Grey Duck Garlic
Gourmet Garlic Recipes and Cooking Tips
Garlic Cooking Tips
Left: Edna selects the perfect 'fresh from the field' organic garlic for her recipe. Edna also likes to use green garlic in the spring.
Clove Size:
All cloves are not created equal. The average supermarket clove weighs about 4-8 grams. The cloves in gourmet garlic weigh from 4-45 grams. Since most recipes call for cloves it is important to know how to convert from cloves to a more standardized measurement.
Clove substitution chart:
1 clove = 1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic or ½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 clove = 1/4 teaspoon dried, dehydrated or powdered garlic
Flavor Intensity:
Different gourmet varieties vary in intensity, heat and taste. Most fresh hardneck garlic is stronger than softneck garlic bulbs from the store. Go easy on the garlic at first until you determine your particular preference. Remember, it is easier to add more but impossible to subtract!
The finer you chop your garlic, the more intense the flavor. To decide whether to slice or mince ask yourself two questions:
1) Do I like garlic or do I LOVE garlic?
If you love all things garlic you may want to turn up the heat by mincing your garlic or squeezing it through a garlic press. If you prefer a more subtle hint of garlic, slice or dice the garlic into larger chunks before adding it to a dish.
2) What type of dish am I making?
Hardy Italian dishes are expected to be infused in garlic; delicate Asian stir-fries may need a lighter touch. Raw dishes or dip require less garlic than cooked dishes. Cooking garlic makes it sweeter and milder. Garlic becomes milder as it cooks. Adding garlic early in the cooking process will result in a milder flavor than adding it later.
For the sweetest garlic, bake heads or cloves in a covered dish. Don’t bake garlic uncovered or it will become hard and tough. To make delicious gravies for roasts, add several garlic cloves to the roast when you bake it. After cooking the roast, smash the baked cloves in the meat’s juices when you make the gravy to add a sweet garlic flavor.
What makes garlic hot?
Allicin, which gives garlic some of its health benefits, also makes garlic taste hot and pungent. Allicin develops when garlic is chopped, cut or minced. It intensifies the garlic flavor. For the most intense flavor let the chopped garlic sit for a while before adding it to the dish. For more on how allicin can improve health by changing your genetics see my garlic and epigenetic page.
Can I freeze garlic?
You can freeze either cooked or raw garlic to use later. If you chop the raw garlic before freezing, the garlic will become more mellow tasting the longer it is frozen. This is because allicin, which develops when the garlic is chopped and gives it it intence heat, gradually loses it potency in the freezer.
One way to partially correct for this problem is to add more garlic to the recipe if you are using garlic that has been stored in the freezer for a while. The garlic taste will still be more mellow after freezing, though.
How can Imake the garlic party continue all year long?
Garlic can be stored for between 3-9 months depending on the type of garlic, the storage conditions and other factors.
For garlic recipes see Garlic Flavor Profiles or click on links below.
Georgian Crystal Garlic Recipes