Cloves conjure up images of pumpkin spice and everything nice. Imparting one of the most intense flavors among spices, they were once used as breath fresheners in Asia. And their distinct taste has enhanced many a ham and pot of mulled wine since. But thanks to their eugenol content, cloves also offer health benefits to older adults.
The Advantages Of Cloves
1. Cloves help fight off cold and flu bugs.
Eugenol is thought to be antimicrobial — helpful for cold and flu season. As cloves are a warming spice, they’re ideal to add to your fall/winter meals.
2. Cloves are an all-natural antioxidant.
Antioxidants aren’t just found in brightly colored produce and leafy greens — look to your spice rack too. Among spices, cloves have one of the highest amount of total phenols (compounds found in plants with an antioxidant effect).
3. Cloves helps maintain strong bones.
Cloves are also a good source of manganese, a mineral essential for building and maintaining healthy bones.
How To Use Cloves
Cloves come in whole form, which is great for mulled wine and apple cider recipes, or they can be ground using a coffee grinder or pestle and mortar. Of course, you can also purchase ground cloves for convenience, but they will lose their flavor more quickly. One tip, if you’d like to reduce the amount of sugar in your coffee, is to add a pinch of hawaij instead. Hawaij is a yemeni spice blend made with cloves.
Celebrated food blogger Molly Yeh, who recently released her first cookbook Molly on the Range, uses hawaij in her recipes regularly, and suggests sprinkling it into coffee grounds.
Cloves can also be added to baked goods, smoothies and oatmeal — or anywhere you might think to use cinnamon or ginger.
