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May 23, 2007
Did you know that Garlic .....
[Please excuse this old grainy picture shot with a 1.something MP camera way back in 2002. It was something I had to dig up from my old Singapore files, when to my utter horror I realised that I had not clicked a single decent picture of garlic in years ...]
I was browsing a gardening magazine recently and came across something very interesting. Did you know that when planted, a single clove of garlic gives birth to the entire bulb? The aricle was accompanied by step-by-step garlic planting instructions with pictures. I was mesmerised. The next time I went to our local nursery in Mount Colah "The Garden Bug" [cute name, isn't it?], I picked up some tuscan green' coloured self-watering pots and some organic potting mix. I am very excited about growing my own garlic. After the success of my fenugreek and coriander in the past couple of weeks, I am all set to experiment with garlic, sage, chilli and spinach. Wish me luck!
At the beginning of Autumn I was lucky enough to buy some beautiful purple garlic at the local markets. It is a gorgeous looking bulb with stripey mauve and violet streaks at the base. I roasted it whole with some chicken and veggies in the oven after dousing it in extra-virgin olive oil. It turned out to be one of the most delicious things I have tasted. The sharp flavour was balanced by a sweet after taste. Wonderful!
A few months ago, I noticed what looked like baby onions with thin, papery white skins in a basket at the markets. On reading the sign closely, I found that they were actually single-clove garlics. I didn't even know that such a thing existed. My curiosity was piqued and I picked up a whole bunch before I left. Much milder than the regular garlic, they were extremely juicy and delicious. How did I cook them? Well, I just used them in normal cooking like I would regular garlic cloves, which is such a shame. These pretty little babies deserved more than ordinary cooking. But we were in the middle of the move and I was pressed for time. I haven't found them since and I have looked!!
Here are some interesting and fun facts about garlic.
Did you know .....
-- that garlic has insecticidal properties and is often planted with plants like tomatoes, roses or eggplants that are bug magnets?
-- that if garlic is added to a dish when it starts cooking, it will lose its sharp flavour as opposed to be being added at the very end?
-- that garlic cloves are planted with their pointy tips pointed upwards?
-- that Egyptian slaves built the pyramids on a diet of garlic, bread and water?
-- that it is said to have originated in Siberia?
-- that it is a member of the lily family? [what!!!! how can something as pretty as lily and as pungent as garlic come from the same family?]
-- that the Egyptians worshipped garlic and placed clay models of garlic bulbs in the tomb of Tutankhamen. [The Egyptians sure did love garlic!]
-- that there are roughly 300 varieties of garlic grown all over the world.
-- that it can control acne.
-- that it is universally known as "the stinking rose".
-- that Chicago got it's name from the American Indian word for the wild garlic that grew around Lake Michigan - "chicagaoua".
-- that there is a thing like "garlic cheesecake" and it is served in the all-garlic restaurant of Stockholm.
-- that an all-garlic restaurant in San-Fransisco offers garlic icecream.
-- that China and India are the largest and second largest producers of garlic in the world.
-- that it is called "Ail" in French and "Aglio" in Italian.
-- that the city of Gilroy, California promotes itself as "Garlic Capital of the World", and hosts the three-day Gilroy Garlic Festival every summer.
-- that in some episodes of Popeye, prior to him eating spinach, sniffing garlic was his source of energy.
Posted by Gel at May 23, 2007 9:30 PM
