The carnation test - is the clove fresh or old & dry?

Even dried spices have an expiration date. For cloves, this means that they have lost their spice after that and can only be used for handicrafts. Well, how do you find that out?

Fresh cloves, but a little oil, if you press on the stem.

And when you place the cloves in a glass of water, old ones (like mine, see picture) swim across the water. Freshness, sinking to the ground with upright head.

My tip: only buy small containers with cloves! I had bought a supposed special offer with 200 g, 2 years ago. But honestly, how many dishes you need cloves to cook in the course of the year?

However, I do not throw away the old goods. Perhaps some mosquitoes are still impressed by the residual scent, when the carnations on the coffee table in a bowl of vinegar water swim!

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