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Garlic is a member of the onion family that, like onions, is grown for its bulb. The whole Garlic is called either a "bulb" or a "head." Inside it, individually wrapped, are "cloves." When the bulb sprouts, it grows leaves that look like chives.

When buying fresh Garlic, avoid any that are sprouting, or that feel loose in their skins. A Garlic bulb should feel heavy and solid.

Bottled Garlic

Bottled minced garlic can be very pricey if you buy it in small bottles, but it also comes in larger jars that are very economical at places like Costco. It will last practically forever opened in the fridge as it has oil and phosphoric acid in the jar to keep the Garlic from going off. It tastes every bit as good as the freshly-chopped Garlic in cooking, and is way cheaper -- you can't buy anywhere near that much Garlic for the same amount of money.

It makes cooking a lot more pleasurable -- instead of having to stress over another item to chop, you just haul the bottle out of the fridge, grab out what you need with a teaspoon, and cram the bottle back in the fridge -- easy, peasy, especially on week-nights. An added-bonus is the oil in the jar: you can use teaspoons of it here and there to add subtle Garlic flavour to dishes. But don't use up so much that you expose the garlic: keep it covered under the oil and phosphoric acid mixture. Keep this refrigerated, as Garlic is a low-acidity vegetable and can spoil.

There will still be many times when you will want to buy whole, fresh Garlic -- especially for items that have you pitching in the Garlic cloves whole and unchopped, which is a pleasure -- but once you have had the bottled, minced Garlic on hand and used it, you will never want to be without it.

Frozen Garlic

You can also buy garlic frozen in small disks of about 5 g (.18 oz) each. The garlic is puréed; you just pop a portion out of the plastic package and use. Each portion is separate from the other for ease of use. It costs about £2.00 per 16 portion package (2005 prices, $3.50 US.) Each portion is equivalent to 1 medium clove of garlic, peeled and minced.

Cooking Tips
Garlic gives out more or less of its flavour depending on what you do to it. Crushing it releases most of its 'Garlicky effect', chopping it slightly less; slicing it less still, and leaving it whole the least of all.

Take a whole, unpeeled clove of Garlic and lay it on a cutting board. Take a broad-bladed knife or cleaver, lay it sideways on the clove and pound it once with your fist. The skin will easily pull away. Continue chopping or crushing as needed.

Technically, if you love Garlic, it is better to use a crusher than to chop Garlic, because when you chop it some of its flavour and oil can be lost into or onto the chopping board, whereas if you crush it over what it is going into, any drips get salvaged.

If you have to do many cloves of Garlic at once, you can blanch them in boiling water for 5 seconds instead of whacking them with the knife. But then if you were doing that many to justify boiling a pot of water, why not buy a large jar of the minced Garlic at the store instead of 10 pounds of Garlic?

To roast a whole bulb of Garlic, chop off and discard the top third of it. Don't peel it. Roast at 400 F / 200 C for about half an hour until the head is soft. Remove from oven, let cool, then squeeze the roasted Garlic out.

Substitutes
Substitute the bottled, minced Garlic for Garlic gloves at this ratio:

1 small clove Garlic = 1/2 to 1 teaspoon minced
1 medium-size clove Garlic = 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons minced = 5 g / .18 oz
1 large clove Garlic = 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons minced
1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder = 1 clove Garlic
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic = 2 medium cloves, minced

Nutrition
Just oil isn't enough to keep minced Garlic safe to eat: some sort of acid is necessary as well to prevent botulism. The bacteria that causes botulism is "Clostridium Botulinum". It can't grow in the presence of oxygen. When Garlic is covered with oil, however, there is no oxygen and the bacteria can thrive. Refrigeration will only slow down its growth. Food infected by botulism doesn't look or smell different from safe food. The same danger applies to storing chopped ginger in oil.

When buying commercial "Garlic in oil" products, look on the label for salt or an acid such as a vinegar as being amongst the ingredients, which would make it safe.

To store chopped Garlic in vinegar, the advice is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts Garlic, but the vinegar needs to be a highly acidic one to be safe.

Equivalents
1 bulb = approximately 10 cloves
1 clove = 1 teaspoon peeled, chopped = 1/2 tsp minced = 1/2 teaspoon dried Garlic flakes = 1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder
40 cloves Garlic, roasted = 6 tbsp roasted Garlic purée
4 bulbs = 1/2 cup whole fresh Garlic

Storage
You can store whole bulbs for up to two months in those specialty terra-cotta storage jars. If any Garlic you have at home has started to sprout, discard the green sprouty bits, as they will taste bitter. If the Garlic has gone dry and spongy inside, just give up on it entirely and bin it.

Purée Garlic with oil (1 part Garlic to 2 parts oil) and freeze. The oil, in a fridge freezer at least, will stop the garlic mixture from freezing solid, so you can spoon off what you need as you need it.

Any homemade garlic in oil not frozen should be refrigerated and used within 1 week. To store chopped garlic indefinitely in a refrigerator, the garlic should be in a strong vinegar.

History
The best guesses on Garlic's origin place it in the South-west Asian steppes. Garlic was used by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The Bible mentions the Hebrews eating Garlic in Egypt. The Romans used it a lot, but some considered it vulgar and common. The Romans almost certainly introduced it to Britain, as it was a staple in their soldiers' diet.

Literature & Lore
"And, most dear actors, eat no onions nor Garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy."

-- Bottom. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act IV, Scene II. Shakespeare.

The use of Garlic is forbidden to Brahmins and Jains in India on religious and cultural grounds; they use Asafoetida as a substitute.

Language Notes
Our word Garlic comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "garleac". "Gar" meant spear, presumably referring to its spiky leaves, and "leac" meant leek.

Acknowlegements

Also called:

See Also:

Asafoetida

Other entries for:

Garlic
Elephant Garlic, Garlic Greens, Garlic Juice, Granulated Garlic, Hardneck Garlic, Marseille Vanilla, Mexican Garlic, Softneck Garlic

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Root Vegetables
Añú, Beet, Carrots, Cassava, Celery Root, Crosne, Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Jicama, Konjac Root, Malanga, Oca, Onions, Parsnips, Potatoes, Prairie Turnip, Radishes, Rutabaga, Salsify, Scorzonera, Sea Holly, Swede, Sweet Potatoes, Taro, Turnips, Water Chestnuts, Yacon, Yamagoboo, Yams

Other entries for:

Vegetables
Agave, Artichokes, Asparagus, Brassica Family, Canned Vegetables, Cardoons, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Frozen Vegetables, Gourds, Horseradish Tree, Leafy Vegetables, Lotus, Mixed Vegetables, Mushrooms, Pak Wan, Peas, Peppers, Sago Palm, Seaweed, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash, Tomatoes, Viscous Vegetables

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