Great Bulbs of Fire (Garlic)

Member Name: sandrabarber

Product:	Garlic
Date:	31/07/02 (2702 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: healthy, delicious, versatile

Disadvantages: smelly, strong

Garlic is another one of nature's wonders. For something so small, it doesn't half make a difference in our kitchens and our health. It is incredibly versatile and an absolute must in both the store cupboard and the medicine cabinet.

What is garlic?
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Is it a vegetable? is it a herb? Is it a bulb? Well, searches in dictionaries have it variously as a 'onion-like plant', 'a bulbous herb' and 'a perennial plant of the lily family'.

Whichever, I'm sure you all know it as it's a smallish bulb with papery skin, usually whitish, and widely available in greengrocers and supermarkets.

History of garlic
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For over 4,000 years (maybe longer, how could I be sure?), garlic has been taken therapeutically and nutritionally. I have read that its origins lie in Siberia, and also that they lie in ancient Egypt.

It is also attributed with good luck and protection against evil in much folklore. Not only will it scare vampires, but apparently warlocks, sorcerers and werewolves as well.

The Egyptians fed garlic to slaves building the pyramids, to increase their stamina. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was claimed to have more uses, like repelling scorpions, treating dog bites and bladder infections, curing leprosy and asthma. In the Middle Ages it was thought to prevent the plague.

Research by Louis Pasteur in the 1800s documented that garlic kills bacteria. During World War II, when penicillin and sulfa drugs were scarce, garlic was used as an antiseptic to disinfect open wounds and prevent gangrene.

Garlic for Health
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When a garlic clove is cut or crushed, an enzyme contained within the plant cells combines with an amino acid. This creates a new compound, called allicin.

Allicin has been proven to kill many forms of bacteria, yeast and fungi. This makes it effective against thrush, athle
te's foot and other fungal infections.

When garlic is heated, a different compound is formed that can prevent arteries from clogging, and reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This thins the blood, which may help ward of heart attack.

Many people also swear that garlic helps to prevent colds and flu, but I've been unable to find concrete evidence to support this.

It is widely agreed that taking your garlic fresh (and preferably raw) is healthier than taking it in other forms, and the recommended dose is anything between 1 and 10 cloves per day. If you don't want to eat it you can simply wash it down with water, like you would a tablet.

If, however, you can't stomach that much (and many people can't - it does cause flatulence and stomach aches), then garlic supplements are easy to obtain. When you buy them, though, make sure that the tablets have a guaranteed high allicin content. If not, you could be wasting your money. Generally the freeze-dried supplements, like Kwai, are the ones with the highest allicin.

Garlic for Taste
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Garlic is a very versatile cooking ingredient. It can be used raw, fried, baked, roasted, however you want it.

It has a distinctive taste and pungent smell, and some people hate it. I love it and use it every day in my cooking.

I use raw garlic in salad dressings - 4 parts olive oil, 1 part wine vinegar and a couple of crushed cloves poured over grated raw carrot and tasted sunflower seeds is AMAZING.

When fried, garlic caramelizes and takes on a sweeter, less sharp taste. It combines particularly well with fried onions and is indispensable in a curry, chilli or spag bol.

Baked garlic - bake them whole, with skin on - is sweeter still and far less smelly than when cooked any other way. Great with roast lamb.

Roasted garlic also becomes sweet and very caramelly and goes great with all meat and fish. <
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One of my favourite things to do with garlic:

Get a chicken and stuff it's cavity with 3 fresh lemons cut into halves and about 8 peeled garlic cloves. Totally simple and utterly delicious. The smell in your kitchen as it cooks will have the neighbours sniffing over the wall.

Side Effects of Garlic
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As mentioned earlier, large amounts of garlic can cause stomach upset and wind. The Romans said that garlic cures flatulence because it creates flatulence. In other words, it can flush things out FAST and LOUD.

Garlic makes you smell. If you eat garlic, you will smell of it for hours. And not just your breath. The smell of garlic seems to seep out of your very pores. Some people will find this offensive and back away from you, so it's probably not best to eat it on a first date unless the other person does too. Some say that chewing parsley will stop the smell, but I've never found it to work.

It is also possible to be allergic to garlic.

Growing Your Own Garlic
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Growing your own garlic is very simple.

You need rich, well-drained soil and a sunny spot. I grow mine in a big pot with plenty of pebbles for drainage beneath the soil.

Buy some garlic, split it into cloves and plant each one about 4 inches apart and one inch deep, pointing upwards.

Plant in late autumn.

Your garlic will appear around July/August.

Harvest, dry out and ENJOY.

Finally?
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For those who LOVE garlic, a recipe for ROASTED GARLIC SOUP

Rich, warming, fattening and GARLICKY (serves 4)

4 Garlic bulbs; unpeeled
1/4 cup olive oil
6 tsp butter
4 chopped leeks
1 diced onion
6 tsp flour
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup double cream
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
2 chopped chives


Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut off top quarter inch of e
ach garlic head. Place the garlic heads in a small shallow baking dish. Drizzle oil over. Bake until golden, about one hour. Cool slightly. Peel and chop.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, leeks and onion and sauté until onion is translucent, about eight minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add flour and cook ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in hot stock. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly. Puree soup in batches in blender or processor. Return the soup to the saucepan. Add cream and simmer until thickened, about ten minutes. Add lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives

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