The potent flavor of garlic is used in many dishes to add instant aroma and flavor.
It can usually be found as a base ingredient and is used in large amounts by many cultures and cuisines around the world.
If you enjoy the taste and aroma of garlic, there are techniques that help to enhance its flavor.
Many suggest mincing fresh garlic right before adding it to the dish.
This is because the more time that garlic has to break down, the more enzymes are released.
When this happens, more allicin is produced.
Allicin is a compound in garlic, it is a pungent liquid said to have antibacterial properties.
Fresh garlic contains alliin, an amino acid.
When the clove is cut, alliinase, an enzyme, is released.
Both of these amino acids and enzymes form allicin, producing a strong garlic aroma.
Allicin is sometimes taken in supplement form as it is said to aid with some health problems such as heart disease.
Studies have demonstrated that the allicin in garlic can provide health benefits such as improving blood pressure control.
The research on allicin is still limited however there is still evidence to suggest that consuming the allicin in garlic offers some health benefits.
Some of the side effects of taking supplements containing allicin include heartburn, gas, and nausea.
There is a lack of studies on this compound so there is not enough information around the safety of taking it long-term or how it interacts with medications.
The more time garlic has to sit, the more of this compound is produced making it a lot stronger.
If you are a fan of this flavor, you might enjoy using jarred minced garlic although these do have some chemicals to preserve the garlic, so some dislike using it for this reason.
What do you mean by 1 clove of garlic?
An entire garlic is generally referred to as a “head”, ”bulb” or ”knob”.
It is the segments of garlic that are called “cloves”. One of these is 1 clove of garlic.
You certainly don’t want to confuse these terms as you may end up with some very garlicky dishes.
If you haven’t used garlic before, it may be easy to mix up these terms and end up using far too much.
However, you are very likely to notice your mistake pretty quickly as garlic also smells just as strong as it tastes.
If you notice that your kitchen suddenly smells very overpowering, do your best to remove as much of the garlic from the pot as you can.
Many dishes call for large amounts of garlic so you hopefully shouldn’t have ruined the dish by using too much.
It also depends on personal taste so you could actually end up creating a super delicious meal by accident.
Different types of garlic add their own unique flavors.
For instance, a crisp clean flavor of garlic would be found in Georgian Crystal garlic.
Parvin garlic provides a hot pepper-like taste and Cheshire Red produces a sweet roasting flavor.
These garlic types are gourmet and are not generally found in your local supermarket so if you want to experiment with these you’re going to have to look around.
1 clove garlic in grams
Not all cloves are the same, some vary in intensity, size, and taste.
Hardneck garlic tends to be stronger than soft neck garlic.
Garlic forms these two different categories which are based on the differences in hardiness, clove formation, and flower stalks.
Hardneck garlic tends to peel easier, is more flavourful, and forms a single row of cloves.
They tend to have fewer cloves per bulb but are larger than softneck garlic cloves.
They don’t tend to keep for as long as softneck garlic, and tend to deteriorate within around 4-6 months of being picked.
Softneck garlic stores much longer, making them more ideal to be mass-produced.
You are much more likely to pick up softneck garlic at your local grocery store.
They have much more cloves per bulb with the sizes of each garlic varying from big to small.
Softneck garlic does not develop a flowering stalk unlike their hardneck siblings, so they are soft and flexible.
This makes them a much better choice for creating braids of garlic.
Braids of garlic are used as both decoration and for consumption in dishes like braided garlic bread.
Hardneck garlic tends to thrive in colder climates whereas softneck does better in warmer climates.
It’s unlikely you will have ever noticed that there was a difference in garlic types especially as most garlic bulbs are unique in their own way.
If you fancy yourself as a garlic connoisseur you might find this information handy especially if you prefer one garlic type or taste over another.
How many cloves are in a head of garlic?
Almost every head of garlic is unique in its own sense.
You will find that after buying garlic from your local supermarket, each of the garlic heads looks different or have a different number of cloves in each.
It is said that a 2 ½ inch garlic head will produce around 11 garlic cloves.
This gives you a general idea so you roughly know how much garlic to buy for certain recipes.
Some garlic bulbs can have around thirty cloves although it is unlikely you will find this type in your local supermarket!
Garlic is a tough cookie and has a very long growing season.
They can be grown outside, indoors, or even in a pot.
If you fancy trying your hand out at growing some bulbs, you can certainly do this from home.
This way you can also play around with various types and flavor intensities.
Much of the fresh garlic you purchase usually isn’t grown in your climate or region.
You might notice that growing your own will taste a lot better or purchasing them from your local farmers market or plant nursery could do the trick.
A head of unpeeled garlic can last up to 6 months, that is if it is stored correctly.
This means they should be kept in a dry, dark, cool, ventilated area.
It shouldn’t necessarily be stored in a fridge although it sounds like it.
A pantry or similar area is the best place to store unpeeled garlic.
It should be kept away from heat and closer to room temperature as opposed to the chilliness of a fridge.
I’m Chris Watson & the Founder of EatForLonger.com. I’m a food and wellbeing enthusiast researching and sharing foodstuffs and simple food-based concepts, such as fasting and clean eating.
I hope it inspires you to make tiny changes to what you eat and when you eat while optimizing your healthspan and all-around well-being.
Read more About Me here.