cloves in the kitchen
With a spicy and hot smell, cloves are very aromatic with spicy, woody and sweet notes. Its main drawback is to dose the amount to obtain a mild and light flavor.
Cloves are found in many cuisines around the world, including 5 Chinese flavors and Indian curries.
In Europe, it is used in an onion and bay leaf in shortbreads, soups and marinades.
It is also suitable for heavy dishes to digest containing cabbage, stews such as fire pots, ham or game, cream sauces with fish but also in desserts such as gingerbread, stewed fruit. apples, brioches or hot wines, hypocras, grogs or hot milks sweetened with honey.
Properties
Clove is rich in eugenol, antiseptic and powerful analgesic ideal for sore mouth. He is particularly involved in the composition of toothpastes and preparations for gargles.
It also stimulates digestion, eliminates intestinal parasites, fights against nausea and causes uterine contractions.
History
Known to the Chinese pharmacopoeia since antiquity, high dignitaries visiting the Emperor were sucking on cloves to purify their breath.
The inhabitants of the Moluccan Islands planted a clove to celebrate the birth of a child. If the tree prospered, it was auspicious and the child wore a necklace of cloves that was to ward off demons and diseases.
Clove has also sparked many trade tensions and wars until the plant's export restrictions were broken by smuggling.
It is introduced in Europe in the fourth century and becomes one of two essential spices with pepper in the Middle Ages
Plant
Persistent tropical tree with fragrant leaves, the clove can reach 12m high in the wild. The leaves are dark green, opposite and lanceolate. The flower buds of the tree appear and are harvested and dried when it is 6 to 8 years old.
