GARLIC
Garlic is one of the most flavor-concentrated vegetables we use in our kitchens. It is also very healthy, and some people, how stinking and strong it may smell, eat garlic raw just like a sandwich.
Garlic grows as a bulb that is divided into several cloves, all separated and each enclosed into their own skin. It contains much more sugars and less water than onions (that belong to the same family) which makes garlic more prone to browning when sautéed in a hot pan. For this reason, when we include onion and garlic in our meal, it is wise to throw in garlic a couple of minutes after we start to sauté the onions.
There are several variants of garlic, all containing different amounts of flavor molecules. The most intense garlic is grown in cold climate, although storage of garlic in a refrigerator after harvest will actually reduce the garlicy taste and give more milder onion flavor. The most water content in garlic is found right after the harvest.
Garlic cloves can be pickled in acidic liquid or in oil. Storage in oil should be preceded by soaking the garlic in acidic liquid first, because the acid will discourage growth of dangerous bacteria. Garlic can also be blanched before pickling, or it may become slightly discolored. Storage of garlic in such conditions is preferable in kitchens that are on heat all the time, since the peeling process may be a time-limiting factor when preparing a dish. However, there is quite a simple way to peel a garlic clove - simply crush the garlic with your hand or with the knife blade and the skin should then be easy to peel off the clove.
From the health point of view, garlic has been shown to be beneficial for prevention of cardiovascular diseases since the molecules it contains (a.o. allicin and other sulphuric compounds also present in onions and leeks) are able to cause blood vessel relaxation and consequently reduction of blood pressure. As a nice side effect, the blood flow through the body increases and the heart and other organs are more flushed with nutritious blood. Garlic is also a good carrier of vitamin C and B6, as well as some vital minerals. Of course, we cannot eat too much garlic so when it comes to these molecules it is best to become good friend with onions and leeks. Besides these effects, all members of this onion family are also preventing inflammations and cancers. This has been scientifically proven.
When you buy garlic look for the unblemished bulbs. You shouldn't see any black spots and discoloration, and the garlic should be fairly hard and tense. you don't want a shrunk garlic bulb with black and green lesions. Old garlic bulbs can also be identified by sprouts coming out of the top part of the bulb. You want fresh garlic without sprouts, and this is normally available for us throughout the year in the shops. Once you've brought your garlic home, store it in room temperature or (if possible) in slightly cold room with good air ventilation, away from sunlight or other light sources.
Cooking with garlic is quite simple but you need to remember that it burns very quickly, so don't add it to a hot oil until you know you will fry it for just a couple of minutes. If you cook garlic, there is nothing to worry about, since the temperature of boiling water is not high enough to burn it. A popular way to use garlic in hot oil is to put it there in a crushed form, so that the flavor extraction is not too excessive. if you chop garlic into smaller pieces, the flavors will come out quicker and you will not be able to remove them from the dish. Of course, it's up to you how much garlic flavor you want in your dish. Also worth noticing, it is good to wait a few minutes before cooking crushed or chopped garlic, because it triggers the enzymatic conversion of allin into the health-promoting allicin, and once you heat up the garlic, this process will come to a halt.