Yes garlic does have a season and the season is now. Here are some facts you probably didn’t know about garlic.
Garlic is a vegetable, its in the onion family.
Garlic has been found to have antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial activity.
It dates back 6,000 years ago and it is believed to be from Asia.
Garlic is also claimed to have positive effects on high blood pressure, high cholesterol and certain cancers.Garlic is more than popular flavoring; it is a natural, traditional medicine that has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Regular consumption of garlic has been linked with:
- Improving overall cholesterol levels
- Lowering blood pressure and decreasing clot formation, thus reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack
- Combating respiratory infections
- Minimizing symptoms of common colds, including sore throats
- Reducing fungal or yeast infections
Eating raw garlic (chopped or mashed) releases the herb’s full potential as the active component, allicin, forms only on contact with air. Garlic loses its antibiotic properties when you cook or dry it, and commercial garlic capsules do not preserve the full activity of the fresh bulb.
You can make raw garlic more palatable by chopping it fine, mixing it with food and eating it with a meal, or cut a clove into chunks and swallow them whole like pills.
Don’t be lazy and buy the chopped garlic in the jars, that type of garlic taste horrible., your mom raised you better than that. Buy the real thing. You may see several varieties of garlic at the market. One variety is called Green Garlic. Green garlic refers to newly formed garlic heads still attached to their greens, usually a local specialty. Their cloves are milky and the flavor extremely mild and delicious. Green garlic should be refrigerated, but dried heads can be stored at room temperature on the counter or in a clay jar made for garlic. If you ever see garlic with the color purple at the tips buy that one, that is the French variety and it is very good, but it has a limited season too. At the market look at the garlic, if it looks too dry, don’t buy it, look for one that isn’t black, bruised or too dry. I buy at least 2 per week. One head of garlic I roast, then I cover it in olive oil and save it during the week to add to vegetables, salad and breads. The other head of garlic I add to meat,, sauces salads and soups.
Here is how to Roast a Whole Head of Garlic
Preheat the oven to 350*. Rub off the outer papery skin, but leave the cloves encased. (I love the way garlic is in little individual packages, its like a gift in every clove that you have to unwrap.) Set the head of garlic upright on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the garlic up well so the oil won’t leak all over your oven. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool. The cool thing about this roasted garlic is you can put this into your refrigerator just like it is and when you need some garlic, pull the head out and squeeze as much garlic as you need, then return the rest to the refrigerator for later use. This will remain fresh in your refrigerator up to 2 weeks, but I am sure it will be gone by then.
