Organic Cloves

ORGANIC CLOVES

From organic farming

Cariophylis aromaticus

Origin: Sri Lanka

Format: whole fruits

HISTORICAL NOTES

The cloves come from a plant native to the Moluccas Islands, located in the Indonesian archipelago. The Chinese were the first to commercialize it, but in the West, it seems to have not arrived before the 5th century AD. In fact, the first historical references to this plant are with Constantine who, wanting to give a gift to the bishop of Rome, gave him a golden vase with 150 cloves inside. Gradually, its production was decentralized from the Moluccas to other nearby islands, up to the Seychelles and Reunion. From 1800 onwards, history repeats itself: the French, to take the production monopoly away from the Dutch (who had colonized the area), manage to steal some seeds and grow the plant also on the island of Bourbon (the same as vanilla) and in other areas of South America.

PROPERTIES AND USE

The organic cloves come from the myrtle family, have important medical qualities: antibiotic and antiseptic, its main component which is eugenol is an excellent oral antiseptic and also an anesthetic. It can be used by those who have toothache: just put the cloves next to the painful area or tooth and keep it there for a while. The eugenol will do the rest. In the kitchen, it can be used to season bechamel, especially meat and then also vegetables and maybe even mashed potatoes.

RECIPES

Place the veal escalopes between two sheets of parchment paper and flatten them with a meat mallet until very thin. Sprinkle them with a pinch of salt and the crushed fennel seeds.

Knead the lard with the parsley, marjoram, a pinch of pepper, and the cloves. Spread the slices of meat, covering them to the edges, with the mixture obtained; roll them up and tie them with kitchen twine, then skewer them on a skewer and cook them on a grill until they are a nice golden color.

During cooking, baste them with the lard sauce that forms. Serve at the table garnished with lemon slices and, if desired, with a sprig of rosemary.