Cloves, an incredible, aromatic flower spice, flourish at the same elevation and location as tea plantations in West Java.

July 23'13:

Tea plantations appear at the highest elevations along the road to Gunung Halimun - Salak. Clove trees and Mahogany trees grow in the tea plantations too.

The clove tree grows to a height of 12 m. Its flower buds are first a pale colour. They gradually turn green then a bright red. Red cloves are ready for collection (Wikipedia).

However, the cloves I saw were harvested when they were mainly green. Farmers thinly spread the cloves on blue plastic tarps on the ground by the road side. As a result, the cloves turned to a chocolate brown colour in the sun.

Cloves, the aromatic dried flower buds of the amazing ever-green tree, is popular in cuisines of many countries.

Cloves 

Sun-dried flower buds (cloves).

Clove tree is at the far right foreground of this scene.





Comments

  1. Gene AnnOctober 20, 2013 at 12:27 PM

    I had no idea that cloves grew on trees. Thought they were probably from bushes or low to the ground. Interesting. Too bad you couldnt bring some home with you as i am sure even myself who doesnt cook too often would have liked to see how it compares to the commercial product we use here in Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Larry JosephOctober 22, 2013 at 9:12 AM

    At the time, I thought of buying from the road side where I took the photos in West Java. However, airport security and Canada customs can be more difficult for agricultural products. Customs asks if you visited a farm during your stay in a foreign country. Every time I pass through security in every airport around the world, I see officials unpacking passenger luggage for searches. However, I bought a package of cardamon when I was in southern India. Why? It was in a sealed plastic bag.

    On of my Maori colleagues takes special measures after travel in the tropics. He bags and seals his clothing before he leaves the tropics. Then he washes his shoes and boots. These measures stop the transport of exotic seeds, plants and micro-organisms to Middle Earth!

    ReplyDelete

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