Most Popular Clove Varieties in India

Laung has several uses and it is one of the most recognized spices in the country. Let’s have a look at some popular Popular Clove Varieties in India!

Popular as a spice, clove is a brownish, dried, and unopened flower bud of the evergreen clove tree, with an astringent flavor and a sharp pungent note. Cloves add an unmistakable taste to the savory recipes, while their essential oil is famous in folk medicine practitioners to treat certain ailments. Let’s have a look at some of the most Popular Clove Varieties in India!

Botanical Name: Syzygium aromaticum

Common Names: Laung, Lavinga, Lavankapattai, Lavang, Grambu

Check out our article on the best Walnut varieties in India here

Where Do Cloves Grow In India?

Clove grows on the hilly tracts of the Nilgiris, Kanyakumari, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli districts of Tamilnadu, South Kanara district of Karnataka, and Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerela. The favorable conditions for clove cultivation are regions with a warm humid tropical climate, except for the coastal areas with sandy belts.

 Popular Clove Varieties in India

There is no specific cultivar or a variety of clove defined in India, but in the trading context, its cultivars are distinguished based on the native regions of their cultivation. Here are the popular ones:

1. Penang

Penang cloves are plumpy and large in size and come in a dark red-brown hue. They’re commercially exported all over the east, but the demand is very high all across the globe. This spicy clove has uses in pomanders and culinary, both.

2. Zanzibar

Zanzibar clove is smaller and leaner in shape as compared to the Penang cloves and has a black-brown color. This high-quality clove works as a flavorful spice in savory and sauteed dishes. It’s popular among the growers because of its high productivity rate and better adaptability.

3. Amboyan

Amboyan cultivar produces large-sized and plumpy cloves like the Penang. These pungent and aromatic cloves are popular in Indian savory recipes, toothpaste, cosmetics, and pomanders. But, this clove variety has slightly low productivity as compared to Zanzibar and they’re also not very adaptable.

These varieties are popular in India. Some other famous varieties include Madagascar, Posi Posi, White, Afo, Kotok, and Siputi cloves.

Uses of Cloves

• The spice is used to render distinctive pungent flavor to the savory dishes and making pomander.
• Cloves are beneficial in reducing toothache or sore gum pain.
• Cloves are also helpful in nasal and respiratory infections.
• Aids in digestion and treating stomach ulcers.
• The essential oil of cloves has uses in dental emergencies and aromatherapy by folk practitioners.
• Cloves are famous in the cosmetics, toothpaste, and cigarette industries.