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Garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Synonyms

pharmaceuticalBulbus Allii sativi
AlbanianHudhër e rëndomtë, Hudhra
Amharicነጭ ሽንኩርት
Netch Shinkurt
ApataniLasun
Arabicثوم, فوم
ثُوم, فُوم
Fum, Thoum, Thum
Aramaicܣܩܘܪܕܘܢ, ܬܘܡ
Skoradon, Tum
ArmenianՍխտոր
Skhdor, Sxtor
Assameseৰচুন, নহৰু
Rosun, Nohoru
AzeriSarımsaq
Сарымсаг
BasqueBaratzuri, Barahatz, Baratxuri, Berakatz
BelarusianЧаснок
Časnok
Bengaliরসুন
Rosun
Bodoसामब्राम गुफुत, छामब्राम गुफुर
Sambram Gufut, Chambram Gufur
BretonKignen
BulgarianЧеснов лук, Чесън
Chesnov luk, Chesun
BurmeseChyet-thon-phew, Kesumphiu
CatalanAll
Chakma𑄢𑄮𑄚𑄴
Ron
Chinese
(Cantonese)
蒜頭 [syun tàuh]
Syun tauh, Suen tau
Chinese
(Mandarin)
大蒜 [dà suàn]
Da suan
Copticϣϫⲏⲛ, ⲥⲕⲟⲣⲧⲟⲛ
Shjen, Skorton
CroatianČešnjak, Bijeli luk
CzechČesnek
DanishHvidløg
Dhivehiލޮނުމެދު
Lonumedhu
Dogriथोम
Thom
DutchKnoflook
Dzongkhaཅ་དགོཔ་, སྐྱ་སྒོགཔ་
Cha-gop, Kya-gogap
EnglishGarlick
EsperantoAjlo
EstonianKüüslauk
FanteSara anwiw
Farsiسیر
Sir, Cire
FinnishValkosipuli
FrenchAil, Thériaque des pauvres
FrisianKnyflok
Ga-DangmeSamanatsopa, Aya, Ayo
GaelicGairgean
GalicianAllo
GaroRasin gipbok
Georgianნიორი
Niori
GermanKnoblauch
GreekΣκόρδο
Skordo
Greek (Old)Ἄγλις, Σκόροδον
Aglis, Skorodon
Gujaratiલસણ
Lasan
HausaTafarnuwa
Hebrewשום
שׁוּם
Shum
Hindiलहसुन, लहसन
Lahsun, Lahsan
HmarPurunvar
HungarianFokhagyma
IcelandicHvítlaukur
IndonesianBawang putih, Kesuna
IrishGairleog
ItalianAglio
Japanese, 大蒜
にんにく
ニンニク, ガーリック
Ninniku, Garikku
Kannadaಬೆಳ್ಳುಳ್ಳಿ, ಲಶುನ, ಉಳ್ಳಿ
Bellulli, Lashuna, Ulli
Kashmiriرومہن
Romahan
KazakhСарымсақ
Sarımsaq
KhasiRynsun
Korean갈릭, 마늘
Kallik, Manul
Laoກະທຽມ, ຜັກທຽມ
Katiam, Pak thiam, Van mahakan
LatinAlium, Allium
LatvianĶiploki
LithuanianČesnakas
MacedonianЛук
Luk
Maithiliलहसून
Lasun
MalayBawang putih
Malayalamപൂണ്ട്, വെളുത്തുള്ളി
Poondu, Veluth-ulli
MalteseTewm
Manipuri (Meitei-Lon)চনম
ꯆꯅꯝ
Chanam
Marathiलसूण
Lasun
MizoPurunvar
MongolianСаримсаг, Сармис
Sarimsag, Sarmis
Naga (Angami)Chümerie
Naga (Ao)Lasüng
Naga (Chakhesang-Chokri)Chemerie
Naga (Khezha)Chemerie
Naga (Lotha)Samran
Naga (Mao)Loson
Naga (Rongmei)Ganam
Naga (Sumi)Sumugha
Naga (Tangkhul)Namrei
Nepaliलसुन
Lasun
Newari
(Nepalbhasa)
लावा, लाभा
Lava, Labha
NorwegianHvitløk
Oriyaରସୁଣ
Rasuna
OssetianНуры
Nury
PapiamentoKonofló, Konoflok
PashtoSeer
PolishCzosnek pospolity
PortugueseAlho
ProvençalAiet, Aïo
Punjabiਲਸੂਣ, ਲਸਣ
Lasun, Lasan
RomanianUsturoi, Ai†
RussianЧеснок
Chesnok
SanskritLashuna
SantaliRasun
SerbianБели лук, Чешњак, Чешан лук, Чешањ
Beli luk, Češnjak, Češan luk, Češanj
Sinhalaසුදු ළූණු, සුදු ලූණු, සුදු ලූනු සුදු ළුණු
Sudulunu, Sudu lunu
SlovakCesnak kuchynský
SlovenianČesen
SpanishAjo
SrananKunofroku
SwahiliKitunguu saumu
SwedishVitlök
TagalogBawang
TajikСирпиёз, Сир, Саримсок
Sirpiyoz, Sir, Sarimsok
Tamilவெள்ளைபூண்டு
Vellai pundu, Vellai poondu
Teluguతెల్లగడ్డ, వెల్లుల్లి
Tellagadda, Vellulli
Thaiกระเทียม, กะเทียม
Krathiam, Gratiem, Kathiam
Tibetanསྒོག་པ་
Sgog pa, Gogpa
Tigrinyaሽጉርቲ ጻዕዳ
Shegurti tseda
Tuluಬೆಳ್ಳುಳ್ಳಿ
Bellulli
TurkishSarımsak, Sarmısak
TurkmenSarymsyk
Сарымсык
TwiGyene kankan
UkrainianЧасник, Часник городній
Chasnyk, Chasnyk horodni
Urduلہسن, سیر
Lahsun, Lassun, Sir
UzbekSarimsoq
Саримсоқ
VietnameseCây tỏi, Tỏi
Cay toi, Toi
WelshCraf, Garlieg, Garlleg
Yiddishקנאָבל
Knobl
Allium sativum: Garlic leaf
Garlic leaf
Allium sativum: Garlic head
Fresh Garlic heads
Allium sativum: Young garlic plants
Young garlic plants
Allium sativum: Garlic head
Dry garlic head
Note

Many lan­gu­ages have similar names for leek, garlic and onion, or derive those names from a common base.

Used plant part

What is usually referred to as a head of garlic is, in botanical terms, a bulb, i. e., a sub­terranean reserve structure derived from a cluster of leaves. The single leaves are known as cloves of garlic.

Some cuisines make minor use of fresh garlic leaves.

Plant family

Alliaceae (onion family).

Sensory quality

Strong and charac­teristic odour, which is markedly different in fresh and fried state. The pungency of fresh garlic (see also negro pepper for pun­gent spices) van­ishes after cook­ing or fry­ing.

Main constituents 

Garlic contains a wealth of sulfur compounds; most important for the taste is allicin (diallyl di­sulphide oxide), which is produced enzymati­cally from alliin (S-2-propenyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide) if cells are damaged; its biological function is to repel herbi­vorous animals. Allicin is deacti­vated to diallyl di­sulphide; therefore, minced garlic changes its aroma if not used imme­diately. In the essential oil from steam distil­lation, diallyl di­sulphide (60%) is found besides diallyl tri­sulphide (20%), diallyl sulfide, ajoene and minor amounts of other di- and poly­sulphides. Sulfur com­pounds of this kind are typical for the onion family; see also bear’s garlic, onion and chives.

In other bo­tanical groups, garlic scent caused by similar sulphur chemism is un­com­mon. While the cab­bage family is rich in species ac­cumu­lating sulphur com­pounds (e. g., they cause the typical flavour of cress, mustard and the various cab­bage types), true garlic aroma is rarely found; an example for such a plant is hedge garlic (Alliaria petiolata). Asafetida is an important sulphur-containing spice that replaces garlic is some South Asian cuisines. Lastly, the exotic garlic vine (Cydista aequi­noctialis syn. Mansoa alliacea) should be mentioned: This South American creeper boasts of beautiful flowers and strikingly garlic-scented leaves.

Origin

Garlic is be­lieved to stem from Central Asia, al­though no wild form is known; the closest match is Allium longi­cuspis from the Tianshan mountains in the border region between China and Kirgistan. Of the about 700 species of genus Allium, many are native to Central Asia, the center of diversity ranging from the Himalayas to Turkestan.

Etymology

Garlic (Old English gārlēac) is a native Germanic word being com­posed of two ele­ments: The first ele­ment gar means spear and refers to the pointed leaves. It is cognate to Gothic gaida and Old High German ger, which has survived only in a number of German first names including my own.

That element ger is closely related to Old Irish gae spear and Latin gæsum heavy javelin, which is often thought a Celtic loan. A possibly related word is Greek chaios [χαῖος] shepherd’s crook; all these forms could derive from an Proto-Indo–European root ǴʰAISO javelin. There may be a remote connection to the verbal root ǴʰEI- set something in motion, hurl (Sanskrit heti [हेति] missile, Langobardic gaida point of an arrow, also English ghost).

The second ele­ment -lic (appearing in full form in the word leek) has plenty of cognates in other Germanic languages which generally mean either leek or onion, e. g., German Lauch, Swedish lök, Dutch look; there are also loans to non-Germanic languages (Russian luk [лук], Lithuanian lukai, Latvian ķiploki, Estonian küüslauk, Finnish laukka). The common explanation derives these words from an Proto-Indo–European verbal root LEUG meaning bend or turn, probably again referring to the leaves’ shape; cf. Lithuanian liaunas flexible and Greek lygizein [λυγίζειν] bend (see also chaste tree).

Allium sativum: Garlic plant
Garlic plant
Allium sativum: Garlic flower
Garlic flower cluster

In Scandina­vian lan­guages, cognates of leek have through­out adopted the meaning onion, e. g., Danish løg, Swedish lök or Icelandic laukur. The name of garlic is, then, formed, by prefixing an adjective white: Danish hvidløg, Swedish vitlök and Icelandic hvítlaukur. The white-element is cognate to English white (Old English hwīt); see white mustard for its deri­vation.

Similar naming motives reappear in some Eastern languages, e. g., Sinhala sudulunu [සූදුලුනු], Kannada bellulli [ಬೆಳ್ಳುಳ್ಳಿ] white onion, Garo rasin gipok, Bodo sambram gufut [सामब्राम गुफुत] white onion. and Indonesian bawang putih, where bawang is a general term for onion-related plants and putih means white (onion is red bawang). The Amharic name netch' shinkurt [ነጭ ሽንኩርት] also contains the element netch' [ነጭ] white. Lastly, a non-Germanic European example is Croatian bijeli luk and its Serbian counterpart beli luk [бели лук] white leek.

The Germanic runic letter for the sound L, , is commonly known as lagu lake, body of water; there is evidence, though, that this rune was formerly termed laukaz, which might have meant onion or even more probably leek. Being efficient preservatives, leek and its relatives were considered powerful magic plants by Germanic peoples. Note that also the runic alphabet was less used for practical than for cultic purposes. There are several mentions of lauk in the Poetic Edda: A nice example is found in the text sigrdrífumál (Lay of Sigrdrífa), where the valkyr Sigrdifa gives an apotropaeic counsel concerning beverages (useful, e. g., against poisoning): ok verpa lauki í lög and cast leek into the liquor. Another example testifying to the high reputation of garlic comes from the guðrúnarkviða in forna (Second Lay of Guthrun), where the heroine Guthrun employs a garlicky metaphor for her deceased husband Sigurth: sem væri grænn laukr ór grasi vaxinn as the leek grows green above the grass, meaning that Sigurth surpassed all the other warriors.

Allium karataviense: Turkestan onion
Central Asian species Allium karataviense

The German na­me of garlic is Knob­lauch and cognate with Dutch knof­look; short forms in regional use include Knobi, Knofel and the Yiddish form knobl [קנאָבל]. Folk etymology holds that the first element knob- relates to knot (because the leaves of garlic are frequently tied together to improve growth of the subterranean parts), but in truth, the initial kn cluster evolved from dis­simila­tion of earlier kl (Old High German kloba­louh, Middle High German klobe­louch). That element belongs to a verb stem klieb-, meaning split (cf. English cleave); deriving from Proto-Indo–European GLEUBʰ cut, carve, peel, it is related to Greek glyphis [γλυφίς] notch, mark and Latin glubere peel. The second element -lauch is, of course, equivalent to English -lic.

Independently, Slavonic names for garlic like Czech česnek, Slovenian česen, Polish czosnek, Ukrainian chasnyk [часник] and Russian chesnok [чеснок] also have a semantic connection to splitting and partitioning: Czech část, Polish część and Russian chast [часть] part.

An interesting comment can be made about the term clove of garlic. The English word clove has two culinarily relevant meanings, which one should never confuse: A subelement of a bulb (as in a clove of garlic) and an aromatic spice from the Moluccas. Both meanings are related; see cloves for details. Here, it should be noted that German Knoblauch and English clove are etymologically related and both hint on the cleavability of garlic bulbs. Garlic cloves are referred to as Zehen (meaning toes) in German.

Allium karataviense: Flower
Flower of A. karataviense (native to Turkestan)

The French name Thériaque des pauvres (Theriac of the poor) reflects the medical value of garlic. In the Middle Ages, an expensive and complicated mixture of mostly very exotic ingredients called theriac was believed to be extremely powerful against every kind of illness (snake bite, bone fracture, plague, …).

In classical Latin, garlic was termed allium, which is still the botanical genus name for garlic and related plants (leek, shallot, onion, bear’s garlic and chives). The origin of this word is not known. The only Indo–European cognate is Old Greek aglis [ἄγλις]; yet there have been attempts to link that word to a Celtic root all- burning, pungent. Most contemporary Romance languages have names for garlic that derive from allium, e. g., Italian aglio, French ail, Provençal aïo, Spanish ajo, Galician allo and Portuguese alho. The botanical species name sativus means cultivated.

Hebrew shum [שום], already mentioned in the Old Testament (see pomegranate) and its cognates Arabic at-thum [الثوم], Aramaic and Tigré tum [ܬܘܡ, ቱም] have a long history in Semitic languages, as exemplified by Akkadian šūmū; there is also a related Sumerian name, šum [𒋧, with plant determinative 𒋧𒊬]. Few non–Semitic tongues have borrowed that word, for example thom [थोम] in Dogri, an Indo–Aryan language spoken in the North Western corner of India.

Selected Links

Indian Spices: Garlic (indianetzone.com) Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Schnittknoblauch (rezkonv.de via archive.org) Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Knoblauch (rezkonv.de via archive.org) Plant Cultures: Garlic A Pinch of Garlic (www.apinchof.com) Medical Spice Exhibit: Garlic (via archive.org) (via archive.org) Transport Information Service: Garlic Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Knoblauch (biozac.de) chemikalienlexikon.de: Diallylsulfid Floridata.com: Garlic Dreampharm.com: Garlic (via archive.org) Gilroy Garlic Festival Garlic Festival Foods Advances in New Alliums (purdue.edu) Sorting Allium names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au) Guðrúnarkviða In Forna – The Second (or Old) Lay of Guthrun (cybersamurai.net) Sigrdrífumál – The Lay of Sigrdrífa (www.normanniireiks.org) Sigrdrífumál – Das Lied von Sigdrifa Guðrúnarkviða önnur – Das Zweite (oder andere) Gudrunlied Extensive garlic etymologies (mgabo2.livejournal.com) Recipe: Maltese Rabbit with garlic (tisjir.com) Recipe: Fenek Bit-Tewm u L-Inbid – Garlic and wine-flavoured Rabbit (geocities.com) Recipe: Spicy Portuguese Garlic-Roasted Pork (leitesculinaria.com) Recipe: Porco en Vinho d’Alhos (groops.google.com) Recipe: Carne Vinho D’Alhos (members.aol.com) Recipe: Aïoli (www.beyond.fr) Recipe: Aïoli (www.cooks.com) Recipe: Skordalia [Σκορδαλιά] (www.lisahemenway.com) Recipe: Allioli (www.cliffordawright.com) Recipe: Skordalia [Σκορδαλιά] (www.cliffordawright.com) Recipe: Skordalia [Σκορδαλιά] (zianet.com) Recipe: Tsatsiki [Τζατζίκι] (recipecottage.com) Recipe: Çaçık (Cacik, Çaçik) (recipehound.com) Recipe: Gan Bian Niu Rou Si [干煸牛肉丝] (Dry-fried beef shreds) (recipes.chef2chef.net) Recipe: Bagna cauda (www.gourmetsleuth.com) Recipe: Bagna cauda (italianmade.com) Recipe: Bagna cauda (gigirosso.com) Herb Monographs: Garlic (stevenfoster.com) Curious Cook Blog: Colourful Garlic (Harold McGee)


Allium sativum: Garlic plant
Garlic plant

www.botanikus.de

Allium sativum: Garlic field
Garlic field
Garlic is one of the most popular spices in the world, and wher­ever it was intro­duced to, it met enthu­siastic ap­proval. It is re­ported that in an­cient Egypt, the workers who had to build the great pyramids were fed their daily share of garlic, and the Bible mentions garlic as a food the Hebrews en­joyed during their sojourn in Egypt (see pome­granate). See also onion on the cooking of ancient Meso­potamia, where garlic played an eminent rôle.

In Europe, garlic has been a common spice since the days of the Roman Empire, and it was ex­tensively used from India to East Asia even before the Euro­peans arrived there. After the Age of Ex­plora­tion, its use spread rapidly to Africa and both Americas. Curi­ously enough, in our days Northern Euro­peans seem to be the only ones who look on it with sus­picion because of its strong smell, which is some­times felt unpleasant.

Some cuisines are fond of raw garlic. In parts of Austria, salads (based on lettuce) are prepared with vinegar, oil and minced garlic. The more Northern practise of rubbing the salad bowl with a halved garlic clove (and dis­carding the clove after­wards) is generally frowned upon, and the tasty pumpkin seed oil is preferred over bland refined vegetable oils.

Raw garlic appears in quite a multitude of Mediterranean sauces. Prominent examples are the Provençal specialty aïoli, basically a mayonnaise based on olive oil and enriched with garlic; furthermore, Greek skordalia [σκορδαλιά] a paste made from cooked potatoes and raw garlic, and Turkish çaçık, a refreshing soup made from plain yoghurt, shredded cucumber, garlic and peppermint leaves. A similar, but thicker, saucy product is known as tsatsiki (also spelled tzatziki [τζατζίκι]) in Greece, where it is often served to barbecued lamb souvlaki [σουβλάκι]. Many appetizers from West Asia (e. g., hummus, see sesame) contain some fresh garlic. Occasionally, minced garlic is spread along the edge of Italian pizza (see oregano).

A number of salads or appetizers with raw garlic is found in Georgia, where it is usually ground to a paste together with walnut and herbs like parsley, celery or coriander. Such a paste may be spread over fried aubergine slices (badrijani [ბადრიჯანი], often served with fresh pomegranate seeds) or may be mixed with vinegar to yield a dressing for tomato and cucumber salad (k’it’ri-k’amidoris salata [კიტრი-კამიდორის სალათა], usually topped with parsley, coriander and/or basil leaves).

Allium sativum: Garlic plants in a Nepalese garden
Garlic plants in a garden

In China, raw garlic appears in many salads, for example suan ni huang-gua [蒜泥黄瓜], crunchy cucumber cubes with a dressing of vinegar, sesame oil and garlic, topped with coriander leaves. Yet similar appetizers (also employing dried chiles, chile oil or soy sauce) are prepared with many more vegetables (string beans, steamed leaves) or glass noodles. A non-vegetarian example is hong-you ji-si [红油鸡丝], thin strips of boiled chicken breast dressed with chile oil and garlic. A mixture of finely chopped garlic and sesame oil (diluted with bland vegetable oil to taste) is often served as a dip on the table.

Remotely similar but rather spicy and salty snacks with raw garlic, often entire garlic cloves, are found in the highly original cuisine of the Newar people in Nepal. In ad­dition to the usual set of Indian spices (e. g., fenu­greek, cumin, and fennel), the Newari have a rather un­typical fond­ness for raw garlic and ginger, which appear to­gether with large amounts of fresh or dried chiles in cold salad-like foods that are enjoyed during the day, together with dry beaten rice and a bottle of beer: Choyela or choila [छोयला or छोईला] (barbecued buffalo meat dressed with dried chile, fresh ginger, garlic and an aromatic local mustard oil), satu mhicha [सतु म्हिचा] (small pockets of buffalo stomach stuffed with bone marrow), musya palu [मुस्या पालु] (green soy beans with sliced garlic and ginger) and the strange jala [जला], small pieces of boiled buffalo skin (with some meat attached) seasoned with garlic, chile and dark toasted fenugreek seeds. Another example is the lean raw buffalo mince kochila [कोचिला] mixed with mustard oil, which is usually served with loads of raw garlic cloves.

Vampyres have no chance in Vietnam, particularly around Hanoi [Hà Nội]: Freshly grated garlic is served in liberal amounts to spring rolls and soups in Northern Vietnam (see Vietnamese cinnamon for an account of the Hanoi style beef soup). The latter is an example demonstrating the subtle effect that can be achieved by adding grated or squeezed raw garlic to a dish that already contains cooked garlic.

Allium sativum: Garlic fresh after the harvest
Garlic fresh after the harvest
Allium sativum: Young garlic plants
Young garlic plants

Raw garlic may also be pickled in vinegar or olive oil. Since some of garlic’s aroma is ex­tracted by the liquid, and since little cell damage occurs before the enzymes get dys­functional, pickled garlic is usually very mild. Herbal vinegar (see dill) is commonly made with one or two garlic cloves per liter vinegar.

A unique garlic flavouring is the Tibetan garlic water, gog-chu [སྒོག་ཆུ་]. This consists of very slightly crushed garlic cloves that are left to macerate with water, sometimes in combination with dried Sichuan pepper. A few drops of vinegar may be added for pre­servation. The water ac­quires only a mild garlic flavour and may be sprinkled over salads; in Ladakh, it was also served to the national noodle dish, momo [མོག་མོག་] (see Sichuan pepper).

Usage of fried or cooked garlic is, however, much more common and found in almost every cuisine of the world. On heating, the pungency and strong odour get lost and the aroma becomes more subtle and less dominant, harmonizing perfectly with ginger, pepper, chiles and many other spices. An interesting example from Northern Italy is bagna cauda, a sauce made by cooking garlic cloves in olive oil very slowly, adding pungent fermented anchovies (acciughe) and puréing. In Piedmont, bagna cauda is served as a dip with raw or slightly cooked vegetables. Another Italian recipe depending almost entirely on garlic are the spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncini, boiled pasta with garlic and dried chiles shortly fried in olive oil.

Different Asian cui­sines make dif­ferent use of this very ver­satile spice. Many Indian recipes add garlic in an early phase, and it is fried for a long time to­gether with onion and other spices to pro­vide the basic masala; in the fi­nished dish, the garlic taste is no longer dis­cernible, but has merged totally with the other com­po­nents. In con­trast, although Indo­nesian and even Chinese stir-fries usually start with frying a few cloves of garlic, a faint garlic aroma persists until serving be­cause of the much shorter cooking time. In Indon­esian cuisine, mixtures based on minced garlic, ginger and chiles are frequently used to season meat pieces before roasting or grilling (see lesser galangale for details and see also lemon grass for the spice paste bumbu).

In Thai cuisine, it is common to fry garlic slices in very hot oil to a crisp texture, and decorate foods with these brown, crisp garlic slices. Yet other Thai recipes avoid the frying of garlic but prefer gentle simmering for spicy soups or creamy curries. Garlic is also an essential component of its curry pastes (especially the green one), see coconut. Similar custom is found in Cambodia, where pastes of garlic, together with chiles, lemon grass or ginger, are added to soups or stews.

Allium sativum: Welcome to Gilroy, California
Mural in Gilroy, the Californian garlic capital
Allium sativum: Gilroy garlic festival 1992 logo
Gilroy Garlic Festival

In the south­ern states of the US, garlic is also very popular. The small town of Gilroy (in California, not far from San Francisco) claims to be the garlic capital of the world; although not quite true, the claim seems plausible to every visitor in end of July, when the annual garlic festival is held and garlic recipes are evaluated — allegedly, they even serve garlic ice cream (see also vanilla). The Gilroy area is also the main garlic producer for the US market, as can easily be smelled at harvest time. There has been the saying that steaks can be marinated in the air of Gilroy. That’s clearly exaggerated, but not necessarily much so.

Gilroy mainly produces dehydrated garlic, which is more popular in the USA than in other countries. Dried garlic, however, also makes an appearance in East African cooking, and it is the characteristic flavour in the Georgian table condiment svanuri marili [სვანური მარილი] (Svanetian salt), a coarse ochre powder made from salt, garlic, coriander, dill, savory, cumin, blue fenugreek and a dash of chile.

Allium sativum: Drying garlic
Garlic after the harvest
Allium sativum: Garlic drying after harvest in NepalALT
Garlic drying after harvest in Nepal

Garlic consump­tion is also high in Central America, where the bulbs are, among others, used for Mexican mole (see paprika) and salsa (see long coriander).

Garlic is much less popular in today’s Europe, where it is used only with care, except the Southern European countries. Northerners seem to loathe the faint garlic odour that is emitted by garlic eaters even many hours after the garlic consume. There is no perfect remedy against it, but eating chopped parsley, hot showering and excessive tooth brushing will remove at least the greater part of it.

In recipes from North or Central Europe, garlic is normally cooked for a long time to reduce it odour; furthermore, its aroma is thereby sufficiently damped to fit better to the rather mild food of this region. Cooks tend to use garlic together with some Mediterranean herbs (thyme, bay leaves), but also with indigenous spices like juniper and caraway.

Cooks in Sou­thern Europe tend to use garlic much more liberally. It is com­monly com­bined with pungent chiles (e. g., Italian spa­ghetti aglio ed olio, spa­ghetti noodles with garlic and olive oil); garlic finely cut and sus­pended in olive oil to­gether with parsley leaves is often served to barbecued fish in Croatia. Garlic is a main con­stituent of most Medi­terranean sauces; some examples using raw garlic were given above. Food prepared with both red or white wine calls for some garlic: Rabbit stewed in red wine together with generous amounts of garlic and bay leaves is a national dish in Malta (Fenek bit-tewm u bl-Inbid), and Portuguese porco vinho e alho (fried pork cubes that have been seasoned with white wine and garlic) is delicious; the latter food was adapted to South West India, where it is known as vindaloo [विंदालू] (see tamarind).

Also, Eastern Europe has a lot of garlic tradition: From the Balkan to the Baltic, garlic is found in soups, sauces and salads. Serbia and Hungary have a fine reputaton for their garlic-laden foods, but also the Black Sea countries Bulgaria and Romania use it a lot. On the Eastern coast of the Baltic sea, garlic is often consumed in salads and other cold foods, preferably raw and squeezed; for example, small cubes of dry black rye bread shortly fried in oil with some garlic make a snack commonly eaten in Lithuania, typically to go with a glass of beer.

Of botanically related plants, onion is certainly the most important. Even more closely related is bear’s garlic, whose fresh leaves have some tradition in Central Europe.



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