Have you been researching the benefits of cloves and want to make the most of your end product? This guide shows you exactly how to turn whole clove buds into a concentrated, ready-to-use extract at home, step by step with just a few simple ingredients.
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Why You’ll Love This Guide
This one is a great example of how differently each plant behaves in this process. My last experiment, mint extract, gave us a thin, bright green extract, clove behaves completely differently thanks to how oil rich it naturally is.
You do not need any special skills for this, just the same folk method approach we have been using all along. Cover your herb, let time do the work, and trust the process.
Cloves are also famous for their traditional use in herbal mouthwash and natural dental remedies, so you will walk away with an extract that is both practical and steeped in history.
Don’t have a Source Turbo yet? No worries, you can still make this. Just leave your strained liquid uncovered and let it sit for several days so the alcohol evaporates naturally, or follow my full guide here for more detail on the process.
What You’ll Need
- Dried whole clove buds
- High proof food grade alcohol, enough to fully cover the herb
- A pint mason jar
- A fine mesh strainer and coffee filter
- Your Source Turbo machine, optional
The Process
- Cover your herb. Add your dried clove buds to the jar, then pour in alcohol slowly until fully submerged. Clove buds are dense, so you will need far less alcohol than you might expect. For me that was 60 mL.
- Soak for 5 days. Unlike mint, which only needed 24 hours, clove’s oil rich buds take much longer to fully release their compounds. I let mine soak for a full 5 days.
- Strain. Once your soak is done, filter the liquid out through your strainer and coffee filter.
- Run it through your Source Turbo. I used the normal setting with the altitude adjusted up by 2,000 feet, and because the volume was so low, I checked on it every 30 minutes throughout the run.
Clove’s Natural Resin, and Why Alcohol Works So Well
This is why I suspected alcohol would work so well on clove in the first place.
Dried clove buds contain roughly 15 to 20 percent volatile oil by weight, and that oil is made up of 60 to 90 percent eugenol, the compound responsible for clove’s scent, flavor, and warming sensation.
Eugenol is a phenylpropanoid, a compound similar to terpenes.
Eugenol resists water, but it dissolves well in alcohol, which is exactly why our clove jar only needed 60 mL to fully cover the herb.
Clove is simply holding onto far more extractable material, and alcohol is an effective way to pull it out.
A Word on Clove’s Traditional Reputation
If you have spent any time in natural health circles, you have probably heard cloves mentioned alongside parasite cleanses.
This is a genuinely old piece of folk wisdom, and modern lab research is starting to explain why the idea has stuck around, with early studies showing eugenol has measurable antimicrobial activity in controlled settings.
That said, lab findings are not the same as a proven human treatment, so I want to be upfront that this is traditional use backed by promising early research, not a medical claim. If you are dealing with a health concern, please talk to your doctor.
The Results
After about 30 minutes in the Source Turbo, this one looked completely different from the mint. What I was left with felt much more like an oil FECO than an extract, thick in consistency, almost like a thin caramel, with that same warm color.
It was so thick that I ended up adding a touch more alcohol back in to loosen it up a bit. The flavor is incredibly potent, with a strong, unmistakable clove taste.
I pulled the final batch into a 30 mL tincture bottle, where it will keep nicely.
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Ways to Use Your Clove Extract
Once you have your concentrated clove extract, here are some of my favorite ways to put it to use.
- Herbal mouthwash. A drop or two mixed into water makes a simple, natural mouthwash, drawing on clove’s long history as a dental remedy.
- Baking. Clove extract is wonderful in gingerbread, spice cookies, and warm fall baking.
- Beverages. A drop or two transforms chai, mulled cider, or hot cocoa.
- FECO flavoring. A touch of clove extract adds warmth and balances out the earthiness of FECO.
- Savory cooking. A small amount brightens marinades, braises, and spiced dressings in unexpected ways.
A little goes a long way with this stuff, so start small and add more to taste. Keep in mind this extract still contains alcohol, so you will notice a bit of a burn if you taste it straight. That mellows out once it is mixed into whatever you are making.
The Perfect Homegrown Holiday Gift
This one makes an especially beautiful gift this season. There is something so special about handing someone a bottle of extract you made yourself, and clove’s warm, spiced character feels right at home during the holidays.
Pour your finished clove extract into a small glass bottle with a dropper or a tight fitting lid, add a simple handwritten label with the date and what it is, and you have a beautiful, thoughtful gift for basically nothing.
Tie a piece of twine or ribbon around the neck for a little extra charm. This is especially meaningful for the bakers and home cooks on your list, since clove extract is such a natural fit for holiday baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan on about a week start to finish. The clove buds need a full 5 day soak to release their oils, then straining and a quick run through the Source Turbo finishes it off. That is longer than mint, which only needed a 24 hour soak, but clove’s dense, resinous buds simply need more time.
A high proof, food grade alcohol works best. Eugenol, the compound responsible for clove’s flavor and warmth, dissolves well in alcohol but resists water, so the higher the proof, the more efficiently it pulls out that concentrated flavor.
No, you do not. The Source Turbo just speeds up the final step. If you do not have one yet, you can let your strained liquid sit uncovered for several days so the alcohol evaporates naturally instead.
A little goes a long way. Add a drop or two to baking, chai latte, pumpkin spice latte, or hot cocoa, use it to brighten a savory marinade, or mix a drop into water for a simple herbal mouthwash.
Keep it in a tightly sealed glass bottle, away from direct heat and light. Stored this way, the alcohol acts as a natural preservative, so it will keep well for months.
Why This Matters
If you have only ever used your Source Turbo for our favorite plant, this is your sign to branch out. The same precision and efficiency that makes it incredible for tinctures and FECO works just as well on the herbs already sitting in your kitchen.
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