General Description
Cloves are the rich, brown, dried, unopened flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree in the myrtle family. The name comes from the French "clou" meaning nail.
Geographical Sources
Cloves come from Madagascar, Brazil, Panang and Ceylon.
Traditional Ethnic Uses
Cloves are used in spice cookies and cakes. Much of the world crop is used in Indonesia for clove cigarettes, called "kreteks".
Taste and Aroma
Cloves are strong, pungent and sweet.
History/Region of Origin
Cloves are native to the Molucca Islands, now part of Indonesia. Cloves have been used for thousands of years. one of the earliest references to them says that the Chinese, in order to approach the emperor, had to have a few Cloves in their mouths to sweeten the breath. Cloves were once very costly and played an important part in world history. Wars were fought in Europe and with native islanders to secure rights to the profitable Clove business. Natives in the Molucca Islands planted a Clove tree for each child born. They believed that the fate of the tree was linked to the fate of that child. In 1816, the Dutch set a fire to destroy Clove trees and raise prices. The natives revolted in a bloody battle which changed the climate and politics of the area forever.
