Clove
Good-quality cloves contain a high oil content and have closed buds. The spice grows on a tropical, evergreen tree that can live for 75 to 100 years. The flavor of cloves is warm, characteristic, spicy, and sharp/hot, with a numbing sensation in the mouth afterward.
The origin
Cloves are a spice. Dark brown/brown-red varieties originate primarily from Madagascar, Comoros, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. Lighter brown varieties come from Tanzania, India, Zanzibar, and Brazil. Verstegen supplies only the highest quality cloves, which currently come from Sri Lanka and Comoros. Good quality cloves contain a high oil content and have closed buds. A clove should be long, thick, and brown.
Characteristics of cloves
The spice grows on a tropical evergreen tree that can live for 75 to 100 years. The tree can reach a height of up to 25 meters. Cloves are the unripe flower buds of the tree; they are about 2.5 cm long and have a thick stem. When harvested, they are olive green and can change to a reddish-brown color as they ripen. After drying, the color changes to a reddish-brown to brownish-black, depending on the variety and origin.
The flavor of cloves is characteristically warm, spicy, and sharp/hot, with a numbing sensation in the mouth afterward. The spice's aroma is also very aromatic, with an initial, warm, and distinctive aroma.
Cloves in the kitchen
With its sharp, warm, and aromatic flavor, this spice is excellent for stews, soups, salad dressings, and sweet dishes. It's often used in traditional dishes like stews, game dishes, and red cabbage, and in northern Europe, it's also used in minced meat and sausages. Because cloves quickly disappear in a stew, we recommend sticking the stem into a whole onion and adding it to the dish that way. Cloves are also a must-have in mulled wine (mulled wine).
