Garlic is the strongest-flavored, most assertive member of the lily family, which includes leeks, chives, onions, and shallots.
What to Look For
When shopping for garlic:
- Look for firm dry heads of garlic.
- Store them whole and unbroken in a cool, dry, dark location. They'll stay for about two months.
- To peel garlic, place the clove under the flat side of a chef's knife and gently press down with the ball of your hand, lightly crushing the clove. The skin will split, allowing you to pull it off the clove more easily.
Making the Odorous Less Onerous
Cooking garlic mellows its hot flavor, transforming it into something savory, earthy, and nutty. Once cooked, garlic infuses deep flavor to soups and sauces and pairs wonderfully with tomatoes, parsley, onions, and ginger. The natural sugars in garlic cause it to brown nicely in butter or olive oil.
Garlic: A Love-Hate Relationship
Like generations before us, we seem to have a love-hate relationship with garlic.
For centuries garlic has been the bogeyman of ingredients. The upper classes thumbed their noses at its strong smell and considered it food fit only for laborers. Consequently, garlic was assigned strength- and endurance-building attributes. Egyptian slaves built the pyramids on a heavily garlic-fortified diet.
Some cultures have embraced garlic more fully than others. Southern European cooking uses it with a flourish, while in northern Europe, it is used only sparingly and is cooked more thoroughly to take the sting off its hot flavor.