Cloves are a very aromatic spice. Each clove is the unopened flower bud of the clove tree. Cloves are used in both savory and sweet dishes and may be used whole or ground. The warm, earthy flavor is popular in pumpkin pie spice and many autumn recipes. The whole cloves can be inserted in a spring ham, or added to mulled spices, and they're used in many Indian dishes.
Both whole and ground cloves are readily available in most grocery stores.
If you don't have whole cloves, use one of these substitutes:
metric conversions →
Whole cloves by McCormick in jar and a few scattered on a cutting board.