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GarlicOne of my personal all time favorite ingredients is garlic. Garlic tastes good with everything - steak, chicken, pork, duck, fish, shrimp, vegetables, bread, you name it and garlic can go with it. Garlic is one of the oldest known herbs, closely related to the onion and shallot. Sometimes called the 'stinking rose', it is an edible bulb (allium) that separates into pieces called cloves covered with a thin paper-like skin. It has been used throughout history by many different cultures. 
There are three major varieties available in the United States: American garlic (white skin, strong flavor); Mexican/Italian garlic (mauve-colored skin, milder flavor), and elephant garlic (white skin, mild flavor), which is not a true garlic, but a relative of the leek. There is also green garlic, which is garlic before it begins to form cloves with a long green top and white bulb. It has a pungent, spicy flavor that sweetens considerably as it is cooked and a little goes a long way. Garlic is available all year long and when choosing garlic you want to look for firm, plump bulbs with dry skin. If it's soft or the cloves look shriveled, don't buy it. Often in kitchens you will find garlic hanging in the mesh bag it was purchased in. As long as the bulbs are not broken, it will keep like this for about 8 weeks. Otherwise, you want to store fresh garlic in a cool, dark place, but do not cover it. Individual cloves will keep anywhere from 3 to 10 days. There are a few different ways to prepare garlic for use in your cooking. The most common method is to mince or chop it up and add to a saute in small amounts. You can find minced garlic in most food markets in a jar soaked in oil to keep it fresh. Crushed or pressed garlic is popular and releases most of the natural oil inside for more flavor. Many chefs simply use the flat side of a kitchen knife and smack the garlic against a cutting board to flatten it, keeping larger pieces intact. A garlic press is sometimes used to force the garlic cloves through small holes, effectively mincing it without having to do all the chopping. Garlic can also be pureed or roasted in whole cloves. Roasted garlic adds an element of flavor to any dish and once roasted it can be chopped, minced, pressed or crushed and used for a variety of applications. Garlic goes very well with many different types of foods such as beans, beef, beets, cabbage, chicken, eggplant, fish, kale, lamb, lentils, mushrooms, pasta, pork, potatoes, rice, shellfish, spinach, tomatoes, and zucchini. Garlic has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes, dating back nearly 6000 years. In ancient times it was thought to ward off evil spirits and more recently to help against the Plague and as an aphrodisiac! We know now that garlic is helpful is reducing cholesterol and is a powerful, natural antibiotic. Its high sulfur content (hence the smell), is effective in these areas as well as helping to treat acne and makes it a powerful antioxidant, which helps flush the body of toxins. Interestingly enough, it is also effective at repelling mosquitoes. Serving Suggestions and Related Recipes:
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