In Pursuit of Garlic summary

Garlic has humble origins. The Roman aristocracy turned their noses up at its gastronomic use, relegating it to the medical realm. Luckily for fans of escargot, pizza and pesto, garlic gradually managed to climb its way to the top of the social ladder to take its rightful place as a bulb fit for royalty.

That took time. The Romans’ snobbish dismissal of allium as nothing but peasants’ fare persisted even after their empire had crumbled. Others, particularly the Anglo-Saxons, adopted the same attitude.

So you know about the culinary and medicinal wonders of garlic, but how do you grow it? If you really want gourmet garlic, it’s time to toss out those tiny cloves you found at the farmer’s market and get your hands dirty!

Garlic needs cool weather and friable soil to develop its bulb.

Right, you’ve been patiently watching your garlic crop grow and harvest season is rapidly approaching. That leaves one question: When is the best time to dig the bulbs up? Your best bet is to play close attention to the plants’ leaves. When half have turned brown, your garlic is ready for picking.

That’s important because harvesting too early or too late affects the bulbs’ flavor and storage. Yank them out before they’re ready and they won’t be nearly as tasty as they could be; wait too long, however, and they’ll be susceptible to bacteria and likely to spoil.

While we’re on the topic of supermarket garlic, what exactly is going on with those tiny bulbs already shooting out green sprouts? Why are they so bland compared to the cloves being sold at the farmer’s market? Meet the garlic lover’s eternal foe: Chinese garlic.

Chinese garlic is a phenomenal export success, and it’s all but swamped the North American market. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, no country produces more garlic than China. The figures speak for themselves. Today, an astounding 75 percent of the global garlic supply comes from China.

There’s nothing quite like roasted garlic, but if you want to get the most out of your alliums, you’re better off leaving them uncooked. So roll up your sleeves and smell the fresh allicin. It’s time to get chopping.

Remember all those health benefits associated with garlic? There’s one surefire way of accessing them: eating it raw. That’s down to allicin, the magical compound that helps your body fight inflammation, cures yeast infections and boosts your immune system. A single clove of raw garlic contains five milligrams of this powerful antioxidant. But if you want to lower your risk of infection, heart disease and various cancers, you’d better not heat the garlic. Even a brief toss into the sizzling pan with some tomato sauce is enough to destroy the allicin.