Cooking with Organic Garlic
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Using Organic Garlic in Organic Recipes:
Garlic is an indispensable ingredient in healthy, fresh cooking and found in a wide variety of organic recipes. Our recipes at Fresh Organic Recipes.com all call for using organic garlic. Organic garlic offers all the benefits of conventionally grown garlic plus the added benefits of reducing your exposure to toxins and pesticides, supporting small farm organic agriculture and increasing the amount of polyphenolic compounds (antioxidants) found in the garlic.
You may be surprised to learn that there are 100'S of varieties of garlic, not just the bitter, white softneck variety found in the grocery store. Garlic is part of the allium genus which includes over 400 varieties of garlic, onions and leeks. There are two sub-varieties of culinary garlic, organic hardneck garlic and organic softneck garlic. When you purchase garlic in a supermarket it is probably softneck garlic. Softneck garlic is easier to grow and plant mechanically and has a longer shelf life than hardneck garlic. Hardneck garlic has fewer, but larger cloves than softneck garlic varieties and a very thin bulb wrapper which reduces the shelf life of the garlic. Despite a short shelf life, organic hardneck garlic varieties are typically favored by cooks and foodies for their varied colors, subtle flavors and adaptability to cooking in high heat without burning. At our farm we typically turn to hardneck garlic when developing organic recipes or cooking organic meals.
Organic recipes often call for garlic either in raw form, baked whole, chopped or minced to be combined with other ingredients.
Raw garlic is extremely strong. One raw garlic clove, finely minced or pressed, will provide the same flavor intensity as a dozen cooked whole cloves. When garlic cloves are cooked or baked whole, the flavor mellows into a sweet, almost nutty flavor that hardly resembles any form of pungency. This nutty flavor makes a surprisingly nice addition to desserts, such as brownies or even ice cream.
Recipes typically call for garlic either in terms of a 'clove' or 'head or bulb' of garlic. A single bulb of garlic will contain between 6 - 12 cloves depending on the variety of organic garlic. An individual clove can be separated out of the bulb. Always remove the thin purple skin that covers the clove prior to cooking, chopping or mincing.
How to chop or mince organic garlic:
Healthy Eating Tip:
Garlic helps to keep the heart healthy! Scientific studies have shown that garlic raises beneficial HDL cholesterol while lowering total cholesterol. Garlic also thins the blood, reducing the chance of clotting and a study our of China suggests that allium vegetables, which includes garlic and onions, may reduce the risk of stomach cancer.
Garlic is an indispensable ingredient in healthy, fresh cooking and found in a wide variety of organic recipes. Our recipes at Fresh Organic Recipes.com all call for using organic garlic. Organic garlic offers all the benefits of conventionally grown garlic plus the added benefits of reducing your exposure to toxins and pesticides, supporting small farm organic agriculture and increasing the amount of polyphenolic compounds (antioxidants) found in the garlic.
You may be surprised to learn that there are 100'S of varieties of garlic, not just the bitter, white softneck variety found in the grocery store. Garlic is part of the allium genus which includes over 400 varieties of garlic, onions and leeks. There are two sub-varieties of culinary garlic, organic hardneck garlic and organic softneck garlic. When you purchase garlic in a supermarket it is probably softneck garlic. Softneck garlic is easier to grow and plant mechanically and has a longer shelf life than hardneck garlic. Hardneck garlic has fewer, but larger cloves than softneck garlic varieties and a very thin bulb wrapper which reduces the shelf life of the garlic. Despite a short shelf life, organic hardneck garlic varieties are typically favored by cooks and foodies for their varied colors, subtle flavors and adaptability to cooking in high heat without burning. At our farm we typically turn to hardneck garlic when developing organic recipes or cooking organic meals.
Organic recipes often call for garlic either in raw form, baked whole, chopped or minced to be combined with other ingredients.
Raw garlic is extremely strong. One raw garlic clove, finely minced or pressed, will provide the same flavor intensity as a dozen cooked whole cloves. When garlic cloves are cooked or baked whole, the flavor mellows into a sweet, almost nutty flavor that hardly resembles any form of pungency. This nutty flavor makes a surprisingly nice addition to desserts, such as brownies or even ice cream.Recipes typically call for garlic either in terms of a 'clove' or 'head or bulb' of garlic. A single bulb of garlic will contain between 6 - 12 cloves depending on the variety of organic garlic. An individual clove can be separated out of the bulb. Always remove the thin purple skin that covers the clove prior to cooking, chopping or mincing.
How to chop or mince organic garlic:
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Start by choosing a whole bulb of fresh garlic.
- Separate the cloves by rubbing the outer skin off and then placing the garlic bulb root side up on a cutting board and gently pressing down until the cloves begin to separate. You can also separate out a few cloves from the main bulb and leave the rest of the garlic bulb intact for use later.
- To peel garlic cloves, place cloves on a cutting board and
press down on the clove with the flat side of a butcher’s knife or chef's knife. With a sharp knife, cut off the woody end of the clove and discard the remaining skin. - To chop garlic, make a series of horizontal cuts on the clove (separating it into thin slices), then a series of vertical cuts (separating it into thin sticks). Then dice the thin sticks into small pieces.
- To mince garlic, continue chopping the garlic in a rocking motion: Keep the tip of the knife on the cutting board and move the handle up and down. Stop every few strokes and use the blade of the knife to draw the garlic pieces back into a neat pile before continuing.
Healthy Eating Tip:
Garlic helps to keep the heart healthy! Scientific studies have shown that garlic raises beneficial HDL cholesterol while lowering total cholesterol. Garlic also thins the blood, reducing the chance of clotting and a study our of China suggests that allium vegetables, which includes garlic and onions, may reduce the risk of stomach cancer.
