How is garlic made

Each clove, if planted in early spring or autumn, will produce a new head. If left to its own devices, garlic will eventually form a small clump as its bulbs spread over the years. Softneck garlic is easy to grow in mild climates. Choose the hardneck varieties for areas where winters are severe. Softneck usually produces smaller, more numerous cloves per head, and it stores particularly well. Storing garlic is all about keeping it relatively warm and dry.

This encourages the cloves to stay dormant, and prevents them from sprouting. Garlic is one of the most universally accepted culinary ingredients, appreciated around the world for its pungent flavour and its incredible versatility in complementing meat, vegetables, breads, and eggs. It is grown commercially all over the world, notably in China, where over 12 million tons are produced each year.

Aside from its diverse uses in the kitchen, garlic has long been appreciated as a medicine. It is known to have antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties, but extensive scientific studies have shown conflicting results in humans. Garlic appears to play a role in reducing the accumulation of certain types of cholesterol, as well as regulating blood sugar levels in humans, but the actual processes are not well understood.

In traditional herbal medicine, garlic has been used to fight parasites, prevent the common cold, and treat respiratory complaints. Rats fed on high protein diets supplemented with garlic showed increased levels of testosterone.

Eating garlic, of course, also causes bad breath. The odour of garlic caused by complex sulphur compounds may explain why it was held in such high regard in central European folklore as a ward against demons, werewolves, and vampires — and it really was used for this purpose, hung in the house, or rubbed around windows, chimneys, and keyholes. However it is eaten, garlic is high in protein, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus, as well as other beneficial nutrients. It can be eaten raw, cooked, preserved in oil, wine, or vinegar, and it forms a base for countless sauces and dips hummus, pesto, aioli, vinaigrette, to name a few which can then be kept fresh for days if refrigerated.

Dried garlic can also be powdered and kept in an airtight container for up to a year or more. Garlic festivals are popular across Canada and around the world. Just allow at least seven days between treatment and your garlic harvest. Fungal diseases can also interfere with garlic plans. The first trouble signs are often small tan, white or purple spots on garlic leaves.

Depending on where you live, your garlic harvest may happen any time from July through September. When stems turn yellow and fall over, and the bottom few leaves turn brown, it's harvest time.

Carefully dig your garlic bulbs, and keep the stems intact. Just tie the stems together and hang garlic to dry or spread out the heads in a single layer.

After two to four weeks, your garlic is ready for optimal storage. Cut the stems off about 1 inch above the bulbs, or braid long-stemmed softneck garlics for fun or gifts.

Refrigerators provide the ideal temperature and humidity for long-term garlic storage, so your harvest keeps giving for months. Be sure to set aside some bulbs for your planting stock. With a treasure of homegrown garlic at your disposal, you can enjoy these flavorful veggies in many ways — from smoky, roasted heads to fresh garlic pestos and garlic-infused oils. Everhart, et al. Toggle navigation GardenTech. Find a Product.

Identify Your Pest. About Us. Contact Us. Garlic is booming in popularity in kitchens and gardens as Americans learn how easy growing this tasty bulb can be. Abundant garlic harvests don't take much expertise — even beginners can grow these nutritious homegrown treats. Just a few simple steps, and you're on your way to enjoying homegrown garlic and heady harvests. Choosing Your Garlic.

True garlics fall into two main categories: Hardneck garlics get their name from their hard center seed stalk, called a scape. They typically have a strong or hot flavor, but a shorter storage life — 3 months at most after harvest. Cloves in hardneck heads usually number 12 or less. Softneck garlics don't form a hard center stalk; their tops stay soft and supple.

If you plan to try your hand at creating garlic braids — like those you see hanging at farm markets — softnecks are for you. Softneck garlics offer a milder flavor than the hardneck type, and they store for six months or longer. Heads consist of up to 40 small, irregular cloves in multiple layers around the center. In addition, garlic was used to pay and feed workers and slaves on the great pyramids. The bulb was so popular with those who toiled on the pyramids that garlic shortages caused work stoppages.

A garlic crop failure, due to the Nile flooding, caused one of the only two recorded Egyptian slave revolts. Garlic as currency is not necessarily an ancient idea; at Grey Duck Garlic we have found that some people are easily bribed with a basketful of the aromatic bulbs. Despite its reputation for warding off evil and use as a medicinal herb, garlic was considered too coarse and common for the refined palates of the upper class.

Only the rough lower classes could fill their bellies with garlic, it would upset the delicate constitutions of the rich and powerful.

Egyptian priests worshiped garlic but actively avoided cooking and eating the fragrant cloves. Other cultures also deemed garlic too pungent for religious institutions.

Greeks wishing to enter the temple of Cybele had to pass a garlic breath test. Those who partook of garlic were not allowed entry. In ancient India, the upper crust denied themselves the pleasure of the pungent herb because of its strong smell and association with commoners. Likewise, knights reeking of garlic in King Alfonso de Castille court were cast out of polite society for a week. In England, garlic breath was also deemed entirely unsuitable for refined young ladies and the gentlemen who wished to court them.