Properly dried garlic typically has a long shelf life if stored in the right environment. If you are looking to store garlic for a while or over the winter in your home, we recommend you store it in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight and a location with good ventilation.
While we have several different varieties of garlic, we have two main types that are our “workhorse” varieties. These two varieties are Italian and Porcelain. At the farmers’ market we are frequently asked “What’s the difference between the two?” The flavor of these two garlic varieties are not very different. The thing that sets these apart is the size of the cloves. Garlic forms a bulb or head of garlic that contains individual pieces of garlic called cloves. Italian garlic forms more cloves per head than porcelain, but the cloves are smaller. Porcelain garlic, on the other hand, has fewer cloves per head but the individual cloves are bigger. We use a lot of garlic in our household, so I tend to gravitate towards porcelain garlic simply because it means less peeling! You can tell the difference between the two not only by the size of the cloves, but also by the color of the skin. Porcelain garlic has pure white skin with just an occasional streak of purple while Italian garlic has more reddish purple coloring.
In its raw form, the flavor of garlic can be very strong, spicy and even might burn a bit if you eat a big piece! Some people really like this bold, strong garlic flavor. Others may find raw garlic too pungent for their palate, so for those individuals I recommend enjoying garlic either sautéed, fried or roasted. Cooking releases some of the pungent sulfur compounds, mellows the intensity and even sweetens it up a bit. You can roast a whole head of garlic in the oven until the cloves are soft and golden, then pull the cloves off the head and squeeze the soft, roasted garlic out of the skins. You can also peel garlic in advance, toss it with oil and roast it in the oven or cover it with oil and slow roast it to make garlic confit. The benefit of the latter is that you end up with a flavorful garlic oil as well as roasted garlic cloves!
Health & Nutrition: We value garlic for its flavor, but also for its health and medicinal value. It’s antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial…..basically, it’s good medicine. Richard swears by a good raw garlic sandwich to ward off something as simple as the common cold. Perhaps including garlic in your diet daily is a good dose of prevention and gives your immune system the daily boost it needs to keep you healthy!
Cultural & Historical Background: Garlic is one of the oldest cultivated crops and has made its way around the globe to permeate and enhance the cuisine of cultures all around the world. In Spain it’s used to make Ajo Blanco, a chilled garlic and almond soup. In Argentina it’s a key ingredient for making chimichurri, a fresh sauce or condiment consisting of parsley, oregano, garlic and red wine vinegar that is commonly served with grilled meat. In Chinese cuisine, garlic is an integral part of the base of many dishes along with ginger and scallions. In France, garlic is used to make aioli, or rather a fancy name for homemade garlic mayonnaise. These are just a few examples of how important garlic is to our diets, no matter where we come from in this world.
