Cloves are the dried flower buds of Eugenia caryophylata, an evergreen tree of the Myrtle family.
It is indigenous to the Moluccas or Spices Islands but is cultivated in many of the East Indian Islands, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pemba, Penang (Malaysia), India, and Ceylon.
When the green buds change to a reddish color, they are removed from the three and dried.
The dried flower buds must be handled with care. They range from ¼ to ½ in. in length and are reddish brown.
Cloves are characterized by theirs strong, pungent flavor. The spice is available either whole or ground and is used as a flavoring for hams, roasts, stews, pickled fruits, preserves, desserts, cakes, puddles and spice sweet syrups.
Ground cloves contain tissue cells found in flower buds and broad base fibers, but starch grains are absent.
Cloves contain 12-21% of volatile oil; the principal flavor constituents are eugenol (70-80%) caryophyllene, vanillin and small amounts of several other substances.
Adulterants include exhausted cloves, clove stems, allspice, nutshells and cereals.
Cloves
