The aroma of cloves is adventurous and warm with a hint of pepper. The flavor while a bit fruity is also biting, a bit harsh and a whole clove produces a numbing effect in your mouth. Cloves are enjoyed in the traditional cuisines of China, Greece, India, Russia and Scandinavia.
Whole cloves are used to flavor meats, beverages, desserts and soups. In this country they are traditionally used to stud ham, and pork roast. Add whole cloves to your boiling poultry, beef, fish, or shrimp cooking stock. To give a warm taste to your vegetables, add whole cloves to the water in which vegetables are being steamed. This works very well with beets, carrots, green beans, onions and squash. You should always remove whole cloves prior to servicing any dish. Helpful hint – to simplify this stud the cloves into a carrot (or similar vegetable) or you can also place them in a tea ball before adding to your cooking pot. Either way you then just remove the vegetable or ball prior to serving.
Grind whole cloves to insure the freshest flavor for cooking. And if you are looking for added convenience, use the already Ground Cloves. Since powdered cloves are ground after the heads have been removed, powdered cloves have a milder taste than do the whole. In addition to our Organic Whole Cloves we also carry an Organic Ground Cloves.
Ground cloves are a key ingredient in several spice blends, such as Pumpkin Pie Spice, Chinese Five Spice and Garam Masala. Add a dash to barbeque, chili, spaghetti and tomato sauces and baked beans.
The flavor of cloves is very complimentary to apples, oranges, carrots, onions, red cabbage, figs, pumpkins, squash, sweet potatoes and in cranberry juice.
More helpful hints: Both ground and whole cloves are very potent, so start off with a lighter touch. For 4 servings use approximately 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves and work your way up from there. For cooking add 3 or 4 whole cloves for each 2 quarts of stock.
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