Clavo de Comer

Up until the 1950s in the Philippines, Clavo de Comer (Spanish for “edible clove”) was the term for clove, an aromatic flower of the tree having the scientific name Syzygium aromaticum, which is native to Indonesia’s Moluccas islands, once known as the Spice Islands.

Often in the kitchen, the stash consists of more than a few of these dried flowers; hence why one more frequently hears the plural word cloves in English.

Clavo de Comer was a popular spice used in Filipino meat dishes, such as in preparations of pitson (squab).

The proper Spanish equivalent of the term still in use today is clavo de olor.

* Also spelled as klabo de komer in traditional Tagalog orthography.