# What?!?! No Garlic?!?!?



## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com
To each their own I suppose, but I guess it could be an interesting experiment too to try some things without it...


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I don't like garlic at all. Instead, I use asafetida, which has to be stored in a very tightly sealed container because it smells just awful until it's cooked. After being "bloomed", so to speak, the asafetida imparts a nice garlic/shallot taste without the unfortunate consequences.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Don't reckon garlic bread would be very interesting without it...
Sure it stinks - but so does shrimp paste. Depends what you do with it.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Just for that I'm gonna broil some 4-6's tonight... with garlic!


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## ninja_59 (May 2, 2004)

I'll back you up Kuan, I'll make myself a spaghetti with lots of garlic, I just love the stuff


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Doing without garlic would be about like doing without black pepper or onions.

No way!

If there came a thread about 100 uses for garlic, I could just about fill it with my favorites.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

Never gonna happen in this Gumbas kitchen Personal or professional. May use it in moderation but USE is the key word!


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## bluezebra (May 19, 2007)

I Lurves Garlic!


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## chicagodan (Jul 31, 2007)

Meh. What a bunch of fools. 

A favorite Friday night Shabat meal in our house is a chicken roasted on a bed of potatoes, parsinps, carrots, onions and about 5 HEADS of garlic separated, but not peeled. There is nothing finer than garlic cooked in shmaltz. Trust me, the chicken is not the star of this dish!!

Dan


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## oahuamateurchef (Nov 23, 2006)

This is not my favorite link!

How about a preservative-free ingredient restaurant instead?


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

That is nonsense about how quintessentially Italian garlic is, and how food without it isn't "traditional Italian" cooking. That's like saying there is only one style of Indian food, or Chinese, or American. 

If LaMantia doesn't want to cook with garlic, fine for him. And Rosella's book will no doubt be useful to people who are allergic to garlic. But to make it a crusade against propriety and history? Piffle.


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## scarecrobot (Jun 15, 2007)

That right there is a **** shame. Garlic has got to be one of the most sacred smells to me. It ranks up with salt for basics in the kitchen. I'll sometimes get requests for dishes with no garlic in them & I almost don't want to cook it because it seems like it must be someone with no soul. Brotherhood of the bulb baby !!!!!!!


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Yeah, he's this guy:


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

That's all I have to say on that subject.

Except that you all owe it to yourself to read Chester Aaron's "Garlic Kisses."


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Very bad message. Judging by the opinions above, I suggest the Mods banish people who abhor garlic from the site. 

They're most likely vampires.  Who needs to cook/trade recipes with _them_?

Sort of seriously, though...

It's been my impression that *the farther north from the Mediterannean you go, the less garlic you will find in the cuisine*. I'm not sure the Scandinavians have even heard of it... God knows what the Finns or Latvians do with it.

Garlic in Russia? Iceland? Well, Alaska, for that matter?

On the other hand, The Poles, who are not exactly semi-tropical, make very effective use of garlic in their sausages. So do the Germans.

So, OK- I'm really interested in information from people who are better-informed about these cuisines than I am.

Is this a valid hypothesis, or am I full of... umm, garlic?

Thanks,

Mike


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

Mike, some Hindu don't use garlic at all because of religious reasons. You didn't mention India, but I thought I'd throw that tidbit in there with all of yours.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Ok but there are probably very few Hindus who don't use garlic. I grew up in India and it's a good thing that garlic's really popular there


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Mike,
Interesting theory. My heritage is Latvian, and I can't say I've had a dish with it or any time with food while growing up. Never had it till I left home and began cooking for myself, and our cuisine ranged from German, Latvian to Russian and all areas inbetween. At least for the cooking we had at home. Maybe the parents didn't like it!

But what about South of the mediterannean? I think you'll find it increases. And probably continues all the way south (although I don't know if the Antarctic penguins like it  ). I don't know about southern african cuisine - anyone know if garlic is used there?

But - life without garlic??? <<shudder>>

DC

P.S. Good for the heart and fighting colds (and vampires) too


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

"Garlic in Russia?"

Absolutely, Mike.

In fact, many garlic varieties originated in Siberia. And the Georgian Republic is one of the largest garlic producers going. There's not a garden anywhere that doesn't grow it---often a variety different than the one in the neighbor's yard. 

Two of the favorite varieties grown by Americans---Red Toch and Chesnook Red---come from Georgia. 

Garlic is also found in the Ismamic republics of the old USSR, and some have been imported to the U.S. The variety misnamed "Persian Star", for instance, is one such.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

Whoops, I inadvertently posted this comment in the Vidalia onion thread, instead of this one!

I visited the Isle of Wight one year when they were holding their annual Garlic festival. I tried (BLECH) the garlic ice-cream. It was up there with sweetbreads as one of my least favourite flavours!

The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival


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## dr. zoidberg (May 22, 2006)

my two favorits are Garlic and Cilantro. I LOVE the flavor of Garlic (keeps the vampires away too ) but Cilantro.... WOW!!! I just LOVE the aroma left on my fingers after i've been chopping Cilantro.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

Me, too! In the UK, we call the leaves and seeds coriander, not cilantro.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

Here in the US, the seeds are coriander and the leaves are cilantro.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I love cilantro as well. Almost can't get enough of it. I'll sometimes make a cilantro garlic spread with natural cream cheese, and put a big shmear of it on a fresh jalapeno bagel. Heaven!

Shel


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## shortstack (Aug 6, 2007)

I love garlic in my cooking. I guess it's good to branch out but I am definitely quick to throw it in to things I am cooking. Although I don't think it works well with spinach...


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

I can't believe you said that, Shortstack.

Spinach cooked with garlic is the bomb!


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Spinach with garlic is a classic combination .... mmmm :lips:

Shel


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## harpua (May 4, 2005)

Ever been to a Chinese restaurant that uses no garlic or any form of onion? If they do it well, you never notice. Ginger kind of takes its place.

I guess it is a belief of some people in the Buddhist schools of Theravada and Mahayana from China or Vietnam that it excites the blood (sexual desire and anger).

I frequent a vegetarian Chinese restaurant with no garlic or onion and it is amazing food!! Better than our old family standby restaurant.


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Thanks for the interesting responses about the geographic reach of garlic. I'm a little better informed for your information.

I lived on the west coast of Africe for a year - quite a few years ago - in Liberia, and my family was interested in "native" cuisine, and I have no memory of any garlic. "Billy Goat" peppers, on the other hand... WHOOOOOOEEEEE!  I mentioned this before and several posters suggested the Billy Goat was closely related to the habanero.

But, for that matter, I had almost no exposure to garlic in Bethesda, MD where I did most of the rest of my growing up.

For the last several decades I qualify as what a lot of foodies refer to as a "heavy-duty garlic freak." Couldn't get along without it.

Fun thread.

Mike :bounce:


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## smylietron (Oct 15, 2007)

I can't imagine life without garlic. Went to an Italian restaurant a while back and, when I found out there was no garlic bread available (despite the rich scent of garlic wafting from the kitchen), convinced the waiter to bring me some roast garlic. My date was, strangely, not impressed.


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

I packed 2 kg of the stuff in my suitcase home from Portugal. Home grown purple,huge juicy bulbs...Anyone salivating yet?
Split 2 and put them in a med oven with 1kg of split organic cherry plum tomatoes and a good sprinkle of malden salt to roast. Basis for the most amazing spaghetti sauce.


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## luc_h (Jun 6, 2007)

Maybe it tastes bad or smells rotten but it's good for you:

BBC NEWS | Health | Why garlic is good for the heart

Luc H.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Hi Luc,

As you know, I frequently visit the World's Healthiest Foods site and subscribe to their weekly newsletter. They have some good things to say about garlic as well, although with certain qualifications:


> _Numerous studies have demonstrated potential benefits of regular garlic
> consumption on blood pressure, platelet aggregation, serum triglyceride level, and
> cholesterol levels. Routine eating of garlic may also help stimulate the production of
> nitric oxide in the lining of blood vessel walls, which may help to relax them. As a
> ...


WHFoods: Garlic

Regardless of the qualifiers - which is understandable in this instance - I shall continue to eat and enjoy fresh garlic. Hardly a day goes by when I don't enjoy a clove or two in my food. I'll stay away from garlic supplements and capsules though. Natural garlic (and natural foods) have it all over processed foods and synthesized vitamins, etc.

shel


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## smylietron (Oct 15, 2007)

All well and good, but must it be raw? I much prefer roasted or sauteed garlic to a plain ol' diced clove!


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## marzoli (Nov 17, 2000)

Until we got the Food Network on cable, I scarcely ever used any form of garlic-maybe (shudder) garlic salt, rarely-and then I started watching FN and now I can't imagine not having garlic in the kitchen. It's like a whole other layer of flavor. And besides that, it may even be good for me. So . . . the vampires need to stay away from my house.:lol:


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## smylietron (Oct 15, 2007)

Mind you, if you invite them in, you lose all power over them. Do not trust Romanian royalty.


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