Around the world, cloves season preserves, sauces (sometimes pierced into onions with bay leaves), vegetables, rice, meats, and even cheeses.

Beyond flavor, cloves offer impressive health benefits. Used medicinally for thousands of years, they promote circulation—the oil from cloves boosts blood flow and purifies the blood, improving skin health and strengthening immunity.

Cloves are also a natural pain reliever. Eugenol, a powerful antibacterial compound in cloves, helps reduce acne scars, delays wrinkles, and supports oral health. Clove tea eases headaches, cramps, sore throats, and toothaches.

In digestion, cloves stimulate the production of enzymes that reduce nausea, indigestion, constipation, and stomach discomfort, while also boosting metabolism and aiding in weight loss.

Rich in antioxidants, cloves fight free radicals, prevent skin damage, and slow lipid peroxidation—a harmful breakdown of fats in the body.

They’re also oral antiseptics—found in many toothpastes, cloves fight bacteria, freshen breath, and soothe tooth and gum pain.

Additionally, cloves help regulate thyroid function and manage high cholesterol. Thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties, they also relieve symptoms of inflammation, making cloves a tiny but mighty health ally.