Clove

Syzygium aromaticum

Family: Myrtaceae Part used: Dried flower buds

Key Compounds

• Eugenol
• Eugenyl acetate
• β-Caryophyllene
• α-Humulene
• Methyl eugenol
• Kaempferol
• Quercetin
• Rhamnetin

Traditional Use

• Maluku Islands (Indonesia) use — the only original source; cultivated and traded for at least 2,000 years
• Chinese trade records — cloves documented in Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) imported from the Maluku region
• Portuguese Maluku expedition — first European arrival at the source, 1512
• Dutch VOC monopoly — 1619–18th century; enforced through destruction of trees and populations on uncontrolled islands
• Dental pain management — eugenol-based preparations used in dentistry continuously from traditional to modern practice
• Indonesian kretek cigarettes — a significant fraction of global clove production used in clove-tobacco cigarettes
• Japanese kōdō (香道, incense ceremony) — clove (丁子, chōji) is one of the traditional ingredients

Cloves grew wild in exactly five small islands in what is now eastern Indonesia. Not in India. Not in China. Not anywhere else on earth. For roughly two thousand years, every clove in the world came from Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, Makian, and Moti — a few dots of land in the Maluku archipelago. The Dutch, when they controlled the trade, destroyed clove trees on any island not under their authority and killed anyone who tried to grow them elsewhere. This seemed to them a reasonable approach to market control.

Meet the plant

Syzygium aromaticum is a medium-sized tropical tree, 8–12 metres tall, in the Myrtaceae family — the same family as eucalyptus and guava. What is sold as a clove is the dried, unopened flower bud. The buds are harvested before they open — once the flowers open, the aromatic compounds are already being released and the quality drops. The timing of harvest is the critical variable. The bud that gets delayed becomes a flower, and the flower is too late.

The characteristic smell is eugenol. It makes up 72–90% of the essential oil — a concentration unusual for a single compound in any spice. When you smell cloves, you are smelling primarily one thing. The same compound, at lower concentrations, is in cinnamon, nutmeg, and bay leaf. The recipe for mulled wine or gingerbread that includes all of these together is, chemically, stacking eugenol sources.

The tree grows in tropical coastal conditions: high humidity, temperatures around 25–30°C, and well-drained volcanic soil. The original Maluku conditions are the benchmark. Every clove-growing region established after the Dutch monopoly broke — Madagascar, Zanzibar, India, Sri Lanka — was selected for matching those conditions.

500 years of people killing each other over flower buds

Cloves appear in Chinese records from the Han dynasty — imported from the Maluku Islands before the Common Era. Arab traders had been moving them westward before that. By the time Rome was receiving them, the cloves had passed through multiple intermediary hands and no Roman had direct knowledge of where they came from. The source remained obscure from the consumer end for centuries.

The Portuguese reached Maluku in 1512. They established trading posts and engaged in the spice trade, imperfectly. The Dutch VOC arrived with more systematic intentions.

What the VOC implemented in the 1620s was among the most violent episodes in the colonial spice trade. The “Hongi Raids” — systematic naval expeditions — destroyed clove and nutmeg trees on any island not under VOC control and killed the populations of several islands entirely. The Banda Islands massacre (1621) killed most of the local population to establish a VOC nutmeg monopoly. Cloves received similar treatment. The VOC restricted legal clove cultivation to a single island — Ambon — and destroyed trees everywhere else. The goal was to control supply. It worked, for about a century.

Pierre Poivre was a French botanist and colonial administrator whose name translates approximately as “Peter Pepper.” In the 1750s and 1770s, he organised missions to steal clove and nutmeg seedlings from Dutch-controlled islands. In 1770, he succeeded. Plants were established in Mauritius (then Île de France) and eventually spread to other French colonial territories. The Dutch monopoly collapsed. The man who ended the clove and nutmeg monopoly over the two most fought-over spices in history was named, more or less, Peter Pepper. He appears to have found this no more remarkable than the situation warranted.

The chemistry that surprised everyone

Eugenol — the dominant compound — is a local anaesthetic and antiseptic. This is not a folk claim. Clove oil applied directly to a tooth or gum numbs nerve tissue on contact, which is why traditional dental applications of clove oil have survived into modern dentistry. Zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE) cement is used by dentists today for temporary fillings and some root canal procedures. The active compound is eugenol. The traditional use and the professional dental application are the same chemistry, at different concentrations and delivery methods.

The remaining compounds — β-caryophyllene, eugenyl acetate, α-humulene, methyl eugenol — contribute to the aromatic complexity without the same functional presence as eugenol. The flavonoids kaempferol, quercetin, and rhamnetin are present in the bud and clove stem.

The eugenol concentration is high enough that clove essential oil requires careful handling. Undiluted clove oil causes tissue irritation; the dilutions used in culinary application are safe, but the oil itself is potent. This is a spice where the chemistry is doing real work.

What people actually do with it

Whole cloves in cooking: Pushed into onions for stocks and braises. Studded into glazed ham. Added to spice blends — garam masala, Chinese five-spice, mulled wine, pickling spice. The whole clove is typically removed before serving; its job is to infuse flavour, not to be eaten.

Ground clove: Used in baked goods, spice blends, and sauces where the whole clove won’t work. More volatile than whole — ground clove degrades faster once opened. The concentration in recipes is usually small; clove is strong enough that a quarter-teaspoon in a cake batter does visible work.

Dental applications: Clove oil on a cotton ball applied to a painful tooth or gum. This is traditional across many cultures and remains in the dentistry toolkit — OTC clove oil products exist specifically for temporary tooth pain relief. The anaesthetic effect is real, the duration is limited, and it does not address the underlying problem.

Kretek cigarettes (Indonesia): A clove-tobacco blend producing a crackling sound during combustion and a distinctive eugenol aroma. A major Indonesian cultural product. Also the reason Indonesia is simultaneously the world’s largest producer and consumer of cloves — a substantial fraction of the annual harvest goes into cigarettes.

Japanese incense (kōdō, 香道): Clove (丁子, chōji) is one of the materials used in the Japanese incense ceremony tradition. The practice involves identifying woods and spices by scent alone. Clove, with its dominant and distinctive eugenol profile, is one of the more identifiable ingredients.

Could you grow this yourself?

Not in most of Japan. Syzygium aromaticum requires tropical conditions — sustained 25–30°C, high humidity, well-drained soil. No frost tolerance. Okinawa’s climate is closest to viable; anywhere colder is not practical.

Commercial cultivation is in Indonesia (primary), Madagascar, Tanzania (Zanzibar), Sri Lanka, and India. Indonesia alone produces 70–80% of the world’s cloves, and consumes a large portion domestically in kretek production. The original Maluku Islands remain part of this production, though no longer under any colonial exclusivity arrangement. They stopped enforcing that in the 18th century.

In Japan

Clove has two distinct presences in Japan. The first is クローブ — the familiar Western spice found in supermarkets, used in cooking. The second is 丁子 (chōji) — the traditional name, used in kampo medicine, wagashi flavouring, and incense traditions.

丁子 appears in multiple kampo formulas. It is also used in some traditional Japanese confections, particularly in Kyoto-style wagashi where subtlety and precision of flavour are the standard. The incense context is perhaps the most distinctly Japanese: kōdō (香道), the traditional incense ceremony, involves identifying materials by scent, and clove is among the canonical ingredients. Incense suppliers in Japan carry dried whole cloves for this purpose.

The same compound — eugenol — is being used in all three contexts. The Kyoto wagashi maker, the kampo practitioner, and the dentist are all working with the same chemistry. The incense practitioner is the only one who burns it.

Things you’re probably wondering

Why does clove oil help with toothache? Eugenol (72–90% of clove oil) is a local anaesthetic and antiseptic. It numbs nerve tissue on contact. This is why dentistry still uses it — ZOE cement for temporary fillings is a eugenol preparation. Traditional use and modern dental application are the same compound.

Where do cloves originally come from? Five small islands in the Northern Maluku archipelago of Indonesia. These were the only natural habitat. All cloves in the world came from there until Pierre Poivre smuggled plants to Mauritius in 1770.

What are kretek cigarettes? Indonesian clove-tobacco cigarettes. The crackling combustion gives the name (onomatopoeia). Indonesia is the world’s largest clove producer and consumer, primarily because of kretek production.

Who was Pierre Poivre? French botanist who smuggled clove and nutmeg plants out of Dutch territory in the 1770s, breaking the VOC monopoly. His name means approximately “Peter Pepper.” He has noted the irony.

Where to buy cloves in Japan? Every supermarket (whole and ground). Specialty spice shops. 丁子 preparations at pharmacies. Incense supplies at kōdō specialist shops.

Botanical details

The full compound list

Essential oil:

• Eugenol — 72–90%
• Eugenyl acetate
• β-Caryophyllene
• α-Humulene
• Methyl eugenol

Flavonoids:

• Kaempferol
• Quercetin
• Rhamnetin

Other:

• Tannins
• Triterpenoids (oleanolic acid)
• Sterols

See Also

• Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) — shares eugenol as a compound; similarly long colonial trade history; Lauraceae
• Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) — same Spice Islands origin; same Dutch VOC monopoly history; Pierre Poivre smuggled both
• Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) — another ancient aromatic spice with a colonial trade history; different chemistry

References

• Pruthi JS. Spices and Condiments. National Book Trust India, 1976
• Meilink-Roelofsz MAP. Asian Trade and European Influence in the Indonesian Archipelago. Martinus Nijhoff, 1962
• Milton G. Nathaniel’s Nutmeg. Sceptre, 1999 — detailed account of the Banda Islands and VOC spice monopoly
• Asgarpanah J, Kazemivash N. “Phytochemistry, pharmacology and medicinal properties of Syzygium aromaticum.” Afr J Pharm Pharmacol. 2012
• Chaieb K et al. “The chemical composition and biological activity of clove essential oil.” Phytother Res. 2007