equal carbohydrates (50.5g vs. 49.3g). Iron is dramatically different — mace at 13.9mg is nearly 5x nutmeg's 3.0mg. Calcium: mace 252mg vs. nutmeg 184mg. The aril appears to concentrate minerals more effectively than the seed kernel ^[1].

For food journaling, substituting mace for nutmeg (or vice versa) is common in recipes — but the nutritional impact differs. Mace delivers substantially more iron and calcium per gram, while nutmeg contributes more calories and fat. Both deliver comparable fiber (~20g/100g).

Mace contains 32.4g total fat per 100g, of which 9.51g is saturated, 11.2g monounsaturated, and 4.39g polyunsaturated. The dominant saturated fatty acid is palmitic acid (C16:0) at 7.69g, followed by myristic acid (C14:0) at 0.93g. Myristic acid was first isolated from nutmeg oil in 1841 and named after the *Myristica* genus — making mace literally the etymological source of this fatty acid's name ^[2][3].

At per-teaspoon portions (1.7g): 0.55g total fat, 0.16g saturated fat. Per tablespoon (5.1g): 1.65g total fat, 0.49g saturated fat. These amounts are nutritionally negligible — less than the fat in a single almond. The fat profile becomes relevant only in industrial extraction of mace oil or oleoresin ^[1].

For food journaling, mace's fat content is a per-100g curiosity that disappears at cooking portions. Even aggressive use of mace (a full tablespoon in a large batch recipe, shared across 6–8 servings) contributes less than 0.3g fat per person.

Ground mace retains 21mg vitamin C per 100g (23% DV) — unusually high for a dried spice at only 8.2% moisture. Most ground spices lose nearly all vitamin C during drying: cinnamon retains 3.8mg, nutmeg only 3.0mg, ginger 0.7mg, and paprika 0.9mg. Among common dried spice powders, only turmeric (25.9mg) and cayenne pepper (76.4mg) retain more ^[1][3].

Per teaspoon (1.7g): 0.36mg vitamin C (0.4% DV). At this serving size, the contribution is negligible — you would need roughly 25 teaspoons of mace to match the vitamin C in a single orange. The per-100g figure is useful primarily for comparing mace's unusual nutrient retention against other dried spices ^[1].

For food journaling, mace's vitamin C is a compositional curiosity rather than a practical dietary source. The aril structure of mace may protect ascorbic acid during drying more effectively than the denser seed kernel of nutmeg, explaining the 7x difference between these two products of the same fruit.

Per teaspoon of ground mace (1.7g): 8 kcal, 0.11g protein, 0.86g carbs, 0.55g fat, 0.34g fiber, 4.28mg calcium (0.3% DV), 0.24mg iron (1.3% DV), 0.04mg zinc, 1.29mcg folate, and 0.36mg vitamin C. Per blade of mace (0.5g): roughly one-third of those values — approximately 2.4 kcal and 0.07mg iron ^[1].

Mace is typically used at 1/4 to 1 teaspoon per recipe (0.4–1.7g), then divided across multiple servings. A biryani for 6 people using 1 tsp mace delivers approximately 1.3 kcal and 0.04mg iron per serving from the mace component alone. The per-100g iron density (77% DV) compresses to under 0.3% DV per actual serving ^[1].

For food journaling, mace is worth logging when used in tablespoon quantities (spice blends, large-batch baking) but contributes minimally at single-teaspoon recipe use divided among servings. The decision to track it depends on whether you log individual spice components or only the overall dish.