Cloves are the dried flower buds of a tropical evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. At McCormick we hand-select the whole cloves before drying and grinding them. Our Ground Cloves bring an intense, warm flavor to spice cakes and cookies, as well as glazed ham.Ground cloves are an essential part of your spice collection, especially when baking for the holidays. Sweet and aromatic cloves add festive flavor to gingerbread cookies, pumpkin pie and mulled cider. Cloves\’ intense spiciness also work well in baked beans, BBQ sauces, dry rubs and pot roast. In India where cloves are prized for their fragrance, they appear in chai tea, spice blends and rice dishes. The flavor of cloves can be strong and pungent, so a pinch is often all you need.