Cloves

Cloves are immature, unopened and dried rusty-brown flower buds of tree Syzyium aromaticum, which is native to spice island of Moluccas, Indonesia.  Clove receives its characteristic flavour from Eugenol an essential oil. Clove is a common flavouring ingredient used in many North African, Middle Eastern, Indian and Southeast Asian dishes. Cloves are used in spice blends, hot beverages and often paired with other flavouring agents such as cumin, cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, etc.

Alternate Indian names – Laung ( Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu), Lawang ( Bengali), Lavang ( Gujarati), Lavanga ( Kannada), Grambu ( Malayalam), Luvang ( Marathi), Labang ( Oriya), Lavanga ( Sanskrit), Kirambu, Lavangam ( Tamil), Lavangalu ( Telugu).

Types – Ceylon cloves and Spice Island cloves. 
Flavor – Sweetly pungent, overpowering and strongly aromatic spice, which when used excessively can produce tongue numbing sensation. Ceylon cloves have strong, sweet flavor and spice island cloves possess a slightly sharper flavor.

Purchase and Storage – Cloves are sold as ground or whole dried buds. Ground cloves are powerful, but they lose their flavour quickly, so buy in small quantities. The whole cloves will remain fresh for a year when properly stored in airtight containers out of direct sunlight.