Quick answer: Whole cloves keep their flavour for a long time, suiting a stock, a mulled wine or a marinade that is strained or from which they are removed. Ground, they release their flavour straight away, suiting a gingerbread or a dough. Vanille Désiré only sells whole cloves: for powder, you need to grind them yourself just before use.
Cloves come in two forms: whole, as picked and dried, or ground into a fine powder. Both come from the same dried flower bud of the clove tree, but they do not behave the same way in cooking. This page helps you choose which one to use depending on the recipe, without going back over the origin or the flavour profile of cloves, already covered on our spice page.
Whole Cloves
Whole, a clove keeps its flavour for a long time: its aromatic oils stay locked inside the dried bud, away from the air. It suits any liquid preparation that can be strained or from which it can be fished out at the end of cooking: a stock, a mulled wine, a marinade, a jar of pickled vegetables. You can also stick it into an onion or a piece of meat to find it easily before serving.
Its drawback: it takes time to release its flavour, and it is unpleasant in the mouth if you forget to remove it.
Ground Cloves
Ground, cloves release their flavour straight away and evenly throughout the preparation. This is the form to favour for a gingerbread, speculoos, a cake batter, a dry rub or a spice blend, anywhere you cannot remove whole pieces afterwards.
On the other hand, powder loses its flavour faster than a whole clove, because it is far more exposed to the air. Vanille Désiré sells cloves only as whole buds: for a recipe that calls for powder, you need to grind it yourself, in a small amount, just before using it.
Grinding Your Own Cloves
Cloves are hard. Two tools work well:
- A mortar and pestle, for a small amount, pounding in short bursts until you get a fine powder.
- A small spice mill or a coffee grinder set aside for this purpose, for a larger amount or for a blend of whole spices to grind together.
Only grind what you need for the recipe at hand: a freshly ground homemade clove powder has more flavour than a powder bought long ago, but it loses that very advantage if it sits for several weeks in a jar.
How to Choose Depending on the Recipe
- Does the recipe call for removing the spices at the end of cooking (stock, mulled wine, pot-au-feu)? Use whole cloves.
- Does the recipe mix the spices into a dough, a stuffing or a dry blend that is not strained? Grind the clove when you are about to use it.
- The recipe does not specify? When in doubt, a whole clove gives you more control: you can adjust the infusing time, taste, and remove it when the flavour suits you.
If a recipe gives a quantity in whole cloves and you only have homemade powder, reduce the amount slightly compared to what the recipe states and taste as you go: freshly ground powder is more immediate on the palate than a clove that infuses slowly. The reverse calls for more patience: a whole clove in place of a pinch of powder needs more time and, often, a little heat or liquid to release all its flavour.
Storing Each Form
Whole cloves keep in an airtight jar, away from light and heat, and last for months without losing much of their flavour. Powder, on the other hand, should be used up faster: keep it in a well-sealed container and smell it from time to time to judge whether it still has strength.
Our Cloves
Our family grows cloves in Vangaindrano, in south-eastern Madagascar. The buds are picked by hand while still green, then dried in the sun, with no middleman between our land and your kitchen.
For an example of a dish where whole cloves infuse through a long cooking time, see our recipe for homemade gingerbread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you use whole or ground cloves?
It depends on the recipe: whole cloves suit a preparation that is strained or from which the spices are removed at the end of cooking, powder suits a dough or a blend that is not strained.
Can you buy ready-ground cloves from Vanille Désiré?
No, cloves are sold only as whole buds; for a recipe that calls for powder, you need to grind them yourself in a small amount, just before using it.
How do you grind cloves yourself?
With a mortar and pestle, pounding in short bursts for a small amount, or with a small spice mill or a coffee grinder set aside for this purpose for a larger amount.
How do you store whole cloves and clove powder?
Whole cloves keep in an airtight jar, away from light and heat, and last for months without losing much of their flavour; powder should be used up faster and can be smelled from time to time to judge whether it still has strength.
Our product to go further: Madagascar cloves, whole. For the full presentation of the spice, see our Madagascar clove page and, for other uses in cooking, our page on cloves.
The Vanille Désiré team
