Cloves

The Clove Plant

The exquisitely scented clove tree, Syzgium aromaticum , is a member of the myrtle ( Myrtaceae ) family. While it was once believed that the clove tree could only flourish on the tiny Moluccas island of Amboina, it is now also widely cultivated in other tropical habitats like Madagascar, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.

It takes 5,000 to 7,000 dried cloves to make one pound, and each 40-foot tree produces about seven pounds of cloves per harvest. Good quality cloves are plump, unwrinkled, and dark reddish brown with a lighter-colored head. The word clove is derived from the French clou and the Latin clavus , for nail. (Look closely and you'll see that a single clove resembles a little brown nail.)

A Glance at the Past

Cloves have a rich, romantic history, beginning with the Romans, Greeks and Persians who used them in love philters, and the ancient Chinese who used the flowers to decorate their courts. Chinese emperors must have been especially fond of the aroma--they required officers to sweeten their breaths with cloves whenever they addressed the court.

Small nations could wield great power during the eighth century by controlling the clove trade. The object of a long war between the Portuguese and the Dutch, the Dutch took control in the early 1600s. Harsh methods--which included concentrating all of the clove plantations on one island and putting to death anyone who illegally planted or traded in cloves--were used by the Dutch to control their monopoly. At the time, cloves were worth more than their weight in gold.

Using Cloves

Enjoyed in the traditional cuisines of Russia, Scandinavia, Greece, India, Ireland, and China, the distinct, sharp, warm/sweet flavor and aroma of cloves work well in both sweet and savory dishes.

Whole cloves are used to flavor meats (ham in particular), beverages, condiments, and desserts. Add whole cloves to your cooking stock for stew or for boiling poultry, beef, fish, or shrimp. Try them in spiced wine, mulled cider, tea, fruit punch, cranberry juice, tomato juice, hot tea and chocolate drinks. Add them to borscht, tomato, potato, beef and split pea soups. Whole cloves also add beauty and flavor to pickled fruits and relishes, chutneys, pineapple slices, fruit salads and compotes. To give vegetables a warm taste, add whole cloves to the water in which they're boiled or steamed.

Always remove whole cloves from a recipe before serving. To make this task easier, stud the cloves into an onion or carrot or place them in a tea ball before adding to the cooking pot. Then just remove the ball or vegetable when the dish is ready.

Since they're ground without the clove heads, powdered cloves are milder than whole. Ground cloves are a primary ingredient in several spice mixtures, like pumpkin pie spice and curry powder. They're traditionally used in gingerbread and other spice cakes, fruit cakes, sugared donuts and brown breads, cookies, raisin or nut bars, spiced muffins, puddings and pies, sweet pickles and catsup. Their flavor combines well with most types of fruit; try them sprinkled on orange slices or figs, or in cranberry juice. Season vegetables like sweet potatoes and squash by dotting with butter and sprinkling lightly with ground cloves. Try a sprinkle in tomato, barbecue, spaghetti and chili sauces and baked beans. Add a pinch of ground cloves to recipes for meat loaves, stuffing, stewed chicken, baked fish, and egg dishes.