About the beneficial properties of cloves - one of the most fragrant spices in the world. Hot spice cloves: benefits and harms. What are the indications and contraindications for the use of cloves (spice)

With a very burning and spicy aroma, cloves remind of themselves to those who have tried it at least once as part of culinary dishes. Aromatization with herbal plant promotes relaxation

and appeasement, and what are the useful properties of cloves and does the spice have contraindications for you? Let's learn more about this interesting cloves spice.

The benefits of cloves

Clove is a unique spice, which contains a fortified complex of groups A, B, P, C, E. The presence of minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids and fiber allows spices to occupy a leading position in terms of unique beneficial properties. Cloves, healing beneficial properties and contraindications of this spice. Cloves are widely used as a spice, having beneficial properties and some contraindications. Dried fruits perfectly freshen the breath, eliminating the smell of garlic and onions.

For medical purposes, cloves are capable of:

1. Give pain relief, replace antispasmodic drugs, get rid of germs.

2. Help in dental procedures - eliminate irritation of the mucous membrane, reduce inflammation in diseases such as pulpitis or caries. To date, the useful and healing properties of cloves are used to anesthetize temporary fillings. Ancestors with the help of cloves got rid of toothache by rubbing spice on sore spots or chewing plant buds for several minutes.

3. Cloves have beneficial properties for those who suffer from diarrhea and contraindications to its use may be stomach diseases, pregnancy or hypertension. Spice eliminates microbes in case of illness, eliminates helminths and all kinds of bacteria.

4. Fruits help speed up digestive processes, prevent gas formation.

5. The beneficial properties of cloves help to get rid of diaphragmatic and muscle cramps, eliminate hiccups and contraindications to its use can be stomach diseases, pregnancy or hypertension.

6. The useful and healing properties of cloves in obstetrics are especially valued, helping to speed up the birth process. Eugenol in the composition of the spice contributes to stronger attempts, increasing the tone of the uterus. Outside of pregnancy, the plant helps fight sluggish and scanty menstruation, contributing to the overall restoration of a normal menstrual cycle.

7. The medicinal properties of cloves are the secret of long-term sexual intercourse in many partners, its composition contributes to faster and longer sexual arousal for both partners.

8. The plant contributes to a rapid recovery from all types of injuries received, for example, arthrosis, arthritis.

9. Helps eliminate eye diseases when rubbing them with a decoction of cloves.

10. With the help of the medicinal properties of cloves, it is possible to increase blood pressure and get rid of asthma attacks.

Find out how cloves are useful as a spice. Its properties and contraindications.

Clove is a fairly popular spice, its beneficial properties have been noticed after recent medical studies and contraindications to its use do not apply to patients with cancer. For them, the plant is truly unique, since its fruits can give a significant positive result aimed at the recovery of patients in this category.

According to the results of studies, the properties of the spice can prevent and slow down the growth of cancer cells, facilitating the overall recovery of the patient. For patients with leukemia, scientists have also found the use of cloves.

We are treated with spice cloves: useful properties and contraindications for the body.

Carnation in gynecology

The beneficial properties of cloves for women allow using traditional medicine to get rid of discomfort during menopause and improve reproductive function. Specialists in herbal medicine have discovered cloves use in the field of gynecology. However, all prescriptions require prior consultation with your doctor in order to avoid negative consequences for your body. Here are detailed spice treatment recipes for home use.

Infertility treatment

Cloves in daily use can provide significant assistance to women in the fight against infertility. Cooking clove spice will not take much of your time. Take 4 tablespoons of crushed plant (you can use a coffee grinder) and pour a glass of boiled purified water. Leave the prepared tea to infuse for half an hour in the room, then use gauze or cotton to get rid of the thick.

Spice treatment should be carried out before meals - drink 3 tablespoons of tea, therapy should be repeated 4 times in one day. Be sure to prepare fresh tea every day to get the healing properties of the spice for health.

Carnation with menopause

With menopause or hormonal changes, all women experience the occurrence of "hot flashes", which cause a lot of inconvenience and discomfort. Therefore, the beneficial properties of cloves for women are especially valuable at this time.

The following recipe will help you cope with age-related hormonal changes.

To reduce pain in the evening, 15 pieces of fruit are poured into a glass of water heated to 40 degrees and insisted until morning. The next day, you need to drink half of the tea before breakfast, and the rest before dinner. To make the spice treatment more effective, prepare a fresh serving of tea every evening.

Treatment with cloves in folk medicine

The medicinal plant is in the home arsenal of many housewives, its cost per 100 grams is 300 rubles, making it accessible to a wide range of consumers. What can be prepared from it at home to restore health? We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the following spice treatment recipes.

1. For a cold, 5 buds of clove spice must be ground in a mortar to a powder state, then pour a glass of boiling milk. Wait 20 minutes, strain the decoction and consume it warm - drink in slow sips, keeping the liquid in your mouth.

2. A tablespoon of ground cloves, cinnamon and almonds taken in equal proportions will help to cope with a headache. Pour all the spices with water until a thick consistency is obtained. Folk ointment is ready - rub it into your whiskey for 5 minutes and migraine attacks will no longer bring you inconvenience.

3. To improve digestion, 15 minutes before eating, it is recommended to chew a clove bud with honey for several minutes. This recipe is contraindicated for people suffering from gastrointestinal diseases.

4. To relieve a spasmodic cough, take 5 drops of clove essential oil, a tablespoon of honey and a small clove of garlic. Mix everything and consume before going to bed, the recommended dosage is presented in the recipe for one day.

5. In case of tooth or ear pain, 5 cloves are poured into boiling sesame oil (200 ml) and boiled for several minutes, then left to cool slightly. A warm, but not hot, mixture is instilled into the ears, 3 drops each, or applied to a diseased tooth in the form of a moistened swab.

6. A simple recipe will help get rid of barley - add a few drops of water to a crushed clove bud, mix and gently apply to the eye area.

7. For low blood pressure, instead of drinking caffeine, try chewing a few clove buds, which will normalize blood pressure and pleasantly freshen your breath.

8. During the massage of the joints, it is recommended to add clove oil, taken in equal proportions with massage oil - for a faster recovery.

9. To cope with unpleasant skin rashes in adolescence, a drop of clove oil will help, which must be applied to the inflamed area once a day. Especially the oil helps to cope with boils and pustules.

Try making a wonderful mulled wine drink using cloves in the recipe.

A warm alcoholic drink stimulates the heart, relieves autumn blues and depression, and is especially popular during colds. The most important thing is proper preparation.

For treatment, take 0.5 liters of quality wine, heat a little and add 5 cloves and a pinch of cinnamon. Mulled wine is ready. Adults are recommended to drink as an independent drink, teenagers should add an alcoholic drink a few teaspoons to tea.

Clove tea - spicy flavor or healthy drink?

Cloves, drenched in boiling water or added to tea, are for many a rich aromatic taste, its medicinal properties are especially appreciated in winter and autumn.

We list the main useful properties of tea with cloves:

Eliminates physical tension, relaxes after a hard day and stress
Fights muscle spasms
Eliminates stomach cramps
Promotes activation of digestion processes
Helps with diarrhea
Relieves sore throat during colds
Prevents the development of cancer cells, being an auxiliary drug for oncological diseases.

There are many recommendations for brewing tea with cloves, the differences are only in achieving different aromatic effects. In the classical method of preparation, several dried buds are added to tea, the drink is infused for 5 minutes, and then consumed in small sips.

cold tea recipe

The beneficial properties of clove tea are known to many during colds. The spice added to tea helps fight viral infections, a warm drink is recommended as a prophylaxis in winter and autumn.

Prepare the following ingredients:

Purified boiled water - 0.5 l
2 cloves
some ginger
Tablespoon tea leaves
Half a cinnamon stick or a small pinch of dried spice
lemon slice
3 tablespoons orange juice
Sugar to taste

Place the ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a small saucepan with water. Boil the broth and fill it with black or green tea, after 5 minutes add lemon, sugar and orange juice. Drink aromatic tea 3 times a day at home or at work.

Another recipe has the equally beneficial properties of clove tea during a cold and will appeal to all milk lovers.

To prepare it you will need:

Boiled milk - 0.5 l
Water - 200 ml
Tea brew - 3 teaspoons
Carnation - 3 buds
grated ginger

Dried buds with ginger pour a glass of water and bring to a boil, add tea leaves, let the tea brew for 5 minutes. Strain the warm drink through cheesecloth or sieve, add boiled milk. Tea with milk and cloves is ready to be poured into cups and consumed.

However, medicinal cloves (spice) have useful properties and contraindications.

Contraindications to the use of cloves

At all times, cloves have been used for healing, but it is important to know when you can use a flower bud, and when only a cap. The beneficial properties of clove spices are very popular among adherents of folk and traditional medicine, and contraindications to the plant should be taken into account before using it. Therefore, before treatment, carefully study the recipe. Here are some general guidelines for use:

If you use cloves to prepare marinades or dishes that involve the addition of alcoholic beverages, then the bitterness of the spice can be quickly extracted into the alcohol itself, without bringing benefits, but only worsening the aromatic properties of the dish.

There is a group of people who should not include cloves in their daily diet:

1. Children under 2 years of age should avoid this type of spice.

2. For pregnant women and during lactation, the concentration of spices should be reduced several times, based on a specific recipe.

3. The presence of high pressure is a reason to refuse cloves, as it contributes to its increase.

4. Individual intolerance to clove spice - expressed in allergic manifestations on the skin.

doctor of agricultural sciences, professor botanists of the RGAU-MSHA named after K.A. Timiryazev

Allspice (Syzygium aromaticum(L.) Merill et L.M. Perry syn. Saratophyllus aromaticus L., Eugenia caryophylla Thunb., Eugenia caryophyllus(C. Spreng.), Eugenia aromatica(L.) Baill., and rarer Myrthus caryophyllus Spreng., Jambosa caryophyllus(Spring.) Nied. ) - a tropical plant up to 20 m high of the Myrtle family ( Murtaceae).

The leaves are opposite, entire, smooth, leathery, ovate, up to 12 cm long. At a young age, fragrant. The flower is a red receptacle and four white petals. The fruits are dark red, ovoid, 2.5 cm long and 1 cm thick.

The clove tree grows in a warm and humid climate with rainfall of 1500-2500 mm per year. Height above sea level - up to 900 m. Seeds ripen in July - October, lose their germination capacity a week after collection.

Homeland of the clove tree and distribution around the world

The homeland of the clove tree is the Moluccas and the Southern Philippines. The plant is cultivated in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Guinea, Madagascar. The main spice production (up to 80%) is concentrated in Tanzania, mainly in Zanzibar and Pemba. On the island of Pemba, clove plantations occupy most of the territory. And the short-lived Sultanate of Zanzibar and Pemba (1963-1964) even placed two carnation buds on the national flag.

Story

In Europe, especially in the Mediterranean, it has been known since pre-Christian times. During the time of the Roman emperors, cloves were transported from Malaysia, through Ceylon, along the Red Sea to Alexandria and Constantinople. It is known that Emperor Constantine gave some spice to Pope Sylvester 1 as the greatest jewel. The presence of cloves in Germany in 973 was first mentioned by the Arab merchant and physician Ibrahim ibn Yakub, who was surprised to find cloves among other spices well known to him. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) recommends cloves as a medicinal plant in his recipes.

The Portuguese and the Dutch waged bitter wars for possession of the islands where spices grow and for the possession of monopoly trade. The Dutch managed to maintain a monopoly on the cloves trade until the 17th century. The French also decided to make their own business: in 1772 in Reunion, in 1786 in French Guiana, and in 1827 in Madagascar, clove plantations were established.

What is used

Harvesting begins with six-year-old plants. Mature buds (slightly pink in color) are harvested by hand. The peduncles are removed, the buds are blanched in boiling water and then dried in the sun.

The yield from one tree reaches 8 kg per year. If, when immersed in water, the buds are in a vertical position, then their quality is good. With a horizontal arrangement of buds on the surface of the water, their aroma is low.

What do clove buds contain and how are they treated?

The buds contain about 15% essential oil. However, in some cases, its content can reach 20%. The main component is eugenol, which is about 70-90%. Eugenol acetate (15%), a- and b-caryophyllene (5-12%) were also found in the oil. These compounds together make up 99% of the essential oil. Clove essential oil is usually obtained by steam distillation.

In addition, the buds contain fatty oil (10%), including about 2% triterpene fatty acids, tannins (up to 12% halotannins), 0.4% flavonoids (quercetin and kaempferol), phenolcarboxylic acids and the bitter substance caryophyllin.

Clove stimulates appetite, promotes digestion and has antiseptic properties. Clove oil is used in dentistry as an antiseptic and pain reliever. The oil is sometimes used externally for ringworm of the feet.

One of the most powerful antiseptics is eugenol, which is the main component in essential oil. Acetyl eugenol has antispasmodic properties. The oil, even in strong dilution, is active against the main test cultures - Escherichia coli, staphylococcus, streptococcus.

Even the ancients used it to fight tooth decay and infections of the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. Until recently, dentists used essential oil to disinfect the tooth cavity during fillings. The oil is active against hepatitis viruses, tubercle bacillus and disinteria amoeba. In tropical Asia, it is used for round worms, cholera, and tuberculosis. Improves digestion and reduces spastic pain in the gastrointestinal tract, stimulates blood circulation, local analgesic, which is used in strong dilution to rub diseased joints with arthritis, neuralgia, sprains. It is considered a good stimulant for overwork. Chinese medicine recommends cloves for overwork and memory impairment. The collections are used for prostate adenoma and impotence.

Clove oil is used in the tobacco and perfumery and cosmetic industries, pharmaceuticals. Based on it, deodorants are made to repel mosquitoes and mosquitoes.

Contraindications: Essential oil requires careful application under the supervision of an aromatherapist after an allergy test. May be irritating to the skin. Externally used in strong dilution - 1 drop of essential oil per 20 drops of base oil.

Lovers of details - homemade recipes

High blood pressure during menopause take 15 pcs. clove buds, pour 300 ml of warm water (39 o) in the evening, insist all night, and drink in the morning.

With the flu take 1 glass of good aged red wine, 5 pcs. cloves, 1 teaspoon without a slide of cinnamon, 3 black peppercorns, a slice of lemon, orange and apple peel, 3 tablespoons of sugar. Boil everything under the lid over low heat for 10 minutes. Give the patient a drink at a temperature of 38.5 ° C and above.

For gourmets

Together with other spices, cloves flavor chicken products, fish, some types of sausages, sweet marinades, pork dishes, sweets, almond cakes and, of course, gingerbread. Cloves are a part of spice mixtures: Western European and Indian "curry", Indian spice mixtures, Chinese "wuxian-mian", etc.

Cloves are also used in the food industry of our country. It is put in canned food and snacks, marinades, seasonings, tomato sauces "Sharp" and "Kuban", sauces "Southern" and "Vostok", mustard "Aromatnaya", "Russian", "Moscow", "Leningradskaya", "Volgogradskaya ”, in canned cucumbers and squash, nut jam. Add cloves to spicy and pickled herring, spicy sprat, herring, canned fish in tomato sauce. It is flavored with eel in jelly, herring marinated with vegetables, fish and vegetable hodgepodge, hot smoked fish. The spice is used in the manufacture of red and white brawn, black pudding, liver pate, cheese sourdough and ice cream, and bakery products.

Cloves are very popular in cooking. It is added to cold appetizers: marinated and aspic fish, lobio and satsivi. Bactericidal properties and rich aroma make it possible to use the spice in homemade meat products: sausages, corned beef, etc. Clove is seasoned with soups made from game, pork, lamb (Georgia), potato, vegetable, mushroom, fruit, as well as fish soup and meat broths.

Spice is put in the second dishes. Vegetables, cereals, pilafs are cooked with it. Cloves go well with meat. It is flavored with beef, veal, lamb, poultry, game. Russian cuisine is distinguished by the use of spices in hot mushroom dishes.

Clove transfers its aroma not only in hot, but also in cold water. Therefore, it is used in marinades and sauces, and in combination with a wide variety of products. Cloves are also added to marinades for Karski barbecue, veal, chicken and fish. Cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, pumpkins, melons, carrots, beets, cherries, black and red currants, lingonberries, etc. are pickled with spices. Cloves are less often used in pickles. Salted mushrooms and salted watermelons are flavored with it.

Cloves are put in jam and dough. It gives a spicy flavor to drinks. The spice is added to grog, punch, mulled wine, coffee, cocoa, sbiten. Plum, apple and lingonberry juices are flavored with cloves. Norms for laying cloves: in mushroom marinades - 2 g per 10 kg of mushrooms, in fruit and berry and vegetable marinades - 3-4 g per 10 liters of filling; in dough and curd pastes - respectively 4-5 and 2-3 kidneys (in ground form) per 1 kg, respectively; in compotes, soups, broths - one kidney, in meat dishes - one or two kidneys per serving. When adding other spices, the rate is somewhat reduced. Cloves are added to the dough and minced meat before heat treatment; in meat dishes - 10-15 minutes before readiness; in broths, soups, compotes - in 5 minutes.

A separate topic is spicy mixtures and sauces with cloves. It is included in the traditional Chinese five-spice mixture along with star anise, as well as in curries. It is very widely found in mixtures of the Maghreb countries - ras el hanut with cubeb pepper (Morocco), galat dagga (Tunisia), berbere with paprika (Ethiopia). And finally, the Anglo-Indian symbiosis - Worcestershire sauce, in which cloves are combined with garlic, tamarind, paprika or chili.

In Indonesia, cloves are added to tobacco and, by the way, this is what takes almost 50% of the crop.

This type of spice, in comparison with all other types, is not very popular among consumers and many people associate it only with Christmas gingerbread. Although it is worth noting the considerable value and benefits for the human body from adding it to a variety of dishes, ranging from hot dishes to desserts.

Useful and medicinal properties of cloves have been known to man for a long time and are actively used in the preparation of various dishes, for treatment and in cosmetology. A small bud of this spice contains many useful substances and has good antibacterial and sedative properties.

clove spice

Usually, most people know the carnation as an ornamental flower, giving petals protruding magnificently from the bud.

But in terms of cooking, there is another type of clove - the unopened buds of the evergreen tropical plant Syzygium aromaticum of the clove tree from the extensive myrtle family. In height, it grows no lower than a six-seven-story house and reaches from 8 to 12 meters.

The tree blooms twice a year with pink or yellow flowers. Gradually they turn green and then become bright red. This natural factor allows you to collect large crops of the main raw material - buds that emit a powerful spicy aroma.

One of its units consists of a cylindrical receptacle, from which four small sepals extend.

In view of the collection of a large number of buds, it is customary to dry them naturally, laying them out in the sun. The completion of the fermentation-drying process is evidenced by the characteristic dark brown color and cracking when breaking. But after a certain period of time, the petioles must necessarily acquire plasticity.

For the first time, a clove tree appeared on the territory of the Moluccas, behind which the status of the birthplace of the plant was assigned. Now the clove tree grows in many countries of the Indian region, including countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia. The clove tree also grows in some African countries: Tanzania, Madagascar, Zanzibar. To date, the main suppliers of spices are the islands of Pembu and Zanzibar.

Clove spice came to Europe in the 4th century, where it was brought by Arab traders. As a preservative, it became very popular in Europe in the 7th and 8th centuries, as evidenced by modern research.

Along with the spice itself, the production of clove oil is also common, for which the buds and leaves of the plant are used. They lend themselves to steam distillation, and to obtain 1 kg of oil, 20 kg of initial raw materials are needed.

Composition of cloves

Despite the small size of the spice, one unit contains valuable substances, such as:

Protein fractions;
Fats (largely due to essential oils, where eugenol, caryophyllene, acetyleugenol, sesquiterpenes are also observed);
Carbohydrates;
Ash products;
A very small amount of water;
Fiber (or dietary fiber);
Blood-clotting vitamin K;
Tocopherol (vitamin of youth E);
Retinol (or vitamin A);
beta carotene;
Ascorbic acid (antioxidant vitamin C);
Some B vitamins (riboflavin, pyridoxine, thiamine, pantothenic acid);
Some minerals represented by copper, selenium, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, potassium and calcium.

The total calorie content of the spice per 100 g of the product is about 323 kilocalories.

The energy ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is 7/56/33%.

Useful properties of spice cloves

Like most other types of spices, dry cloves are applicable in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. So the list of useful qualities of this spice includes:

In cosmetology, cloves (mostly oil) are added to lotions and creams to remove boils, pustular rashes, acne and general cleansing of the skin from fatty deposits. Often, clove oil (literally 3 drops) is added to massage oils in order to combat cellulite. In some cases, clove oil becomes a perfume ingredient.

Application in cooking

While clove buds and powder are considered by many to be a spice or condiment, they are still a spice that adds flavor to dishes. Although it must be admitted that it still has a burning taste, which is characteristic of spices. The upper part, where the hat is located, is responsible for the delicate aroma. But the petiole gives pungency.

In cooking, such a tropical spice-spice has found extensive use and can be used in cooking:

To give your chosen culinary masterpiece that truly fragrant taste, it is important to adhere to some secrets:

Do not subject the cloves to prolonged heat treatment (so it will add bitterness, not flavor);
The later the spice is laid, the more delicate in taste the final product becomes);
When creating a marinade, the spice is laid simultaneously with the rest of the ingredients;
In minced meat and pastry dough, cloves are added before heat treatment;
Connection with vinegar, wine and other alcohol products is not desirable (the bitterness in them is further enhanced).

We must not forget about the rationing of spices, which should not exceed four hats for a sufficiently large amount of the main product.

How to choose and store cloves

Often, the spice "clove" is sold in hermetically sealed small bags. But buying products in this variation is like buying a "pig in a poke". Therefore, many experts recommend going to the market for cloves.

In appearance, the quality of the product is indicated by a special oily coating. If the seller is confident in his product, then he will give a couple of dried buds “for testing”. One has only to rub them in your fingers, and you can notice a sufficient release of fragrant essential oil.

At home, the quality is additionally specified:

By immersing the clove “bud” in water (it should be held vertically, with a cap up, due to the large amount of “heavy” oil, and best of all, if it sinks to the bottom altogether. The horizontal position indicates the volatilization of essential oils and a decrease in the degree of quality );
Thanks to crushing the spice on paper (for this, it is placed on one sheet and covered with a second, after which they are simply pressed with a palm or a rolling pin. The presence of oily spots on both sheets indicates high quality).

It is also forbidden to choose products with inflexible petioles, as well as wrinkled and dry buds. This means that the spice is old and will not bring the desired result.

It is customary to store the spice in a container without air access (so that it does not weather). The container is placed in a dark place.

Contraindications to the use of cloves

Like any other product, cloves, even as a spice, can harm a person. Therefore, in order to avoid negative consequences, the use of even small doses of such a product is not recommended for:

Hypertension;
Pregnancy (with individual intolerance) and breastfeeding;
Gastritis with increased secretion of the stomach or ulcer;
Physical and psychological overstrain;
Individual intolerance to spices (in other words, allergies).

Seasoning cloves medicinal properties

For medicinal purposes, clove essential oil is more often used, which is used:

In dentistry for gum disease, pulpitis, toothache;

With diarrhea and bloating;

From worms.

Clove oil is often included in many ointments and creams, with analgesic, anti-cold, locally irritating properties.

Research is currently underway on the anti-cancer properties of this spice.

Summing up, we can say that such a spice as cloves is a must-have in your arsenal of spices and spices in the kitchen. After all, it is enough to chew one clove bud to get rid of bad breath. In addition, this will create completely uncomfortable conditions for the reproduction of bacteria in the oral cavity.

Learn more about the health benefits of cloves

Useful properties and contraindications of cloves are well known in folk medicine. Today, this medicinal raw material is used in traditional medical practice. Clove oil is included in the pharmacopoeia of many countries of the world. Due to the high content of essential oil, this spice is used not only in medicine, but also in the perfumery, canning, confectionery, alcoholic beverage, and tobacco industries.

Features of a medicinal plant

Carnation fragrant is the dried buds of a tropical clove tree. Another botanical name is fragrant syzygium, or Syzygium aromaticum. In appearance, it is a slender, evergreen tree, it can reach a height of 20 m. All parts of the plant are saturated with essential oil. This is characteristic of all representatives of the myrtle family. Clove buds are pungent in taste, with a specific aroma. Moreover, the bud cap is more delicate in taste and aroma.

Chinese carnation.
Carnation Shabo. Carnation pinnate.

Other plants with this name

There are many types of cloves in the clove family. These plants are used in ornamental gardening and have nothing to do with traditional medicine.

Clove tree range

Carnation. Botanical illustration by Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen.

The birthplace of fragrant syzygium is the Malay Archipelago. And to be more precise - the Moluccas (Spice Islands). There are about 500 species of this plant. Archaeological finds on the islands point to the fact that cloves have been traded here since time immemorial. The plant is also common in India, Indonesia, Ceylon, Zanzibar, Pemba, Madagascar. And in Tanzania, 90% of the production of this spice is concentrated.

Workpiece Features

Syzygium fragrant blooms twice a year, gives a high yield. Collect unopened buds of inflorescences. They are knocked down with a pole or torn off special platforms during industrial collection. It is enough to dry the buds in the sun to get a fragrant spice. There are no complexities in the production of this spice (compared to vanilla), so cloves are inexpensive. Depending on the place of harvesting, Madagascar, Zanzibar (Tanzan) and others are distinguished. Essential oil is produced not only from the buds, but also from the bark and leaves. The spice is exported in the form of dried buds, since the flavoring and medicinal properties of the clove spice are lost when ground.

healing action

Healing properties of cloves:

antimicrobial;
antiseptic;
painkiller;
tonic;
enzymatic, normalizing digestion;
stimulating appetite;
anthelmintic;
carminative;
local irritant;
anti-cold;
sedative;
restorative.

What is useful cloves? The most valuable in its chemical composition is the essential oil. Depending on the variety and growing conditions, its content can vary from 5 to 22%. Also in the composition there are tannins, fatty oil, flavonoids, mucus, sterols, glycosides, vitamins C, A, E, B, trace elements. Eugenol is the most valuable component of the essential oil. It is he who gives biocidal (antimicrobial) properties.

Indications for use

For what symptoms and diseases is clove treatment most effective?

Clove has insecticidal properties, it is used to repel insects. Cloves can be used as a natural repellant against mosquitoes, flies, ants.

What are the contraindications for cloves? Due to the tonic properties, it is forbidden to take with hypertension, pregnancy, during lactation. Contraindications are acute forms of diseases of the urinary, digestive system, can not be taken with gastritis with high acidity. With an overdose of clove essential oil, allergies are possible in the form of hives and itching, headache, dizziness, and digestive disorders.

The use of cloves at home

How is cloves used in folk medicine and cooking? What funds can be found in a pharmacy?

Pharmacy preparations

Cloves tend to enhance the effect of other components, so it is included in the combined preparations of antispasmodic, sedative, disinfectant, carminative, anti-inflammatory, irritant action.

Essential oil of clove. Sold in a small volume of 5 or 10 ml. The instructions for use provide an extensive list of indications. Among the first are viral and colds and symptoms: tonsillitis, tonsillitis, flu, bronchitis, cough and runny nose, sinusitis. Inflammation of muscles and joints - rheumatism, myositis, arthritis, neuralgic pain. Dermatology and cosmetology: for hair strengthening and skin whitening; acne, lichen, boils, purulent acne, burns, herpes. Dentistry: stomatitis, gingivitis, inflammation and bleeding of the gums.
Balm. In addition to cloves, the balm contains: mint, fir, eucalyptus oil, beeswax, shea butter. Used for headaches, muscle, joint pain. The balm improves blood circulation, acts as a warming, decongestant, wound healing and vasodilator.
Capsules. Clove powder in capsules is a convenient dosage form. Take as a dietary supplement with meals - once a day, 1 or 2 capsules. The duration of the course should not exceed 3 weeks. Despite the fact that the remedy belongs to dietary supplements, a doctor's consultation is required before taking it.

Decoction

A decoction of cloves is suitable for external and internal use. It is drunk with low blood pressure, digestive disorders, neurosis, helminthic invasion, fungal, viral, bacterial infections, to strengthen the immune system. It is also prescribed in otolaryngology and dentistry for rinsing. Outwardly, they are treated with fungus-affected areas of the skin.

Cooking

Take 3 grams of ground cloves (about ½ teaspoon).
Pour in a glass of boiling water.
Leave for 1 hour.
Strain.

Take 1 teaspoon 3 times a day. There are other dosages for preparing a decoction - 1.5 or 5 g per 200 ml of water. Due to the high content of essential oil, the product may have side effects. Therefore, the doctor prescribes the dosage and course of treatment. There are many positive reviews about the treatment of colds with clove decoctions. When coughing, it is recommended to brew cloves in milk - 5 spice buds are taken per glass of boiled milk.

Tincture

There are various recipes for cloves on alcohol, vodka, wine, cognac and even triple cologne (for external use).

Preparation of vodka tincture

Take 25 clove buds.
Pour in a glass of vodka.
Insist 7 days.
Shake periodically.

You can drink 1 teaspoon before meals. Tincture helps with colds, viral infections, coughs, bronchitis, sore throat, to strengthen the immune system. Also, tincture is taken for neurosis, neuralgia. For arthritis and rheumatism, it is used externally in the form of compresses and rubbing.

Oil

How can you make clove oil at home?

Cooking

Take 1 part chopped cloves.
Pour in 5 parts olive oil.
Insist in a warm place for 14 days.
Strain.

Inside, you can take 2 drops once a day, diluted with warm water or honey.

How to apply?

Clove oil for hair. It is rubbed into the scalp or a few drops are applied to the comb and carried out along the entire length of the hair. Clove improves blood circulation, moisturizes, nourishes the scalp, improves metabolic processes. It is useful to apply clove oil masks for weak roots. Often this remedy is combined with burdock oil.
Aromatherapy. The procedures well relax the nervous system, have a beneficial effect on the skin and respiratory organs. Also used for disinfection of the room. Dosage: 2 drops per 5 sq. m.
Baths. You can add 7 drops of oil to the water.
Compress. The oil is applied to a gauze bandage, bandage, cloth and applied to a sore spot.
Massage . Add 5 drops to the base oil.

Benefits for Women

What is useful spice for women? It tones the smooth muscles of the uterus during childbirth, helps with uterine bleeding, normalizes the menstrual cycle, improves reproductive function. With severe PMS, it greatly alleviates the condition: relieves pain and cramps in the lower abdomen, bloating. Also, the spice helps with menopause, relieves nervousness, and normalizes sleep.

Benefits for men

For men, the spice is useful with an exciting, tonic effect, enhances sexual activity, increases potency, and improves reproductive function. It also helps with prostatitis: it normalizes blood circulation, acts on bacterial pathogens, relieves inflammation, swelling, and pain.

Application in cooking

Clove is a spice with medicinal properties. Therefore, it is useful to add it to the diet. In ancient times, cloves were worth their weight in gold. The spice was brought to Europe by the Arabs during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine I the Great. The monopoly on the spice trade belonged to the Dutch, then it was intercepted by the Portuguese and French. Today, cloves are added to meat, fish dishes, canned food, confectionery, compotes, broths, soups, marinades. It is recommended to use bud caps. Cloves do not like prolonged heat treatment, its aroma and taste quickly disappear. It is also important to know that in vinegar, wine, alcohol, the taste and aroma of the spice is revealed much more strongly. A quality carnation should sink if thrown hard into water. If it floats on the surface, it indicates its dryness and low essential oil content.

The main medicinal properties of cloves are disinfectant, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, antispasmodic, analgesic, antitumor. The spice is used in dentistry, otolaryngology, cosmetology, dermatology, gynecology. This is a good remedy for normalizing digestion, relaxing the nervous system, with muscle and joint pain.

Whenever it comes to spices, a kaleidoscope of flavors and aromas immediately comes to mind.

By adding them to various dishes, we make food richer, brighter and, of course, healthier - spices have a powerful bioactive effect.

Cloves are an extraordinary spice. It is incredibly fragrant, but at the same time it requires careful attention to itself, since even a slight excess of the recommended norms can completely ruin the dish and mood.

An excess of cloves will make a dish, be it a broth or a marinade, unpleasantly bitter. In addition to gastronomic value, cloves also have considerable medicinal value. There are a lot of cloves-based remedies that traditional medicine actively uses to combat ailments.

Carnation is not a flower

Clove spice is nothing more than buds collected from a clove tree - a common evergreen representative of the tropics and subtropics. The best raw materials are trees over six years old, unopened buds are harvested from them immediately before flowering.

The technology for harvesting cloves is quite simple, but laborious. Hand-picked buds are boiled for several minutes in boiling water, and then spread out to dry in the sun. The spice is considered ready for sale when the dried buds crack characteristically when broken.

To determine the quality of finished cloves enough to smell and feel the buds. They should be dry, but at the same time heavy, have a pronounced fresh aroma.

When pressed, do not break, maintain elasticity, and when pressed with a bud on the paper, leave an oily stain behind. Also a good way to check is to dip the buds in water.

A high-quality carnation will immediately sink to the bottom of the container, a bad one will float horizontally on top, an acceptable quality will remain on the surface, but only heads up - vertically.

Keep the cloves whole, in a tightly closed container. Crushed buds will quickly lose their flavor.

In cooking, cloves are one of the most versatile spices. It is put in a variety of dishes - meat, fish, it is especially good in marinades and broths, perfectly sets off desserts. Clove goes well with other spices, does not interrupt them, but only brings its original note.

It can be used along with bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, mustard seeds and powder, coriander, marjoram, nutmeg, cumin, basil, but cloves work best with celery.

Chemical composition

The buds of the clove tree in terms of the richness of the chemical composition are ahead of most of the known spices. In the homeland of the plant - in Indonesia, Zanzibar, the Philippines, India and other warm countries, cloves are considered the best antibacterial agents that exist in nature.

The main value of cloves is its essential oil, the content of which in buds reaches 20%. The main component of clove oil is the famous eugenol, it in oil from 70 to 90% of the total mass.

Also spice is rich:
vitamins (B, C, A);
fatty oils;
micro- and macro-components (iron, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium);
glycosides;
oleanolic and phenolcarboxylic acids;
tannins;
caryophyllene;
kaempferol;
quercetin, etc.

Cloves - useful properties

The most popular way to consume cloves (for adults) is in mulled wine. Only the traditional boiling of wine should be replaced by infusion, so all the beneficial properties of cloves are fully preserved.

For a bottle of high-quality natural red wine, you need to take 5-7 spice buds, add a little cinnamon, leave for three weeks and take a teaspoon three times a day with warm tea.

The healing properties of cloves are wide and effective. It is recommended to add it to food not only for treatment, but also for prevention.

Expels pinworms, neutralizes tubercle bacillus, pathogens of diphtheria and anthrax, inhibits Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus.

2. Relieves bloating, flatulence - acts as a carminative.

3. Eliminates any intestinal colic, hepatic colic.

4. Improves appetite.

5. Heals ulcers and erosions in the stomach, thanks to its pronounced antiseptic properties. Helps with external skin lesions, burns.

6. Spice relieves toothache. Chewing clove buds allows you to forget about gingivitis, periodontal disease, bad breath, gum disease and other dental problems.

A few grains of cloves should always be carried with you to freshen your breath if necessary.

7. Also, chewing clove buds helps prevent and cure tonsillitis, tonsillitis and various other throat diseases.

8. Carnation restores strength and improves mood, gives vigor after mental or physical overwork. For a quick effect, you just need to add it to tea.

9. Improves brain activity, memory.

10. Removes nervousness, improves sleep quality.

11. It has the ability to increase blood pressure, which is valuable for hypotensive patients, people suffering from VVD, and which should not be forgotten by hypertensive patients.

12. Clove actively fights the growth of cancer cells.

13. Tones the muscles of the uterus, it is taken before childbirth, but avoided in early pregnancy.

14. Works well with respiratory tract infections. Liquefies and removes mucus, relieves inflammation, increases cough productivity and reduces the frequency of attacks.

15. It is used to treat bronchial asthma.

16. Improves digestion.

17. Strengthens bones.

18. Acts as an immunostimulant.

20. Cloves are effective for otitis media.

21. It is used in cosmetology, perfumery.

Cloves are a rare combination of excellent taste, aroma and healing properties. By adding it to different dishes, you can forever forget about many existing diseases and prevent the appearance of others.

Among the contraindications: early pregnancy, hypertension, serious nervous disorders. Be healthy.