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Trade between the “clove island” Ternate and China goes back at least 2500 years. In China, cloves were not only used for cooking but also for deodorization; anyone having an audience with the emperor had to chew cloves to prevent any undesired smell. Arab traders brought cloves to Europe in the time of the Romans; they were very expensive.
When the Europeans, in the Age of Exploration, finally found the clove producing islands, they took enormous interest in securing a constant spice supply: The few tourists visiting the small island of Ternate (9 km diameter) will be surprised to find crumbling remnants of about 10 fortresses, built by Portuguese, Spanish, British and finally Dutch soldiers in the 16.th and early 17.th century. During all of the 17.th century, the Dutch kept an effective monopoly in the clove trade, which guaranteed high profits to them.
But Dutch heritage in today's Ternate is small, at least compared to the great Dutch influence still felt in the nutmeg producing Banda islands. Still there is an Islâmic sultan in Ternate in his great palace full of Chinese ceramics of all epochs; he still for tradition regularly gives sacrifices to Hindu deities, and if (as happens often) the island volcano Gamalama (1700 m) becomes active, he would circumnavigate the island thrice with his magic canoe, as have done his ancestors in Hindu and even pre-Hindu days. Yet don't get lulled by this picture of idyllic backwardness – Ternate is an economically productive area, houses the administration authorities for the whole North Moluccas and its sultan takes part in Indonesian domestic and foreign politics. Furthermore, I have seen only few places in Indonesia where people show that much of regional patriotism.
It is amazing that cloves are not (or at least, very rarely and only for
sweets) used in the cuisine of the Moluccas; actually, in whole Indonesia, they
are not an important spice. Nonetheless, Indonesians are the main consumers of
cloves and use up nearly 50% of the world's production. But, alas!, not
for cooking but for smoking: Cigarettes flavoured with cloves
(kretek) are extremely popular and nearly every (male) Indonesian
enjoys them. Their sweet, incense-like aroma pervades Indonesian restaurants,
buses, markets and offices (see tonka bean for
more on flavoured tobacco).
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| Indonesian clove-flavoured cigarettes (kretek) |
It is impossible to mention all cuisines where cloves are used; they are much loved by the Chinese, play an important rôle in Sri Lankan cooking, are extensively used in the Moghul cuisine of Northern India (see black cumin), enjoy high popularity in the Middle East and many Arab countries and are a common spice in Northern Africa. In all these countries, they are preferred for meat dishes; frequently, rice is aromatized with a few cloves. In Ethiopia, coffee is often roasted together with some cloves in the so-called “coffee ceremony” (see also cardamom).
Cloves have less use in Europe, where their strong flavour is not so much appreciated. They are much used for special types of sweets or sweet breads, but especially for stewed fruits (together with cinnamon). Plain rice is often flavoured one or two cloves. In France, cloves often go into long-simmered meat stews or hearty meat broths. In England, they are most popular in pickles.
Consequently, many spice mixtures contain cloves. They form an essential part in the Chinese five spice powder (see star anise), frequently appear in curry powders (see curry leaves), determine the character of the Moghul variant of garam masala (see cumin) and are a component of the Arabic baharat (see paprika). Mixtures from Africa containing cloves are Moroccan ras el hanout (see cubeb pepper), Tunisian gâlat dagga (see grains of paradise) and Ethiopian berbere (see long pepper). A well-known European spice mixture depending on cloves is the French quatre épices (see nutmeg). Lastly, cloves have also established themselves in México (see paprika about Mexican mole sauces).
The taste of the famous Worcestershire sauce (also spelled Worcester), an Indo-British contribution to international cuisine, is markedly dominated by clove aroma. The sauce is composed of several spices (besides cloves, garlic, tamarind, paprika or chiles are most frequently found), fish extract, soy sauce, treacle, vinegar (or lemon juice) and salt. There is no “authentic recipe”, and therefore every vendor may sell his own creation. I use this product mostly for vegetables, but this may be a matter of personal taste; British cooks employ it also for meat and especially scrambled eggs.
Like many other British toponyms, Worcester is pronounced
quite irregularly: [ˈwʊ.stə].
