Clarkia Double

Syzygium aromaticum - Cloves

Aromatic spice, or more?

 

 

What are Cloves?

Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum (formerly Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb).

The tree is a myrtle, which grows to a height of 30 to 40 feet. It begins flowering in about seven years and continues to produce for another 80 or more years.

The word clove comes from the French clou, or nail, which describes its shape. The bud is composed of two parts: the stem and a bulbous head. For sale as whole cloves, it is most desirable for the buds to be intact, that is, heads and stems attached, but this is not as important when they are to be ground.

Cloves are known to have anesthetic properties and their smell is often associated with the dentist. Their use as a preservative in pickles and spiced dishes is well documented. At the time of the early Chinese civilization commoners chewed Cloves to sweeten their breath before talking to the emperor. The Chinese also used Cloves as a mild anesthetic for toothache.

 

Plant Profile

 

The clove tree is grown in many countries — Tanzania, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and in the West Indies — which is a good thing, since it takes five to seven THOUSAND of the little flower buds to make just one pound of dried cloves. Prized in Europe since its arrival in the 4th century A.D., clove has traditionally been recommended for digestion. Contemporary herbalists most often suggest cloves for this or to maintain good circulation.

To obtain the spice, the buds must he picked when the heads develop a pink caste, or just before they open. If they are allowed to flower they have no value as a spice. In most areas there are two crops a year - one in late summer and early fall, the other late fall through the first of the year. It is the nature of the clove tree to vary its yield from bumper crops to lighter ones in cycles which range from two to six years. In volume, a mature tree may produce from seven to 40 pounds in one harvest. At picking, the buds are fairly uniform in color, but as they dry the stems turn very dark brown and the heads become light tan in color. It takes between 4,000 and 7 000 buds to make a pound of dried cloves. During the drying they lose two-thirds of their harvested weight.

 

The Major Types of Cloves

Cloves are produced in many parts of the world, from their native Indonesia to several countries of the Indian Ocean, to Latin America. However, most of our imports today are from the Madagascar area (including the Comores) and Brazil; Tanzania (Zanzibar) was a major source, but in recent years their production has declined and their exports have been going mostly to Indonesia.

The U.S. also imports what are called "hand-picked" cloves from Penang and Ceylon. This trade term does not refer to harvesting but rather to the hand selecting of dried cloves to get the biggest, best looking specimens. These are used in fancy retail packs. or where a food manufacturer is using cloves to make an impressive garnish.

Indonesia is still a major producer, but it is also the largest customer for cloves, because of its national penchant for clove flavored cigarettes. Called kreteks (because they crackle when lighted), these cigarettes are two parts tobacco and one part cloves. Production now amounts to about 36 billion cigarettes a year, requiring approximately half of the world production of cloves. This cigarette phenomenon dictates today's prices for cloves.

For grinding purposes, there are no significant differences between cloves from the Madagascar area and those of Brazil. Volatile oil content is the essential quality factor in cloves and both areas consistently supply product, which meets or exceeds 15 percent volatile oi1. Thus, origin specifications have become obsolete in clove buying. Instead, the customer specifies volatile oi1 percentage and various other analytical measurements, and the spice company meets the specs from whichever source is currently available.

In addition to whole and ground cloves, substantial quantities of clove oil are used in the U.S. -some in food products, but heavily in perfumes, cosmetics, medicines, mouthwashes and toothpastes. Dentists still use clove oil as a mild anesthetic.

Clove oil products are distilled from the stems alone and the leaves as well as the buds. The leaves yield roughly two percent. The stems alone about four to six percent and the buds alone approximately 16 per. cent.

The bud oil is the premium product, used as a food flavoring and seasoning blend ingredient and in high quality perfumes. Stem oil, while it has a bud-type flavor, is principally used as a less expensive replacement for the bud oil. Leaf oil is not ordinarily used in its crude form, but is further processed to isolate its eugenol and eugenol derivatives.

Text from RBC HERBAL Inc.