Cloves are not amongst the most popular flowers a person will receive and buy as a gift. They still though have their special place in the floral world and meaning in the language of flowers. They are symbol of the human dignity and are big compliment to the person they are given. When you get to know the history and the range of use of this flower you will get positive that it is really underestimated and it has its special place amongst the other plants.
The buds of the cloves are very aromatic and they are growing on a tree. Traditionally they were planted in Indonesia and Maluku islands and are grown in these two areas for centuries. Today the plant is popular all over the world but its fame as a spice is bigger then its fame as a decorative flower. The biggest quantities of this plant are collected in India and Indonesia as well as in Zanzibar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
There are several details that best are characterizing the tree the cloves are growing on. It is of the evergreen type. The height it reaches is usually between eight and twelve feet at the most. When the buds of the flower appear on the tree they are at first in very pale colors. They turn green for a short period and then become bright red. When they did so, they are ready to be picked. The best length for the cloves to be collected is about two centimeters.
The name of the flower has Latin origin. It the past it was one of the most expensive and fast trading commodities due to the fact that it was grown in such exotic countries that were mentioned above. The fact that this special flower was mostly grown in Indonesia gave big impulse of the process of the Dutch colonization in this part of the world.
As it was mentioned before cloves find their best place in the cooking. Asian, Middle Eastern and African cuisines are all using it in their dishes. The dried flowers of cloves are mostly used for meats and marinades. The plant is much useful for the sweet dishes as well. It takes significant part in the making of food which includes in its recipes apples, pears and rhubarb.
Mexico is another part of the world which cuisine finds the use of the cloves very good for the preparation of its dishes. In the country the buds are popular under the name "clavos de olor". Mexicans thinks that this plant is best combined with cinnamon and cumin in the dishes.
For those who will love to try using the cloves in their next recipe will be very good to know that it has really strong taste and has to be combined very carefully. Besides cumin and cinnamon it is very well going with red wine, vanilla, basil, onion and citrus peels.
The use of the cloves is not only limited in cooking. There are special cigarettes in Indonesia that are partly made of this plant and are called "kretek". For some time they were very popular in Europe and USA as well but since 2009 they are outlawed in the states.
Dentistry, herbalism and Chinese medicine are other fields that accept the flower very well. It is mighty painkilling ingredient in the dental emergency medicine.
The tea of cloves which is very popular in the Chinese medicine is very good for stomach pains and problems with kidneys.
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