Cloves

Ground, organic
Whole, organic

Ground Cloves, organic:
Dark amber-colored with a warm, spicy-sweet scent, ground cloves are commonly added to breads, pies, muffins, baked fruit, custards and puddings. Clove is also one of the ingredients used in pumpkin pie spice, and commonly used in teas and coffee.

Whole Cloves, organic:
Whole cloves are used to lend spice to baked ham, and to scent herbal pillows, pomanders, and potpourri. Poke several cloves into lemon halves to make a natural mosquito repellent. Clove infusions are also used as dental rinses and to relieve toothache pain.

Clove contains several phenolic compounds, and is one of the most abundant sources of eugenol and gallic acid, two antioxidants that help the body fight free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that cause cell damage and are therefore linked to aging and diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease. By removing these free radicals, the antioxidants in cloves can lower your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. The spice is also a rich source of the flavonoids kaempferol and quercetin, as well as caffeic, ferulic, elagic and salicylic acids. Due to the collective antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of these compounds, clove is widely used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Nutrition:
Cloves contain a lot of manganese, a mineral that helps your body manage the enzymes that help repair your bones and make hormones. Manganese can also act as an antioxidant that protects your body from harmful free radicals. The rich brown color of the cloves comes from their Beta-carotene content, a family of pigments that act as important antioxidants. This beta-carotene is converted into Vitamin A, an important nutrient for eye health. Vitamin A also helps form and maintain healthy teeth, skin, skeletal and soft tissues, and mucus membranes. Cloves are also a source of Vitamin K, important for blood-clotting and bone mineralization, and Potassium, essential for muscle contractions and nerve signal transmission. Potassium also helps to move nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells.

***Safety: Medicinal amounts of clove should not be used by anyone with a history of cancer because of the unclear affect of eugenol on cell growth. Medicinal amounts of clove should always be used under the supervision of a health care professional.***

Powdered clove is considered nontoxic for otherwise healthy people. Stomach upset can be the result of high amounts of cloves. Clove used on the skin may also cause a rash.