Crossword Dictionary
clove
clove - n
aromatic flower bud of a clove tree; yields a spice
spice from dried unopened flower bud of the clove tree; used whole or ground
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, Syzygium aromaticum. They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, such as toothpaste, soaps, or cosmetics. Cloves are available throughout the year owing to different harvest seasons across various countries.
Cloves are used in the cuisine of Asian, African, Mediterranean, and the Near and Middle Eastcountries, lending flavor to meats, curries, and marinades, as well as fruit (such as apples, pears, and rhubarb). Cloves may be used to give aromatic and flavor qualities to hot beverages, often combined with other ingredients such as lemon and sugar. They are a common element in spice blends, including pumpkin pie spice and speculaas spices.
clove
clove, garlic clove - n
one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb
A clove of garlic is not the same thing as a head of garlic. The head is the entire bulb that's covered in papery skin. When you peel back the skin, you'll find individual segments — these wedge-shaped sections are called cloves. The cloves are easy to separate from each other, allowing you to use a few cloves and leave the rest of the head (which is also called a bulb or a knob) mostly intact.
One bulb of garlic in a typical garlic head contains between 10 to 12 cloves. Some hard-neck garlic varieties have as many as 30 or 40 cloves per bulb. Within the single bulb, though, the cloves will have a multitude of sizes.
If you plant a garlic clove in the soil with the root end down and the pointy end up, you can produce a fresh bulb easily.