This little secret isn’t limited to broths. Try it in:
A carrot or squash puree, to add a warm note.
A roast or meatloaf, placing it next to it in the dish.
A pan-fried winter vegetable stew, where the flavors will blend together.
And if you like to make your own mulled wine, try adding a few cloves directly to the mulled wine – a classic, but always enjoyable, use.
Why it works (and why it’s awesome):
What makes this trick so effective is its simplicity and common sense. No need for rare plants or unusual utensils: an onion, a few cloves, and you’re good to go. It’s also a great way to enjoy a dish without adding salt or fa
Why People Stick Cloves Into an Onion
1. Gentle Flavor Infusion
Cloves are very powerful. If you just throw loose cloves into a dish, the flavor can become too strong or bitter.
By sticking them into an onion, the flavor releases slowly and evenly while the onion cooks.
2. Easy to Remove Later
When cloves are stuck into the onion, the onion acts like a natural holder.
This means you can easily remove the whole onion and cloves at the end of cooking instead of searching through the pot for tiny cloves.
3. Adds Warm Aromatic Notes
Cloves bring a warm, slightly sweet spice that pairs well with onions.
This combination gives soups and sauces a richer, deeper aroma without overpowering the dish.
4. Classic Technique in Traditional Cooking
This method is often used when making:
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Cream sauces
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Soups
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Stews
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Broths
For example, in classic French cooking it forms part of an Oignon Piqué, which literally means “studded onion.” It’s commonly added when preparing the white sauce Béchamel Sauce to gently flavor the milk.
👩🍳 How to Do It
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Peel a whole onion.
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Push 3–6 whole cloves into the onion.
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Drop the onion into your soup, sauce, or broth.
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Let it simmer with the dish.
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Remove the onion before serving.
✅ In simple terms:
Your grandmother’s method is a clever traditional trick to add warm spice flavor, keep the dish balanced, and make the cloves easy to remove.
If you want, I can also show you 5 old grandmother cooking tricks that professional chefs secretly use today. 🍳✨
