How to use cloves in your recipes
Here’s everything you need to know about using cloves while cooking.
Problem Solved
Looking to spice up your recipes? Cloves might be the tasty and healthy addition you’ve been looking for.
Cloves are flower buds from a specific type of tree native to Indonesia. They’re known for having a sweet, warm and slightly spicy scent similar to cinnamon or nutmeg, and are commonly consumed in ground form as a spice added to recipes.
“Cloves are super underrated,” says women’s health dietitian and nutritionist Valerie Agyeman.
Here’s why some nutrition experts thinks the spice deserves more recognition, how to include it in your meals and who should be avoiding larger quantities of cloves.
What are cloves good for?
Nutrition researchers have found that adding small doses of cloves to your diet can offer several benefits, thanks to a chemical called eugenol, which gives cloves that sweet, warm flavor while also adding a healthy boost.
“They’re full of antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, which means they can help with digestion and immune health,” Agyeman says.
But experts say more research needs to be done to fully understand how cloves affect the body. Some studies have shown that consuming cloves in high quantities can actually be bad for you.
“They are strong, so if you’re using clove oil or taking them as a supplement, too much can cause stomach issues or interact with certain medications,” Agyeman says. “A little definitely goes a long way.”
Some studies of mixing cloves with insulin medications have shown potentially dangerous interactions. And clove oil in particular has raised some red flags among health experts; per the Cleveland Clinic, clove oil can be toxic. Clove products in general should be kept away from children, as well as those who are taking blood thinners or have bleeding disorders, are getting surgery or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
What is the best way to eat cloves?
While it’s technically OK to eat a bit of straight-up raw clove, that strong flavor that might not be the most pleasant on its own. Instead, Agyeman offers a few suggestions to incorporate cloves in recipes to maximize taste and give you a more well-rounded meal or snack.
“I love using ground cloves in baked goods like pumpkin bread or spice cookies,” she says. “They also work really well in roasted veggie blends. Whole cloves are great steeped in tea or added to rice pilaf, stews or broths to give everything a warm, cozy flavor.”
