Cloves By Velimalai Rubber Company Limited

Cloves are harvested just before they open, then destalked before being sun-dried. In the course of the drying process, they change color from carmine to light to dark brown. Clove consists of the head formed of the four petals, which enclose the style and stamens, and the four-sided calyx, which forms a unit with the calyx tube. Cloves vary in length from about 1/2 to 3/4 inch (13 to 19 mm). They contain 14 to 20 percent essential oil, the principal component of which is the aromatic oil eugenol. Cloves are strongly pungent owing to eugenol, which is extracted by distillation to yield oil of cloves. This oil is used to prepare microscopic slides for viewing and is also a local anesthetic for toothaches. Eugenol is used in germicides, perfumes, and mouthwashes, in the synthesis of vanillin, and as a sweetener or intensifier.