Clove
Syzygium aromaticum
spice
The flower bud of a tree from the northern Moluccas, picked bright red then dried into the shape of a nail, from the Latin clavus. The Portuguese and then the Dutch kept a monopoly by burning the trees outside the island of Ternate. Its scent comes from eugenol.
- Origin
- Maluku Islands (Indonesia)
- Season (United States)
- imported · all year round
- Preparation
- Whole, it flavors the dish and is then taken out — it is often stuck into an onion so it can be found again; ground, it is eaten.
- Did you know?
- In ancient China, ministers had to suck a clove to sweeten their breath before speaking to the emperor.