Basic Kitchen Skills - the Stinking Rose (aka Garlic)

Intro: Basic Kitchen Skills - the Stinking Rose (aka Garlic)

First to let you know about the wonderful little clove that makes vampires and boyfriends run away!


I love garlic, I use it in almost every savory recipe that I prepare.  I had noticed that several of my "apprentice home chefs" really don't have a good idea about garlic.  They shun if for the breath it causes, and many of them avoid it all together.  I believe that the more you know about the garlic, the more apt you are to use this wonderfully edible bulb!

So hope you learn something about garlic in this "ible" and that you join me in consuming what is truly a medicinal food! 

Things you might want to know.....

*Garlic is available year around. but is freshest in in spring and summer. 

*Commercially available garlic comes in almost every possible form: whole cloves with the skin on (my preferred variety), whole whole peeled cloves, minced or diced in a jar, powder, granular and even a pill!

*Fresh garlic has the most medicinal qualities of all the varieties.  It also taste different than the dried forms.  You might actually want to use a powdered form in certain recipes just for the taste.

*Garlic has been heralded for its multitude of healing properties for over 5,000 years.  It has been used as a diaphoretic (make you sweat), diuretic (make you pee), choloagogue (liver cleanser), expectorant (clear mucous form the respiratory tract), stimulant (increasing bile motility), antibacterial (germ fighter), anti-fungal (works against fungi, such as athletes foot and others). alterative (restoring good health), anti-spasmodic (calming the stomach and intestines), vulnerary (such as garlic paste on wounds) vermifuge (to clear out intestinal worms) and even a type of penicillin!
Modern medicine mainly looks at garlics benefits to the heart and blood vessels.  It helps lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and increases blood flow through the body.
This is only the tip of a very large iceberg, and I include it because I truly believe that basic kitchen skills should include basic knowledge of ingredients.

STEP 1: How Much Garlic Are You Going to Need to Prepare...

Now that you know you are going to be eating garlic (at least I am hoping you will be), you need to know how much you will need for whatever the recipe calls for.

1 Garlic bulb = 10 to 15 cloves (these can vary i size tremendously, which is why I don't like recipes that call for a certain number of cloves.  It is better to go by the amount which will be used.

1 small garlic clove = 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic = 1/8 teaspoon garlic = 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/4 teaspoon garlic juice = 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt. 

1 extra large garlic clove should yield about 1 Tablespoon mined garlic. 

Just a side note: unbroken garlic bulbs can be stored for up to 3 or 4 months when kept in a cool dry place.  A pantry is better for storing than a refrigerator.  Keep them away from the stove and the sink as heat and dampness are the enemy! 
A peeled clove can be kept in the refrigerator up to 10 days safely.  
If your cloves happen to sprout while in storage, consider yourself lucky! They are still edible, or they can be planted even.  Those mild flavored sprouts are also edible and great on salads!

STEP 2: You Know How Much, So Let's "get Er Done"

Purchasing bul garlic bulbs is the most economical way to get your garlic.  Don't be afraid of how to prepare them.  I want to show you the simplest way to peel and mince garlic for your recipes so that you won't be spending money on overpriced jars full of prepared garlic product that might have been sitting on a store shelf so long that even a vampire would buy it! 

Grab your bulb and peel off the desired number of cloves.  They will break away freely leaving the skin (paper) intact on the remaining cloves to be returned to storage. 

STEP 3: What Do You Mean "peel" a Garlic??

I have NEVER peeled a garlic, or used a garlic press.  if I can get away without those cluttering my kitchen I know other people can. 

Garlic are not really peeled, at least not the way I do it.  I suppose if you wanted to present a whole garlic you could put a tiny slice in the end of the garlic and the paper husk would just slide away.  I want to show you how to mince your garlic, or finely chop it.  

Using the flat side of a large kitchen knife, carefully hit the clove with the knife using the palm of your hand.  
Simple as that! 
This will partially crush the clove and break the paper skin loose so that the actual clove can be slid right out. 

STEP 4:

Coarsely chop the garlic once the skin is removed.

Sprinkle  a small amount of coarse salt, such as kosher, and once again using the flat side of the knife, rub across the garlic using the salt to break it down into smaller peices.  If you account for the salt from your recipe, you will not risk making something too salty to eat.

You can continue to work the garlic until it is the desired size, even making it into a paste.  You might want to "rock" the sharp edge of your knife through the garlic if you see any pieces that are over sized and out of place. 

Now you are ready to go and make some wonderful garlicky dish that will be sure to please! 

Comments

[Aerospaced]

Here I thought only people from Garlic (er..uh...Gilroy ) called it the stinking rose. I enjoy taking a bulb and drizzling a bit of olive oil and wrapping in foil. then roast on an open fire and enjoy.

[sadhbh]

If you want to get rid of the smell of garlic (or onions or fish) off your hands, rinse them under cold water and then rub your wet hands on your stainless steel tap (faucet?) and rinse again...don't know why it works but it does, and is certainly cheaper and more environmentally friendly than those stainless steel 'soap bars'

[barefootbohemian]

I had heard this in the past, don't know why I never tried it. Definitely will try it now. I never heard of a stainless steel soap bar either though. Maybe I just needed someone to remind me what the tap is made of lol. Thanks for a great tip!

[fzumrk]

Good tips. I will second that using the flat of a chef's knife is the way to go. Garlic presses end up taking longer when you factor in the clean up time. Also, I have heard you do not want to use the flat side of the knife technique if you have a fancy ceramic kitchen knife. It will break.

I haven't tried the salt grinding thing yet though.

[barefootbohemian]

I didn't even think of what would happen using a ceramic knife. That would just not be good.... oops!

[daresquid]

You don't need to use the flat of the knife. Just using your palm with your fingertips on the counter, you can "crush" down on the clove in a controlled manner, causing the skin to burst.

[barefootbohemian]

I misread that at first in the [e-mail] notification, though it said the person's skin skin would blister and burst - DOH!! I really need reading glasses, especially 1st thing in the morning. Sorry for my "dinginess". Thanks for commenting. Might try that but wouldn't want more galic on my skin than necessary. Smells great in the pan but kinda stinks on the hand.

[daresquid]

As I said, a controlled manner with your fingertips anchored. That way you crush just enough to burst the skin and the clove remains mostly intact. You distort and squeeze the clove; you don't try to mash it flat. YMMV, not all cloves cooperate. Really old cloves or dried out ones will not work well. Store bought should be okay, but bulbs from the garden should age a month to stabilize the moisture content a few percentage points less than fresh. There is a sweet spot (also applies to your knife technique) which they cooperate the best, not too fresh, not too old. Oh, and once you have copious amounts of garden garlic, you don't obsessively spend time mincing to tiny bits. It just becomes another vegetable. You dice it some, but you don't need to atomize it due to the quantity you can use.

[barefootbohemian]

I will have to try it that way. Essentially, if I am understanding you correctly, is you are just squeezing it out of the skin, like you would some encased meat like chorizo? Not the best example, but all i could think of.
And I agree with that it does become like another vegetable and I do end up just giving it a rough chop most of the time, but when I am cooking for others (even some in my family) I have to be careful that large pieces aren't seen in the food. My father would have not been happy at all with me if he even knew I used garlic in my cooking, he always said it was one thing he just could not stand having. Funny how he never noticed it was there when I did essentially "atomize" the cloves.

[daresquid]

No you are not squeezing it out the end like the interior of a sausage. It is like the knife method in which you are distending the shape, but you stop when you hear the skin crack. The skin cracks because you are distending the inner clove and the skin doesn't want to follow the shape. With the knife method, most people go WHACKK! and juice comes out, though I admit the flattened clove is easier to dice. What I am saying is you can achieve the same result, give or take, by the measured pressure of your palm. It's just more subtle and doesn't need the knife. It is handy if you want make less noise or just want to get the garlic nude ahead of time but not diced up, because the knife will not be in your hand. Some cloves will not give no matter what and be just about as crushed as the knife method. It is also a good method if you want to roast whole cloves while they are still more or less intact, just without the skin. Maybe garnish a roast before putting in oven?

[jessyratfink]

Very nice! I do the salt trick too, very handy!