Organic ground cloves
Cloves pounded organic, real Christmas spice for baked goods, in the batter for apple slices and pancakes.
About Cloves
Cloves are dried flower buds from a tropical evergreen tree. In everyday speech, cloves are simply called cloves. This name comes from the German Nägelein, which means little nail and alludes to the shape of the spice. Cloves must not be confused with the perennial and flower which is also calledclove . The two plants have nothing to do with each other.
The clove tree belongs to the myrtle family and grows best in a humid climate near the sea. It can be at least 12 meters high. The flower buds are in bunches, many of them quite high up in the trees, and this means that picking is difficult. The small flower buds should be harvested when they are swollen and about to turn pink, but before they open and pop out. The unsprouted flower buds are dried in the sun for a few days, which gives them the dark brown color we know.
Cloves contain 15-18 percent essential oils, which mostly consist of eugenol, which is also found in every palm. Eugenol is both a disinfectant and a local anesthetic. But it is also a perfume substance that can cause allergies, and therefore it must be stated in the declaration if a product contains eugenol.
Application
Cloves have a distinctive, pleasant scent, which we associate with the smell of Christmas spirit when, for example, we stick whole cloves in oranges and hang them up as decorations.
Cloves are available both as whole cloves and as crushed cloves.
Cloves have a dominant taste, and therefore care must be taken not to overdose when adding it to food. Cloves are used a lot in Chinese food and it is one of the ingredients of the fifth spice.
Crushed cloves are used in spicy baked goods and desserts. In Christmas brown cakes and gingerbread, it is indispensable, as together with the other spices it gives these cakes a characteristic taste and fragrance.
Cloves are also used to season mulled wine and other hot drinks.
Cloves or clove oil (eugenol) are also used in mouthwash and toothpaste, where the disinfecting effect is exploited. In the past, dentists also used clove oil mixed with zinc oxide to make a temporary cement filling in a tooth.
In Asia, cloves are used in a different way than here. In India they are chewed for fresh breath, and in Indonesia approximately 50 percent of the total world production is used to mix the tobacco for the cigarettes, kretek, which virtually all Indonesian men smoke. The characteristic incense-like scent is found everywhere people move in that part of the world.
Origin
Cloves originate from the Moluccas, a group of small islands in Indonesia. Around the year zero, the spice came to India and China.
Today, Indonesia is still the largest producer, but cloves are also grown on the islands of Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pemba, Sri Lanka and in Brazil.
Latin name: Syzygium aromaticum
Nordic Tea
Local tea shop in Hillerød
The company has existed since 2007 and has based its success all these years on the three solid foundations of high quality, a large selection and, not least, a high level of service.
Nordic Tea
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