Clove

Syzygium aromaticum

Eugenol — the flower bud dried before it opens

Clove is the unopened flower bud of the clove tree, picked and dried. The Korean name comes from its resemblance to a nail. Eugenol is the principal aroma compound, and repeated analyses report that it accounts for most of the essential oil. The aroma is so strong that three or four buds are enough for a pot of stock, and long boiling brings out bitterness, so lift them once the aroma has risen. On the Korean table it goes into sujeonggwa and baesuk, and into the water for boiling meat, where it covers the smell. The Donguibogam lists it in the Wood section as 丁香, recording a warm nature, a pungent taste and no toxicity. It says there are male and female forms, the male grain small and the female large, and that a bud as thick as a cornelian cherry fruit is popularly called 母丁香 and is finer in aroma and flavour. It adds that clove lifts other fragrances. This is a tropical tree that will not grow outdoors in Korea, so this entry covers choosing and keeping it.

Where It Grows

Main producer Major producer Latitudes at 22–30℃ Zoom and pan to explore · temperatures are rough zonal averages

Main producer It accounts for most of the world's production. The tree is native to this country's eastern Maluku Islands (Ternate and Tidore), and today it is planted widely, as far as Sulawesi and Java. The harvest season splits in two depending on the region. Harvest February, March, April, September, October, November
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Main producer The growing areas run along the east coast around Antsiranana and Tamatave, and this is one of the countries with the largest export volumes. Harvest October, November, December
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Major producer Zanzibar and the island of Pemba are long-established growing areas. Because these are Southern Hemisphere islands, the harvest season stretches from Korea's summer into its early winter. Harvest July, August, September, October, November, December
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Comoros Major producer A group of volcanic islands in the Indian Ocean whose main exports are cloves and ylang-ylang. Anjouan and Mohéli are the growing islands.
Major producer It is grown in the humid zones of the central highlands, mixed in with other spices.
Major producer It is grown on a small scale in the foothills of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The tree once grew only on a few volcanic islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, and until the 18th century seeds were kept under strict control so they could not leave the area. It later spread when the French transplanted it to Zanzibar, Pemba, Madagascar and the Comoros in the Indian Ocean, and these islands became the export-producing regions. Indonesia still dominates production itself by a wide margin, but most of its crop is used at home in clove cigarettes, and the volumes that reach the international market are supplied by the Indian Ocean islands.

Optimum: 22~30℃
Range: 15~35℃
Hardiness: Tropical
Day length: Not applicable

This is a tree of tropical coasts and volcanic islands, where the temperature rarely drops below 20℃ at any time of year and rain falls evenly at 1500mm or more. It cannot survive frost, and young trees die below 10℃. A sapling takes 6–8 years before its flower buds can first be picked, and around 20 years before the tree comes into its own.

How to grow

Light: It will not grow outdoors in Korea. It takes full tropical sun on warm, rainy coasts the year round
Soil and depth: Not a crop anyone here handles in soil. At origin it is said to do well on the free-draining ground of volcanic islands
Spacing: A mature tree stands over 10m, evergreen. Plantations space the trees widely so the buds can be picked by hand
Watering: What reaches a shop is already dried. Damp drives off the aroma and lets mould in, so keep it clear of water and steam
Feeding: Nothing to feed. Instead, choose whole cloves of a deep brown colour with the head of the bud still attached
Harvest: At origin the buds are picked by hand once they flush red and before they open, then sun-dried, turning deep brown as they dry

What makes the difference. Keep whole cloves in a sealed container somewhere cool and dark. Ground clove loses aroma fast, so grind only what is needed

Why this one is harder. This is not a tree that can be grown in Korea. It wants tropical heat and humidity, and even under glass it rarely sets flower buds, so choosing and storing what is bought is the whole of handling this spice

Common problems

Pantry insects You will see Webbing in the bag and small larvae among the buds What to do Discard that bag and move the rest to a sealed container. Check the other spices on the same shelf
Mould You will see The buds go damp and white bloom or staining appears What to do Throw the whole jar out. Never shake the jar directly over a steaming pan
Lost aroma You will see Pressing a bud gives no oil and little scent What to do Buy whole and grind as needed, and date the jar. Use ground clove within six months

This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.

Health Benefits

The old record — jeonghyang (丁香). The Donguibogam lists clove in the Wood section as 丁香. It records a warm nature, a pungent taste and no toxicity. It says there are male and female forms, the male grain small and the female large, and that a bud as thick as a cornelian cherry fruit is popularly called 母丁香 and is finer in aroma and flavour. It notes that the shape resembles a nail, and adds that clove lifts other fragrances. This is a historical medical record and differs from how it is judged today.

Eugenol. Compositional analysis confirms eugenol as the principal compound of clove essential oil. The same work reports that the level varies with origin, plant part and how far the buds were dried. This is a compositional analysis.

When the bud is picked. Clove is picked before the flower opens, not after. The buds are taken by hand once they flush red and while still closed, then sun-dried, turning brown as they go. Buds that have opened are not used as spice. This is an account of harvesting at origin.

Nutrition

Eugenol (the principal compound of the oil) — the phenolic compound behind the characteristic aroma
Essential oil (seeps out when a bud is pressed) — the oil fraction that carries the aroma
Water (a little remains after drying) — why added damp lets mould take hold

Eugenol and the essential oil The aroma of clove comes from its essential oil, and repeated analyses report that eugenol accounts for most of it. Press a bud with a fingernail and the oil that seeps out is that fraction. This entry stays with the compositional record.

Whole versus ground Ground clove loses its aroma fast. Buying whole and grinding as needed, or dropping whole buds into stock and lifting them out, holds the aroma far longer. Date the jar of ground clove and use it within six months.

How much to use The aroma is strong enough to cover everything else at the slightest excess. Three or four buds are enough for a pot of stock, and five or six is the limit for a pan of boiling meat. Long boiling brings out bitterness, so lift them once the aroma has risen.

Choosing Look for a deep brown colour with the head of the bud still attached. Buds reduced to bare stalks have lost their aroma. There is a handed-down test: drop them in water, and ones rich in oil stand upright while dried-out ones lie flat.

Pairings

○ Cinnamon and ginger — sujeonggwa — Combine separately brewed cinnamon and ginger infusions and add two or three cloves for another layer of aroma. Add the cloves near the end rather than the beginning, then lift them out. Serve with dried persimmon and pine nuts floating on top. Ginger

○ Pear — baesuk — Stud peeled pear wedges with a whole clove each and poach them in ginger water. Studding lets the aroma work into the fruit and makes the cloves easy to retrieve. Remove them before serving. Asian Pear

○ Boiling meat and pickles — A few whole cloves in the water for suyuk or braised beef cover the heavy smell. In Western cooking a ham is studded with cloves before roasting, and they belong in pickling spice. Either way, take them out before eating.

△ Undiluted clove oil — The essential oil distilled from clove is strongly irritant. Do not put it on skin neat or in the mouth, and keep it out of reach of children. This has nothing to do with the quantities used as a kitchen spice, and even as a fragrance it should always be diluted.

△ Chewing a whole clove — A whole clove is hard and intensely aromatic, and chewing one leaves the mouth numb. If cloves went into a stock or a braise, take them out before serving. For food a child will eat, use only a trace of the ground spice.

△ Adding them and forgetting — Left in, cloves push bitterness and astringency into the liquid. Lift them once the aroma has risen, and add fresh ones later if more is wanted. When several spices are used together, clove goes in last.

Varieties

Whole cloves (form) — The dried bud as it is. Holds its aroma longest
Ground clove (form) — Convenient, but the aroma goes quickly
Mother clove (form) — An old name for the thick ones. Today it refers to the dried fruit of the clove tree

Source: Donguibogam, Wood Section 丁香