Chinese Emperors Made Guests Chew Cloves

Video: Chinese Emperors Made Guests Chew Cloves

Video: Chinese Emperors Made Guests Chew Cloves
Video: The IMPERIAL Foods Chinese EMPERORS Used to Eat 2024, November
Chinese Emperors Made Guests Chew Cloves
Chinese Emperors Made Guests Chew Cloves
Anonim

Spanish scientists have found that cloves contain very high levels of phenolic compounds that are extremely useful for the human body.

Among the good qualities of cloves is its ability to reduce fat oxidation due to the release of hydrogen.

In addition, this spice effectively reduces iron levels. Scientists believe that cloves help improve the quality and taste of various dishes and hors d'oeuvres, and also have a positive effect on health.

In fact, cloves are the fragrant dried flower buds of the evergreen carnation tree Syzygium aromaticum, which are shaped like carnations 1 centimeter long. If you throw the dried button in water, it should sink or float vertically with the cap up.

China
China

If it floats horizontally, then the oil in it is not enough. If you have the opportunity to break the cloves, add the caps in the cakes, and in the meat dishes and marinades - the stick.

A good spice bends even when dried. If you press it on paper, it should leave a greasy mark. Clove has been known as a spice with great taste since ancient times.

In Egypt, China, India and the Middle East, it has been used not only as a spice but also as a medicine. Chinese emperors, as sophisticated people, could not stand bad breath. Therefore, before visiting the emperor, everyone chewed cloves before the visit.

And during the audience he held it in his mouth. In ancient Egypt, the dead were adorned with carnation necklaces. The first carnation notes in Europe were received by the Roman author Pliny.

Sweets with cloves
Sweets with cloves

The Europeans received the spice from the Arabs, they from the Indians, and the Indians from Ceylon. Because of this long chain of resellers, for decades Europeans could not understand exactly where this spice grew.

The homeland of cloves is the Moluccas. In 1512, the Portuguese conquered them and became monopolists who cultivated this spice. The French managed to bring it to the Mascarene Islands, Cayenne and the Seychelles.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, however, Zanzibar became the leading producer of this spice. It supplied the world with three-quarters of total production.

Today, cloves are mainly produced in Pemba, where the air is so saturated with the aroma of the spice that ordinary water begins to smell on it, as long as it stays in a glass for ten minutes.

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