Description
Cloves are renowned for their warm and fragrant taste and have been used for centuries in cooking, medicine, and even currency. Dried from the Indonesian evergreen clove tree, each small, nail-shaped bud is about 1cm in size. By hand-harvesting when the buds are unopened and then sun-drying them to a brown hue, the flavor and aroma of the cloves is intensified. Especially popular in Asian, Middle Eastern, and African cooking, cloves add warmth and a slight sweetness to curries, stews, marinades, and spice mixes such as garam masala and Chinese five-spice. In addition to their culinary uses, cloves contain the anti-inflammatory and antiseptic compound eugenol, which has been used in traditional medicine to treat ailments including toothaches, digestive issues, and respiratory infections. To use, lightly crush the cloves beforehand, as their flavor can be strong, and add sparingly to drinks like mulled wine