A world without garlic would be a decidedly duller and less tasty place to be. No garlic bread? No lemon garlic chicken? No plates of pasta bathed in garlicky cream sauce? Here is everything you need to know about this potent and pungent pantry staple.
Garlic is in the allium family along with onions and leeks. But unlike onions and leeks that grow in layers, garlic grows in bulbs with a dozen or more individual cloves. These cloves are so powerful that only a few are needed to season an entire dish with peppery garlic flavor.
Garlic cloves also contain less water than onions, so they tend to brown (and burn) more quickly. Add minced garlic along with the seasonings toward the end of a stir-fry and cook them just until fragrant, about thirty seconds or so. Cooked garlic loses its bright raw flavor and becomes more mellow and subtle.
Preparing and Cooking Garlic
• How to Peel Garlic Quickly and Easily • Shortcut: Mince Garlic with a Fork • How to Mince Garlic: The Video • DIY Garlic Paste • How to Change the Garlic Intensity in Any Dish • How to Cook Garlic Without Burning It
Other Garlic Tips and Tricks
• Whole, Crushed, or Minced Garlic: What's the Difference? • Bitter Garlic? Remove the Germ • Freeze Roasted Garlic • Surprisingly Cool Tool: Garlic Peeler • Garlic Powder: Yay or Nay? • Help for Garlic Breath!
Recipes with Garlic
• Collard Greens Stew with Chorizo and Garlic • Double-Garlic Herb Garlic Bread • Garlic, Cheddar, and Stone Ruination IPA Soup • Sherry Garlic Soup with Smoked Paprika • Slow-Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken • Garlic and Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin
What are your favorite garlicky dishes?
Related: 5 Tips on Cutting Onions Without Tears
(Image: Timmary/Shutterstock)
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I grow garlic every year in my garden. So easy. I bought some great bulbs origionally to invest in a strain I preferred, but now, I have tons of garlic every year. My stalks are already 6 inches high from planting last fall and a mild michigan winter. Grow Garlic! So easy and not alot of space is needed! :)
Where to start, and how to end?
Chicken Tabak (Uzbekistani chicken under a brick with many cloves of garlic)
Creamy garlic salad dressings - the best being Dave's Italian Kitchen in Evanston IL, which I can approximate with 3 oz sour cream, 1 oz mayo, three cloves of garlic minced through a microplane, a squeeze of lemon and salt to taste
Pad Si Ew, and other garlic+broccoli combos
Hummus with a lot of garlic in it
Korean Gal Bi
Shrimp De Jonghe
on and on and on
Is there a place online to BUY really good garlic? The bulbs in my stores are all sprouted or they are dry. I HATE getting a garlic that is all GREEN inside.
MBHUNT - if you live north of the mason dixon, garlic is harvested in mid to late summer. Find a farmers market and they should have plenty of beautiful bulbs. Most of the stuff in the grocery store is shipped a really long way, the stuff at walmart is generally imported from China.
My favorite way to eat garlic is roasted and spread on a toasted slice of bread with a grinding of pepper
Can I recommend wild garlic leaves - amazing to add to any dish where you might otherwise use spinach or even watercress (though only as a part replacement). For instance, it makes a fantastic pesto sauce.