Cloves are the unopened flower buds of an evergreen tree that grows to around 10–12 metres and begins flowering at about seven years old. Once it starts, a single tree can keep producing buds for eighty years or more. The clusters are picked by hand when the buds are fully developed and carry a pronounced pink flush, then dried over several days in the sun before being ground in small batches into this powder. Long counted among the great spices of the orient, cloves have been valued in Sri Lankan kitchens and traditional households for generations.
100% organic certified by USDA Organic and Control Union. That means the trees are grown without synthetic fertilisers or pesticides, and that the way the buds are grown, dried, ground and packed has been checked by an independent certifier rather than simply described by us. Nothing is added to the powder in the process.
- Ground cloves, milled from whole sun-dried buds
- Grown without synthetic fertilisers or pesticides on certified organic land
- Hand-picked, sun-dried and processed in small batches
- Free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives
Ground clove is at its most useful in curry mixtures, where it carries warmth and depth through a blend without needing whole buds to be picked out at the table. Use it in dry roast-and-grind spice mixes, in slow-cooked meat and vegetable curries, in rice dishes, and in baking and preserves where the flavour needs to be evenly distributed. Cloves are also widely used as dried whole buds, and the buds, leaves and stalks of the tree yield an essential oil used to flavour foods and in the perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. Because the powder is strong, start with a small quantity and add more as you taste; keep the jar closed and away from heat so the aroma holds.
Lakpura works with organic growers across Sri Lanka, packing spices close to where they are grown.
