Overview
About Cloves
Cloves are essentially a delivery system for eugenol, which makes up the overwhelming majority of the essential oil and gives clove its numbing, medicinal bite.
That density is why clove sits in the very high band on salicylate elimination lists when compared gram for gram against other foods, and yet our practical rating for cloves is moderate rather than high, because nobody eats them by the gram. Three cloves in a pot of stew or a pinch in a spice mix is a real but small exposure. Clove oil, taken neat, is a completely different quantity of the same compound.
Sensitivities
How Cloves scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Moderate salicylates in the amounts people actually cook with, but the concentration by weight is extreme, so a heavily cloved mulled wine, chai or spice rub is a much bigger hit than a single stuck-in-an-onion clove
- Clove oil is not the same exposure as ground clove. Concentrated eugenol is a mucosal irritant, and swallowed in quantity it is genuinely toxic, which is why dental use is a drop on a cotton bud and not a spoonful
- Eugenol is a recognised contact allergen and appears in fragrance patch-test panels, so mouth and lip reactions to clove-flavoured toothpaste or mouthwash are a documented pattern that has nothing to do with digesting food
- Mild ratings on free glutamates, oxalates and histamine liberation, and clean on histamine content, gluten, FODMAPs, lactose, nickel and sulfites
Diet fit
Where it fits
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FAQ
Common questions about Cloves
Are cloves high in salicylates?
By concentration, clove is one of the most salicylate-dense things in a spice cupboard, which is why it appears near the top of elimination-diet lists. In practical terms we rate it moderate, because the portion is a pinch rather than a plateful. The distinction matters: a couple of whole cloves in a braise is a small exposure, while a spice blend built around clove, or mulled wine simmered with a handful of them, is not.
What is eugenol and why does clove make your mouth go numb?
Eugenol is the phenolic compound that makes up most of clove essential oil. It is a local anaesthetic and an antiseptic, which is exactly why dentistry has used oil of cloves on toothache for well over a century. The numbing you feel from a strongly cloved dish is that same effect acting directly on the tissue in your mouth.
Is clove oil safe to swallow?
Undiluted clove oil is a far higher dose of eugenol than any culinary amount and it should not be treated as food. It irritates mucous membranes, and ingesting significant quantities has caused serious poisoning, particularly in children. Cooking with whole or ground cloves is a completely separate question and is not the concern here.
Are cloves low FODMAP and safe for histamine intolerance?
Cloves rate clean on FODMAPs, fructans, polyols and lactose, and clean on histamine content, with only a mild histamine-liberator rating. For a gut-focused elimination diet they are one of the easier spices. Salicylate is the criterion that decides whether clove works for you, not fermentable carbohydrate.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.