I am making a recipe from the book this weekend but cannot get "Whole Mace" for the base sauce.  I have managed to buy powdered "Ground Mace". How much do you suggest I use in the base sauce instead of the 3-4 pieces of whole spice you suggest. I thought about say 1/2 to 1 teaspoon would be about the same. Would this be O.K. or do you suggest something different.  Ray, undisclosed location, UK

Thanks for your question Ray.  We really wouldn’t recommend using ground mace in place of whole mace.  In the base sauce, the spices in the net give a gentle infused flavour, and using the ground variety instead will give a completely different taste – and may overpower the flavour of the sauce.  If you can’t get whole mace, we’d recommend leaving it out of the recipe altogether, rather than using the powdered spice.  We know that whole mace can be hard to get hold of – but is available from many traditional ethnic retailers, and is sometimes labelled “javentry” or similar.  Please don’t be afraid to ask – most shopkeepers will be happy to help!

We've also been contacted by Bernard in Sussex, who says he found it labelled "Blade Mace" in his local supermarket.  This may just help anyone struggling to find it.  Thanks, Bernard, for getting in touch.

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