Clove

Clove show a strong aromatic and very instensive fragrance and have a fiery burning taste. The content of essential oil in cloves of good quality may exceed 15%. The oil itself is dominated by eugenol (70 to 85%), eugenol acetate (15%) and beta-caryophyllene (5 to 12%), which together make up 99% of the oil.

Many spice mixtures contain cloves. They form an essential part in the Chinese five spice powder, frequently appear in curry powders, determine the character of the Moghul variant of garam masala and are component of the Arabic baharat. Mixtures from Africa containing cloves are Moroccan ras el hanout, Tunisian galat dagga and Ethiopian berebere. A well-known European spice mixture depending on cloves is the French quatre spices .

Ground Cloves add spicy depth to gingerbread, cookies, applesauce, muffins, cakes, and other sweets .They are a secret ingredient in barbecue and cocktail sauces.

In Indonesia, cloves are used to aromatize cigarettes (kretek) and the demand for such cigarettes is so large that occasionally-the country has to import of cloves during the off-season period to cater to local demand.