Why You Need Cloves To Spice Up Your Healthy Kitchen

Do you know how to use cloves in your kitchen?

Cloves are a very versatile spice and remedy, and are indispensable in any kitchen.

If you are unfamiliar with them, try the recipes that include cloves. It’s worth it. They add a delicate taste to your dishes and are also beneficial to your health.

What are cloves?

The cloves are the dried, still-closed flower buds of the clove tree. It is an evergreen tree that can reach a height of over twenty meters.

Some sources describe the use of cloves in India as early as antiquity. Cloves originated from the Moluccas, the Spice Islands.
The Moluccas, an archipelago situated between Sulawesi and New Guinea in Indonesia, provide an ideal climate for cultivating clove trees. The trees grow best in a tropical maritime climate. The tree bears the first flower buds only after six years.
The cloves have the highest nutrient content when the buds are still closed. The color then changes from green to yellow or red. Now is the right time for the harvest.

Today, the best cloves come from the Moluccas, Zanzibar, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka. The buds are hand-picked before flowering and then dried. After drying, the cloves have a dark brown to black color.

A clove tree provides two to four kilograms of cloves per year. The buds are briefly dipped in hot water after harvest and then dried on mats by air and sun. The color of the cloves now changes from yellowish or pink to a natural dark brown color, which is the color of the clove spice that you know. You can use cloves as a spice or a medicinal plant.

Where do the cloves we buy grow?

In the past, the islands of Pemba and Zanzibar were the largest producers of cloves. Today, Indonesia is the leading producer, accounting for 80% of the total quantity.
India, Sri Lanka, Guyana, Brazil, the Antilles, and Malaysia are also producers of the famous and versatile cloves.

Aromatic taste and ingredients of cloves

The cloves have a very aromatic and spicy scent, and develop an intense flavor with a woody note. The taste ranges from spicy to burning. They contain a lot of essential oils. Fifteen % of essential oils determine the taste and smell of cloves. 70-85% of essential oils are composed of eugenol, a compound also found in cinnamon. 15% eugenol acetate and 5-12% β-caryophyllene. 2% of oleanolic acid is in the cloves. The essential oils affect the taste of the cloves.

Cloves as a remedy

Cloves are not only an excellent spice but also provide proven health benefits.
The eugenol contained has a slightly numbing effect. Therefore, you can use cloves as a home remedy for a toothache.

Cloves are supposed to help against bad breath. People who eat a lot of garlic know that, too, cloves make good breath.

Clove oil is a versatile herbal remedy that possesses analgesic, disinfectant, antiviral, and fungicidal properties. It also has an appetizing effect; you can use it as a remedy for flatulence and bloating.

For coughs and colds, inhaling hot water with a few drops of clove oil can be helpful. It also has a relaxing effect on the muscle groups of the intestine and the respiratory tract. The clove can be beneficial for cough, asthma, and indigestion.

Cloves can also help with mild rheumatic complaints. Half a teaspoon of cloves is poured over a cup of boiling water. Let it rest for 10 minutes, and then drink 2 to 4 cups a day. It is an antioxidant and effectively fights free radicals.
The addition of cloves in food prevents the oxidation of fat. Clove oil of the highest quality comes from the flowers of the clove spice tree. Oils obtained from stalks or leaves are of far lower quality.

Use clove oil should only very carefully and sparingly. Excessive consumption of clove oil can cause tissue and mucous membrane damage, leading to allergic reactions.

How can you use cloves in the kitchen?

The use of cloves in the kitchen is very versatile. You can use them in almost all dishes that are difficult to digest, such as red cabbage and sauerkraut. Additionally, marinades, sauces, and soups are excellent sources of spices.
You can also add and cook them or grind them in batches.

You should remove them after cooking. The cloves are edible, but the stems taste very bitter when chewed.
Cloves are also a tasty addition to mulled wine, punch, and Christmas cookies.

Kitchen tips for cloves.

Carefully dose cloves in refined foods. Some dishes are delicious when cooked with onions and cloves. Onions prepared with cloves have a unique flavor in broths and marinades. This combination also gives the rice an excellent taste.

Even in pickled vegetables, cloves should not be missing, as seen in pickled cucumbers, for example. You can refine dishes and combine cloves with allspice, ginger, pepper, coriander, and cardamom, resulting in an excellent spice mixture.

But also sweet dishes, such as applesauce, pears, and jam, will get an exceptional touch with the addition of cloves. Refine your meals by adding cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, and lemon.

You need cloves for the typical winter drinks, such as punch and mulled wine. However, here the clove should also be used very sparingly.

Cloves can also be used very effectively against insects. You take a lemon, halve it, and spice it with cloves. Wasps and insects will stay away from the smell. After three days, you should renew the lemons. Create a pleasant scent in your rooms by infusing a whole orange with cloves and placing it on a plate. Give the room a pleasant smell naturally.

Cloves in spice mixtures 

 The Chinese five-spice powder, Moroccan Ras el Hanout, Arabic spiced coffee, French Quatre Epices, and Indian curry cannot do without ground cloves. The ground cloves are also essential for the well-known Worcestershire sauce.

The ground cloves characterize the taste of this sauce, which is indispensable in many dishes. Gingerbread, spice cake, and pumpkin spice can not do without ground cloves. Here, they combine well with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to achieve the typical exquisite taste.

Try these aromatic recipes with clove spice.

CHINESE 5-SPICE TOFU STIR-FRY

This amazingly fresh and tasty Chinese 5 Spice Tofu Stir Fry is entirely vegan and gluten-free. An easy and satisfying recipe for a tofu stir fry that is packed with lots of flavors and nutrients.

Vegan Persimmon Latkes

Creative and special vegan latkes for Hanukkah from sweet persimmon fruit combined with apple, whole wheat flour, and spices

Red Quinoa Stew

Red quinoa cooked with spices, with the addition of cooked carrots – a great addition for vegans

Quatre Épices Glazed Carrots Recipe

[Photograph: Kerry Saretsky]  These carrots are a great holiday side. I buy the little Chantenary variety and then glaze them in a traditional French way.

Easy Yellow Rice with Cardamom & Cloves

Buttery and delicious, this yellow rice looks fancy but it is so easy to make! And, you only need 7 ingredients and 20 minutes to make it. This vegan yellow rice pairs perfectly with curry and sautés and everything in between.

Arabic spiced coffee

EGGLESS, MILKLESS, BUTTERLESS SPICE CAKE

VEGAN PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE

Seriously, what’s not to like about Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake!? You better believe that’s a fluffy spiced frosting on there too. Initiate drooling sequence.

VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE GINGERBREAD MEN

This batter is seriously decadent looking, no? But it’s deceptive as it actually has plenty of wholesome gluten-free grains like buckwheat, brown rice, and oat flour. It also includes one flax egg and a healthy heaping of molasses, which we all know is good for the soul.

Indian Baby Eggplant Curry

Baingan masala – a delicious curry to make with in-season baby eggplant. Unlike the more intricate recipes that involve stuffing the eggplant or dry-roasting the spices, this baingan masala recipe is beginner-friendly and relies on accessible ingredients. Try it!

Vegan Indian Basmati Rice Recipe

This restaurant-style Indian-flavored basmati rice recipe is seasoned with cinnamon, whole cloves, and peppercorns, along with a bay leaf, all of which combine to create a wonderfully flavorful rice side dish to accompany just about any Indian vegetable dish.

Kinderpunsch (German Non-Alcoholic Christmas Punch)

Kinderpunsch is just what its name translates   A punch for kids or for adults who don’t drink.  It’s like the virgin version of Glühwein.

Recipe: German Glühwein 

GLÜHWEIN (NON-ALCOHOLIC VERSION)

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