Clove

Clove is the unopened flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree of the myrtle family endemic to five tiny volcanic islands of the northern Moluccas -- Ternate, Tidore, Moti, Makian and Bacan -- and now grown across Indonesia, Madagascar, Tanzania (Zanzibar and Pemba), Sri Lanka, India and Brazil. The spice looks like a nail, which is exactly what the French and English words preserve: clavus, clou. Essential oil sits between 14 and 20 percent of dry weight, of which eugenol carries 70 to 85 percent, beta-caryophyllene 5 to 15 percent, and eugenyl acetate up to 15 percent; nothing else on the spice shelf concentrates volatile oil at that density, which is why a single bud is enough to scent a braise. Three world origins now split roughly 80 percent of the trade: Indonesia, which consumes most of its own crop in kretek cigarettes; Madagascar, which supplies Europe and North America with hand-picked whole buds; and Tanzania, whose Zanzibari Zanzibar Cloves carry protected geographical status and a separate SAPOR entry. The spice enters garam masala, biryani, baharat, Chinese five-spice, Jamaican jerk, mulled wine, chai, pomanders and ham glazes, always in small doses because eugenol will flatten other aromatics if overused.