Botanical name - Eugenia caryophyllus
Country of Origin - Sri Lanka
Cloves are one of the worlds oldest and most popular spices and it’s no wonder because their aromatic and spicy smell and taste make a great compliment to many dishes. Perhaps the most widely recognized spice, a clove is actually a dried flower bud. It resembles small brown nail which makes it perfect for studding hams, which is where most people first become familiar with it. But studding a ham is not the only use for cloves in the kitchen and different cultures have different favorite uses for this aromatic spice. In France, they put a clove into an onion for use in chicken stock. In England it is ground up and mixed with apples. In India cloves are eaten with betel nuts. There are many uses for cloves and they can actually go with most anything and make a very interesting garnish as well.
Cloves can be used in their whole form or in a ground up form. They can be used in dishes that include poultry or meat and you can add a pinch to most any meal. Cloves are essential in recipes such as pumpkin pie and mulled wine. While a whole clove might be a bit much to handle in a casserole, dessert or stew, the ground version can add a bit of aromatic zip without interfering with the texture.