- This article is about spices; the word clove is also used to describe a segment of a head of garlic and a clove hitch is a useful kind of knot.
 Cloves drying by the road in the village of Wahai, Seram in Indonesia Cloves are the aromatic dried buds of a tree (Eugenia caryophyllata also sometimes Syzygium aromaticum, Myrtaceae) native to Indonesia, used as a spice in virtually all the world's cuisine.
The name derives from French clou, a nail, as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape.
Cloves are harvested primarily in Indonesia and Madagascar.
Major Countries that it is grown in are: Madagascar, Zanzibar, India, Sri Lanka, and the "Spice Islands" (Moluccas, Indonesia known as the Bandas Islands)
Uses
Cloves can be used in cooking either whole or in a ground form, but they are extremely strong so they should be used with caution. The spice is used throughout Europe and Asia and is smoked in cigarettes in Indonesia and in occasional coffee bars in the west, and by members of the goth subculture.
History
In the 3rd century BC, Chinese leaders in the Han Dynasty required those who addressed them to chew cloves so as to freshen their breath. Cloves, along with nutmeg and pepper, were highly prized to Roman times, and Pliny the Elder complained that "there is no year in which India does not drain the Roman Empire of fifty million sesterces." Cloves were traded by Arabs during the Middle Ages in the profitable Indian Ocean trade. In the late 15th century, Portugal took over the Indian Ocean trade, including cloves, due to the Treaty of Tordesillas with Spain and a separate treaty with the sultan of Ternate. The trade later became dominated by the Dutch in the 17th century. The majority of cloves today are grown on the island of Zanzibar.
Active compounds
Essential oil of clove has anesthetic and antimicrobial qualities, and is sometimes used to eliminate bad breath or to ameliorate the pain of a bad tooth. It, or its main component eugenol, is used by dentists to anesthetize the gum before injecting Novocaine or similar anesthetics, and is the characteristic odor of a dentist's office.
See also
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