Spice Nest
What follows is a Spice Nest article that looks at the popular culinary spice clove and some of its uses.
Clove
The clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is the acutely aromatic dried flower bud of a tree belonging to the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to island nation Indonesia, although they are used as a spice in many different cuisines all over the world. The name "clove" derives from French word "clou", which translates as a nail. This is because the buds resemble vaguely the shape of small irregular nails. Nowadays, cloves are mainly harvested in Indonesia, Zanzibar and Madagascar, although it also grows in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Cloves are used extensively in Indian cuisine as well as in Mexican cuisine, where it is often mixed together with cumin and cinnamon. In the cuisine of north India, cloves are used in almost every sauce or side dish. This is usually ground up along with other spices. Cloves are also a key ingredient in some teas along with green cardamom pods. In the cuisine of south Indian, the clove finds extensive usage in the popular Biryani dish and is often added whole in order to enhance the presentation as well as the flavor of the rice.
""
As a culinary spice, cloves are used in cooking either whole or ground into a powder. As they are extremely strongly flavoured and highly aromatic, they are used sparingly. This spice is used throughout Europe and Asia in a huge variety of dishes and desserts.
In Indonesia it is smoked in a type of cigarette locally known as kretek. Interestingly, the largest brand of kreteks in the US is called Djarum, who sells the iconic Djarum Black.
Cloves are an important material used in incense making in Chinese and Japanese culture.
For medicinal purposes, cloves are used in India as well as Chinese medicine and also western herbalism and dentistry where the essential oil of cloves is used as an effective anodyne (painkiller) in dental emergencies.
Cloves can also be used as a carminative to increase hydrochloric acid in the stomach and to improve peristalsis. Cloves are also said to be a natural anthelmintic, destroying or causing the expulsion of parasitic intestinal worms.
Janice White
Spice Nest
