A spice often shunned today because of its very intense aroma. One or two cloves add a nice kick to most dishes and blends, but it's important to use them wisely, otherwise the flavor of the clove may overpower the dish. A small pinch, on the other hand, will add a very interesting finishing touch to your stews, curries, and sweet dishes.

India is not generally recognized as a prime terroir for growing cloves, which is why we were very surprised by the extreme finesse of the cloves harvested by our producers in the southwest of the country. After several visits, we managed to convince them to pick the most beautiful buds every day, when they are just ripe, and to set them aside for us, rather than harvesting everything to sort later. These cloves are therefore "the cream of the crop."