Clove
klohv
Syzygium aromaticum
Also called cloves, laung.
Warm, sweet, pungent, almost numbing.
Clove is the dried, unopened flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree native to the Maluku islands of Indonesia, once the only place on earth it grew. The small nail-shaped buds are intensely warm, sweet, and almost numbing, thanks to a compound called eugenol, so a few go a long way. Cloves work in both sweet and savory cooking, from studded hams and mulled drinks to biryani, garam masala, and Chinese braises. Whole cloves are easy to fish out; ground clove blends in fast but turns bitter if overused. The early spice trade was built in large part on this one bud.
Similar but different
Easy to mix up, different enough that swapping changes the dish.
- Allspicewarm, like clove and cinnamon.
In the journal
What it pairs with
Goes wrong with: delicate dishes where it would dominate.
Common in Indian, Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Chinese cooking.
Whole vs ground
Whole buds keep their oil and pull out easily after cooking. Grind only what you need, since ground clove stales and can turn harsh fast.
How to handle it
Use whole in liquids, braises, and rice to infuse, then remove. Grind fresh for baking and spice blends. Start with less than you think.
Storage
Airtight and dark. Whole cloves hold their oil for a year or more; ground keeps a few months.
Buying note
Whole cloves should be plump and oily, not dry and shriveled. A fresh one leaves an oily mark when pressed.
Classic dishes
studded ham, mulled wine, biryani, garam masala.
Out of clove? Substitutes
No substitute is exact. These are the closest by flavor behavior, with the ratio to start from and how the result will differ.
| Use instead | Ratio | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Allspice | 1:1 | milder and rounder, less of the sharp clove bite |
| a pinch of nutmeg plus cinnamon | use a third as much | warm and sweet but missing clove's pungency |
For centuries cloves grew only on a few islands in the Maluku, and the global race to control that supply shaped the early spice trade.
Common questions
- What does clove taste like?
- Clove is warm, sweet, pungent, almost numbing. Its overall intensity is strong.
- What can I use instead of clove?
- The closest swaps are Allspice (1:1, milder and rounder, less of the sharp clove bite); a pinch of nutmeg plus cinnamon (use a third as much, warm and sweet but missing clove's pungency). No substitute is exact, so taste and adjust.
- Should I buy clove whole or ground?
- Whole buds keep their oil and pull out easily after cooking. Grind only what you need, since ground clove stales and can turn harsh fast.
- How do you store clove?
- Airtight and dark. Whole cloves hold their oil for a year or more; ground keeps a few months.
Further reading
- The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice by Michael Krondl
A history of the premodern spice trade, covering the Southeast Asian islands this spice came from and the European scramble to control them.
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