Cloves become one of the popular spices. Some people may think that clove is fruit or seed, but actually it is part of the flower bud. Specifically, it is dried flower bud of the clove tree. Mostly, cloves are harvested from the tropical area. It has pungent and unique aroma and taste. In many Asian and even African culinary recipes, you can find cloves spice as the main ingredients, and it can work well in sweet and savory foods.
Things You Need to Know about Cloves
You can find many interesting facts about cloves. It serves well as spice in many kinds of tasty foods, but there are also some health benefits that can be obtained from it. These are some of interesting information that you should know about cloves spice.
- Full of nutrients
Clove has its unique aroma and taste that cannot be replaced easily by other spices. Regardless, there are also nutrients contained in the dried flower buds. In a serving of one teaspoon, you can get around 1 gram of protein. There are also fiber, fat, and carbohydrate. Antioxidants can also be obtained from the cloves spice so it surely has good benefit on the body.
- Whole and ground cloves
When you are going to buy the spice, you need to know that you can choose between the whole and ground cloves. However, it is recommended to purchase the ground ones because the form does not have significant effect on your recipe. Instead, it is quite annoying when you accidentally bite the whole clove. Its strong taste and aroma can be so unpleasant and it even makes you less interested to enjoy your dish because of the lingering taste. That is why the ground ones are safer because you do not need to remove the cloves spice before serving.
- Benefits of cloves
The cloves have anti-inflammatory substances. Thus, it is very useful to lower the case of inflammation in the body, especially for the prevention of arthritis. Then, it is proven that cloves can help the work of your liver. The eugenol found in the cloves has great function to prevent fatty liver disease and lower the risks of liver cirrhosis.
- Cooking with cloves
Cloves can serve well as spices in many kinds of cooking method. Mostly, it becomes main ingredient of meat rubs, especially for steaks. Soups and even cakes will also taste better with the cloves. Because of its aroma, you can also find warm drinks that include cloves as the ingredient in the recipe.
- Clove oil for dental treatment
In fact, people can find many products of clove oils. The cloves spice can be processed to extract the essential oils. The products are effective for dental treatment. It can soothe the pain coming from toothache because the eugenol in the clove can serve as natural anesthetic. Then, it is said that the oil can kill the bacteria that worsen the toothache. Moreover, the clove oil is believed to prevent the erosion on the enamel of tooth. Thus, it can strengthen the substance of tooth.
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