eugenol ornament

eugenol: clove spice

Cloves are an essential part of the warming spices that make our holiday flavors. The strong and wonderful smelling clove oil is mostly eugenol, which has been used for centuries for toothaches. The eugenol is so abundant in the oil, that isolating it was the first (easy) project given to us in college chemistry lab.

Cloves are the dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, a tree in the Myrtle family. Bright red wen harvested, they turn brown when dried. That little bud packs a lot of flavor, and smell. Remember those pomanders made with cloves stuck into the rinds of oranges?

Other holiday spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla also contain some eugenol.

This limited edition holiday ornament is part of my annual series of limited edition molecules that are especially meaningful during the holiday season. It is about 3 inches long, made from pewter, and hangs from a copper-color satin ribbon.

My original design is cast in lead-free pewter by the awesome folks at ToadLand casting - USA made! It's about 3 inches long and comes on an off-white ribbon. It comes with a little info card and packaged a gift box. A wonderful holiday gift!