Worcestershire Sauce is dominated by this Indonesian spice
Beautiful Botanicals by Joanne Howdle
Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) are the dried, unopened, aromatic flower buds of an evergreen trees in the Myrtaceae family which includes the Common Myrtle (Myrtus communis), Bay Rum (Pimenta racemose), Common Guava (Psidium guajava), and Allspice (Pimenta dioica).
All the species in the Myrtaceae family are woody and contain essential oils. Clove trees are native to the Maluku Islands or Moluccas, an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia.
Clove trees grow to about 8-12 metres tall and flower after about 6 years. The tree becomes fully mature at 20 years and can bear fruit for more than 80 years.
The stalks have slender stems and externally they are brownish, rough, and irregularly wrinkled longitudinally with a dry, woody texture.
The botanical has large leaves which are alternate to mostly opposite, simple, and usually entire without a toothed margin. The flowers of the clove tree are grouped in terminal clusters and initially have a pale hue, but turn green, then transition to a bright crimson colour when the botanical is ready to harvest.
The fruit of the clove tree – known as cloves – is one of the world’s most intensely flavoured spices. The characteristic flavour of cloves comes from the aromatic compound eugenol, which can cause a numbing sensation in the mouth.
This is because the eugenol found in cloves is a natural anaesthetic and is traditionally used to numb and reduce toothache pain and today cloves are commonly used in toothpaste and as a fragrance in cosmetics, and soap.
The name clove derives from the Latin word clavus – literally ‘nail’ because of the shape of the bud of the botanical.
The Austronesian peoples first traded cloves, in the Austronesian maritime trade network which began around 1500 BC, later becoming the Maritime Silk Road and part of the Spice Trade. Cloves were traded whole or pulverised, and were used to flavour food, make traditional medicines and perfumes, and were utilised as hair dressings.
The first written reference to cloves is found in Asian literature dating from the Chinese Han Period (206 BC-220 AD), under the name “chicken-tongue spice”. During the Han Period, before going before the Emperor, staff and subjects were required to chew one or more cloves, to sweeten their breath, and remove any bad odours, so as not to offend their ruler.
From the 18th century onwards, cloves became one of the major spices in European commerce and wars were fought to secure exclusive rights to the profitable clove business.
The Maluku Islands were once part of the Dutch East Indies and the Dutch government sought to control their monopoly by destroying every clove tree that grew anywhere else. However, by the early 1800s, the French established a smuggling operation to transport clove tree seedlings to the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba.
In cooking, cloves are used in a variety of savoury and sweet dishes and are often paired with other spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Worcestershire Sauce, an Indo-British contribution to international cuisine, is markedly dominated by clove aroma.
Dried cloves are a key ingredient in Indian masala chai tea and part of many spice blends including Chinese five spice, Indian garam masala, Malay rempah empat beradik, pumpkin pie spice and speculoos biscuit spice.
Cloves are used sparingly in gin manufacture as their flavour can quickly dominate the spirit. Cloves add a slightly sweet, fruity, minty, medicinal, spicy, and warm taste to gin. Cloves are also used in mulled wine and an assortment of liqueurs and as a key ingredient in spiced rum.
• Joanne Howdle is interpretation and engagement manager at the multi-award winning Dunnet Bay Distillers Ltd.