Spice
Cloves
قرنفل · qronfel
Cloves — qronfel — are the dried flower buds that add an intense, warm-sweet, almost anaesthetic depth to Moroccan festive cooking. A few go into ras el hanout, into rich sweet-savoury tagines, and sometimes into the spiced tea and coffee of the herbalist tradition. Their power is enormous, so Moroccan cooks measure them in ones and twos.
- Type
- Spice
- Heat
- None (but intensely aromatic)
- Uses
- 5 classic dishes
Flavour & aroma
Cloves are powerfully warm, sweet and aromatic, with a numbing, almost medicinal intensity from their natural oils. Just one or two perfume a whole pot. Used with restraint they add festive depth; overused they turn a dish sharp and dentist-like, so a light hand is essential.
In the Moroccan kitchen
Where cloves earns its place — the Moroccan dishes that rely on it:
- Ras el hanout. A small but essential warm-sweet note in the blend.
- Festive lamb tagines. A clove or two deepens mrouzia and sweet-savoury braises.
- Spiced stocks and broths. Studded into an onion to perfume a slow-cooked liquid.
- Rice and festive dishes. A whole clove adds warmth to celebratory rice.
- Spiced tea and remedies. Used in the herbalist tradition for warming infusions.
How to use it
- Use whole cloves in braises and fish them out before serving; grind only for spice blends.
- Count cloves rather than spooning them — one or two is usually plenty.
- Stud a whole clove into an onion to perfume a stock without losing it in the pot.
- Balance their intensity with cinnamon, ginger and honey in sweet-savoury dishes.
How to store it
Whole cloves keep their potent oils for a year or more sealed and dark; ground cloves fade and turn dusty faster. Buy whole and grind the tiny amounts you need for blends.
Buying it in the Marrakech spice souk
What to look for, and how not to overpay:
- Look for plump, oily cloves with the round bud still intact — shrivelled, snapped, oil-less cloves are old.
- Press a clove with a nail; a fresh one releases fragrant oil.
- You need very few, so buy a small quantity of good ones rather than a big bag.
- Herbalist stalls sell them for cooking and for remedies alike — the same whole clove.
Pairs well with
Frequently asked questions
What are cloves used for in Moroccan cooking?
Cloves (qronfel) add intense warm-sweet depth to ras el hanout, festive lamb tagines like mrouzia, spiced stocks and celebratory rice, plus warming infusions in the herbalist tradition. They are always used sparingly.
How many cloves should I use?
Usually just one or two for a whole tagine. Cloves are extremely potent, and too many turn a dish sharp and medicinal, so count them rather than spooning them in.
Should I buy whole or ground cloves?
Whole. They keep their aromatic oils far longer, are easy to fish out of a braise, and can be ground in tiny amounts when a spice blend needs them.