The Ultimate Guide to Cloves: Benefits, Risks, and Everyday Uses

Cloves may seem like a simple kitchen spice, but these small dried flower buds carry powerful compounds with remarkable health potential. Used for centuries in cooking and traditional medicine, cloves are still one of the most versatile natural remedies we have today. From easing toothaches to soothing digestion, their uses go far beyond flavoring mulled wine or spiced cookies.

How Cloves Grow

Cloves are the dried flower buds of the evergreen tree Syzygium aromaticum, native to Indonesia’s Maluku Islands. Today, they thrive in tropical climates worldwide. The trees can reach 30 feet in height and produce crimson buds, harvested by hand just before blooming. After sun-drying for days or even weeks, the buds turn the deep reddish-brown we recognize in spice jars.

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