My French grandmother always sticks cloves into an onion. When I discovered why she did this, I was surprised, as I had never seen it before.

Cloves have a warm, slightly sweet and peppery flavor. By embedding them in an onion, you release just enough of their essence into the dish without overpowering it. It gently infuses broths, bechamel, or poached meats with subtle aromatic complexity.

Traditional Flavor Base (Bouquet Garni Alternative)
In many French recipes, a piqué replaces or complements the classic bouquet garni (a bundle of herbs) for infusing flavor in a more controlled and neat way—plus, it’s easy to remove later.

Perfect for Sauces like Béchamel
In traditional béchamel sauce, a clove-studded onion is steeped in warm milk to infuse it with flavor before making the roux-based sauce. It’s a classic step in French cooking.

Natural Remedy Tradition
Some grandmothers (and folk remedy lovers) also believe this combination purifies the air or has cold-fighting properties when left in a room—though that’s more anecdotal than proven.

How to Do It Yourself
Peel a medium yellow or white onion.

Insert 3–6 whole cloves into it (pointy end first).

Drop it into your soup pot, stew, or warm milk (for sauces).

Remove and discard before serving or finishing the dish.

Bonus: Aromatherapy for Cooking
When the onion warms up in the pot, the cloves release a cozy, aromatic scent that instantly makes your kitchen smell like comfort and tradition. It’s the kind of tiny kitchen magic that makes a big impact.

Would you like a few classic French recipes that use this trick, like béchamel, pot-au-feu, or soupe à l’oignon?