Cloves
You can use either ground or whole cloves in cooking, but because they are very strong, they are used only in the smallest amounts. They have been used throughout history in both North and South Indian cuisines. Northern Indian cuisine includes cloves in almost every sauce or side dish, usually ground up with other spices. In addition to green cardamoms, cloves are one of the key ingredients in tea. In south Indian cuisine, it is used frequently in the biryani dish, which is similar to pilaf but with added spices. Whole cloves are usually used in order to enhance the flavor of the rice.
In ancient times, cloves were only available on a few islands in the Maluku Islands (also called the Spice Islands) that included Bacan, Makian, Moti, Ternate, and Tidore, but before the time of Christ, they had travel to the Middle East and Europe. Archeologists discovered cloves in Syria along with evidence that dated the find to a time frame within a few years of 1721BC.
In addition to nutmeg and pepper, cloves were highly prized spices during Roman times and were traded by Arabs during the Middle Ages in the highly profitable Indian Ocean trading zone. In the late fifteenth century, the Portuguese took over the Indian Ocean trade, which of course, included the clove trade. They brought large quantities of cloves into Europe mostly from the Maluku Islands, making the cloves one of the most valuable spices. In seventeenth and eighteenth century Britain, cloves were worth their weight in gold or more because of the high cost of importing them.
There are far too many cuisines to mention each of them involving a love for cloves, but in China, Sri Lanka, Northern India, Middle East, many Arab countries, and Northern Africa just to mention a few, they are the preferred spice for meat dishes with rice frequently a dish that is aromatized with a few cloves. Ethiopia's "coffee ceremony" includes the roasting of coffee with cloves.
European use of the spice is less popular because of its strong flavor. Cloves are used in some sweets or sweet breads, and its use is especially popular in combination with cinnamon for stewed fruits. One or two cloves are often added to plain rice. In France, meat stews or meat broths that are left to simmer for long periods include flavoring with cloves. Their most popular use in England is in pickles. In addition, many mixed spices contain cloves.
