Syzygium aromaticum

cloves

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Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & Perry [= Eugenia caryophyllus (C. Spreng.) Bull. & Harr.] (Myrtaceae); naeltjies (Afrikaans); mu ding xiang (Chinese); kruidnagel (Dutch); clous de girofle (French); Gewürznelke (German); cingkeh (Indonesian); chiodi di garofano (Italian); kuroobu, shouji (Japanese); bunga cingkeh (Malay); clavero, clavo (Spanish); garn ploo (Thai); hanh con (Vietnamese)

DESCRIPTION Cloves are unopened, sun-dried flower buds – dark brown, hard in texture and about 12 mm (½ in.) long, with the unopened petals forming a round head. The aroma is described as intensely spicy, woody, musty, fruity and peppery.1 The flavour is warming, sharp and burning, spicy, fruity, astringent and somewhat bitter with a numbing effect.1

THE PLANT An evergreen, medium-sized tree with glossy leaves and small, white flowers bearing numerous stamens.2

ORIGIN Indigenous to the North Molucca Islands in Indonesia, the original “Spice Islands” of the colonial era and the associated spice trade.2 Cultivation started more than 2 000 years ago and the Chinese traded in cloves around 200 BC.2 Cloves first reached Europe by ad 176 but only became popular during the colonial era. The Portuguese first took control of the clove trade but were displaced by the Dutch in the early 17th century, who established a monopoly by ordering the destruction of clove trees on all but a few islands. The monopoly was broken by the French, who took clove seedlings from the Moluccas to their colonies in Réunion and Mauritius around 1770, from where it reached Madagascar and Zanzibar, and later also the Caribbean. In 1932, the Dutch secretly reintroduced cloves from Zanzibar to Indonesia because smokers of kretek cigarettes preferred Zanzibar cloves. These cigarettes are the basis of a very large industry in Southeast Asia. They are made with tobacco and contain 30 to 40% shredded cloves as the second main ingredient. Their popularity has led to Indonesia becoming the main producer of cloves, overtaking Tanzania (Zanzibar) and the Malagasy Republic.2

CULTIVATION Trees are grown from seeds or seedlings gathered in existing plantations. Warm and tropical conditions are required.

HARVESTING Trees take up to 10 years to reach reproductive maturity but can be harvested for up to 60 years or more.2 Commercial harvesting of the clusters of unopened flowers is done by hand. The stalks are removed and the buds are spread out in the sun to dry.

CULINARY USES Cloves are an important spice and are usually included as one of the essential components of spice mixtures.3 Its main applications in the kitchen are for meat dishes, marinades, gherkins, pickles, pears in red wine, baked apples, mulled wines and some sweet pastries.3 When seasoning meat, less than 0.6 g (0.02 oz) is used per 45 kg (ca. 100 lbs).1 Van der Hum, a traditional South African liqueur dating back to the 19th century, is made with tangerine peel and cloves as main flavour ingredients. It is said to be named after a Dutch ship’s captain who enjoyed the drink to the point of distraction. Cloves and clove oil have a wide range of applications in the food industry.1,4

FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS The main flavour compound in cloves is eugenol, with much smaller quantities of β-caryophyllene, eugenol acetate and other minor volatiles.1,4 The oil yield of clove buds is about 17% (93% eugenol), that of the stems 6% (83% eugenol) and leaves 2% (80% eugenol).1 Eugenol also occurs in cinnamon leaves and allspice.

NOTES Clove oil is used in dentistry as an analgesic and disinfectant.

1. Farrel, K.T. 1999. Spices, condiments and seasonings. Aspen Publishers, Gaithersburg, USA.

2. Bermawie, N., Pool, P.A. 1995. Clove. In: Smartt, J., Simmonds, N.W. (Eds), Evolution of crop plants (2nd ed.), pp. 375–379. Longman, London.

3. Larousse. 1999. The concise Larousse gastronomique. Hamlyn, London.

4. Harborne, J.B., Baxter, H. 2001. Chemical dictionary of economic plants. Wiley, New York.