Lorz Italian: Bold Beauty
A rich flavored heirloom softneck garlic with large long storing bulbs.
Picture: Bold Lorz Italian garlic bulbs by bright yellow lily blooms.
Culinary Qualities: This flavorful softneck garlic is very popular with Italian chefs. It has a robust bold and spicy flavor that lingers in dishes and is idea for Italian dishes! Makes a delicious rich roasted garlic.
This smooth bulb adds spicy flavor with medium heat to stir-fries, meats, roasted vegetables, tomato based sauces and other dishes. Lorz Italian has an excellent stand alone taste which works well in simple pasta dishes and mashed potatoes!
Special Attributes: This garlic was so loved that it was brought to Washington State's Columbia River Basin in the early 1900s by the Lorz family when they immigrated from Italy. It is part of the Slow Food USA Ark of Taste, a program preserving endangered heirloom foods with unique tastes and characteristics.
Like Thermadrone, Lorz Italian multiples very quickly. One pound of cloves at planting can easily become 8-10 pounds of bulbs at harvest. Softneck garlic can be braided. The white bulbs with occasional purple and brown streaks are very large and have a slightly flattened shape. Lorz Italian can be stored under the proper conditions for 6-9 months.
Growing Considerations: Plant the biggest cloves for the best results. Lorz Italian matures earlier than hardneck garlic and is very easy to grow. It has been a carefree garlic for us! This is one of the first garlics we harvest (Thermadrone and Lorz Italian are harvested at the same time).
Lorz Italian, like Thermadrone, multiples better than hardneck garlic and will deliver a very good harvest. It is much more robust than Thermadrone and has rapid growth. Lorz Italian prefers a well drained soil. Bulbs should be harvested when plants begin to 'flop' over.
Lorz Italian is so large and 'juicy' that it must be carefully cured for the best storing times. Be especially careful with the biggest fattest bulbs to prevent rot. When curing this variety or any large softneck, we clip off roots, which take up moisture from the air, and spread the bulbs very thinly to ensure good air flow. Most years we leave the garlic tops on until they dry, but if it is very wet and humid at harvest you may need to remove the top for faster drying time. We also advise using a fan to increase airflow around the wet bulbs in hot humid weather.
Cloves: approximately 40-45 large cloves/lb. or 50-65 medium cloves/lb (we are still developing this variety). The large white bulbs with brown and purple streaks contain 12-20 flattened cloves. These numbers are approximate and will vary slightly. Lorz Italian has very variable sized cloves. Cloves are normally arranged in a spiral pattern with larger cloves on the outside of the bulbs and smaller inner cloves. Softneck cloves are smaller than most hardneck cloves but make up for it by growing larger bulbs.
Type: This is a softneck garlic in the Artichoke family. Although most softnecks do not send up scapes, occasionally Lorz Italian will develop a large scape with huge bulbils.