Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Wonder Of Cloves...!

Let's talk about the wonderful little Clove. Whether used in cooking or in medicine, the Clove is an absolute wonder.

Clove oil is extracted from the dried, brown cloves so familiar to cooks. These are, in fact, the unopened buds of the tree Eugenia Caryophyllus originally native to Indonesia.

Now it is very important that you use only oil extracted from the bud of the tree, as oil extracted from the stalk or the leaves are very powerful skin irritants.

The tree belongs to the botanical family of Myrtaceae which makes it a “cousin” to Eucalyptus, Tea Tree and other oils noted for their anti-infectious action.

Clove oil is a very powerful antiseptic and well worth using at home in an aromatic oil burner if there are many germs around.

It blends well with other oils such as Orange and Cinnamon to make a lovely “winter type” fragrance, which at the same time gives you protection against winter germs.

Clove is a good painkiller and has the oil has long been used to ease toothache. It is used in many commercial toothpastes, mouthwashes and the like. The taste as well as the smell is delightful!

Safety data from Holistic Therapies Spain. Clove oil should be treated with respect as it can be a skin irritant – use it only well diluted and only in small amounts.

Now, I don't know about you but I am in the mood for some fresh coffee !

7 comments:

Cat Melton said...

I think I'll take a cup of spiced tea...with orange and CLOVES...
I'll bring my own, just to enjoy the company, Jim!

I'm smilin', are you?

Cat

Anonymous said...

Hey, Bubbie!
Thanks for all the helpful info. U know I use lots of spices, etc. in my cookin' but this is good news.
Big Sis

HermitJim said...

Hey Cat...I figured that you would have a good use for cloves, but I had forgotten about spiced tea. You know, I can almost taste and smell cloves as I work on this article. The power of suggestion, I guess...thanks for stopping by!

Hey Sis...

I think we even talked about the trick of scoring a loaf of spam and dotting it with cloves to resemble a small ham. I also remember making a air freshner out of an orange with clove buds stuck into it all over the surface. The orange would never rot but just dry out and would continue to smell good for a long time.

Thanks for coming by this morning...

js said...

Jim, cloves are also parasite killers. That's why cloves are usually included in anti-parasite formulae. Along with other ingredients like wormwood, garlic, and so on.

johnski

Noki said...

If you have an abscess in your mouth and you're in a lot of pain, you can put powdered cloves into an empty tea bag and put that against the offending gums. It kills the pain and the infection and keeps the area relatively dry. Although you should still go to the dentist later.

HermitJim said...

Hey Ashley...thanks for stopping by. Yes, cloves definitly belong in Mother Nature's medicine chest.

Thanks for the input...and the visit.

Dad

HermitJim said...

Hey John...Nature does provide us with a lot of very useful plants and herbs if we are only smart enough to find the right use for them.

Thanks for the helpful info.

Jim