Conference turris::cooks

Would probably make a mellow "Sopa de Ajo" (garlic soup). Try a Spanish or 
Mexican cookbook.

or...

The "Frugal Gourmet" cookbook recommends roasting whole heads of garlic for
about an hour at 325 degrees, then squeeze out the paste onto a cracker for an
hors d'oeuvre. 

While I've got my nose in said cookbook, another:

Garlic Pasta

8 cloves garlic [or equivalent elephant?]
3T Olive oil
1/2C whipping cream
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2Lb pasta, cooked (pre-cooked weight)
Parsley (optional garnish)

Cut garlic into thin slices, saute in olive oil until not quite browned. Add 
cream, a little salt, lotsa pepper. Simmer for a moment to reduce the cream, 
then toss with the hot pasta, just removed from the water. Add lots of cheese 
and a parsley garnish.

-scott

    Elephant garlic IS milder than regular garlic.  As far as planting
    it is concerned its very easy.  Get a sunny location in the garden,
    break of a few cloves from the head, in the fall, plant these cloves
    about an inch deep or just enough to cover them.  At the end of
    the
    next year, or when the tops die down (they grow like onions) dig
    up the clove and your in business for the rest of your life.
    
    Rick

    I'm a garlic lover and found elephant garlic to be too mild.  I've
    baked elephant garlic and used it as a dip/spread.
                          

    This should probably go in the garden note, but...
    
    garlic requires a long season and PLENTY of sunlight to grow into
    big bulbs.  Also, use a nice sized clove to start with - don't
    try to scrimp by using a small clove.  I've gotten bulbs almost
    as big as the ones in the store, planting my cloves first thing
    in the spring.  This year I'm trying a few in my perennial garden
    so I can plant them in the fall, which is supposed to give you
    larger bulbs.  We'll see.
    
    Like most root crops, garlic likes a few applications of bonemeal
    during its growing season.  Harvest when the tops get yellow and
    start falling down - don't wait too long or the tops disappear and
    you end up hunting around in the ground for the elusive garlic bulbs!
    Dry them for a few days - if you have a lot, get a garden book and
    read up on how to make a garlic braid.  You can hang it up in your
    kitchen to keep the evil spirits at bay.
    
    --Louise

    Ya know what's really yummy,  Elephant garlic
    baked at 350 for 15 minutes.   MMMMMM, spread
    it on Pumpernickel.

    Here is another one to try...garlic pizza.  A place in Charlottesville
    Virginia named "Sal's" made it.  All they did was use shaved garlic
    (you know, like almonds) as a topping.  Fabulous!!!!

    I'm not a big garlic fan but I do enjoy it in just about any way
    I've tried it. Here is an interesting way to use it for a sauce.
    
    Take any good mayonnaise recipe but add 8 cloves of crushed garlic
    plus extra pepper. 
    
    This sauce is unbeatable over boiled new potatoes (leave the skins
    on).
    

Garlic lovers!  This recipe is for your favorite seasoning..and it makes
a wonderful spread on french bread.

Take two or three garlic globes (all the little cloves clustered as
nature delivers them) and wrap securely in aluminum foil.  Do not
peel or wash or anything beforehand.  Bake in a 250 degree F. oven
for approx 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours, until the globe feel quite squishy
when squeezed gently.

Cool until you can handle comfortably.  Separate into cloves, pinch
or cut off one end of each clove and squeeze the contents of the
clove into a small bowl or jar.  When you have squeezed all cloves,
stir the contents of the jar once, float approx. 1/2 inch of a
good olive oil on the top, cover and refrigerate.  this can be used
by the teaspoon full to season soups, stews, etc., rubbed directly
on chicken or meat for grilling, or as mentioned, spread directly
on warm bread and eaten.  When you bake garlic, it mellows the
flavor and "sweetens" the taste to something wonderful.

It will stay good for several weeks if always covered in oil.

I learned this from a printed interview with Julia Child, read it
approx. 10 years ago.

    
>    When you use this to put on french bread, what other seasonings
>   do you use if any?


I don't put anything else....you can add a drizzle of olive oil
(extra virgin or course) and some paprika and then broil lightly.

Tried your roast garlic recipe this weekend. It was wonderful. Have you ever
had chicken with 40 cloves of garlic? (My wife called your recipe "chicken
with 40 cloves of garlic, hold the chicken").

Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic
--------------------------------
	To begin with, you need an ovenproof dish with a tight fitting lid
that is big enough to hold a 4-5 pound chicken. Peel 40 cloves of garlic and
put them in the bottom of the baking dish. Put in just enough good olive oil
to cover the garlic. Add some herbs of your choice (basil, thyme, etc.). Next,
I usually put some celery, carrot, and a peeled, quartered onion in the cavity
of the chicken, but this is optional. Put the chicken in the dish and turn it
around several times until it is well coated  with the oil and herbs. Cover
and bake at 325 for about an hour and a half. The garlic, now softened, is
delicious spread on French bread. The chicken isn't bad either.

Note:
1) There is no reason to stop at 40 cloves, even though that is the traditional
amount to use. I once read an interview with Julia Child (I wonder if it was
the same one you read) on the subject of this recipe. It was entitled "Forty
Cloves May Not Be Enough." In fact, we always run out of garlic before we run
out of chicken.

    Cooking garlic also cuts the after effect on the breath.
    

>    Cooking garlic also cuts the after effect on the breath.
    
Also works to munch some parsley after you eat garlic...see, they do
have some reason to garnish with parsley sprigs!

    If you like garlic, there was a recipe in the "M" magazine (much
    like Esquire for men) for garlic soup.  When you try it you will
    really enjoy it if you especially have a cold.  
    
    Aigo Bouido (Garlic Soup)
    
    16 whole garlic cloves
    1 1/2 quarts water
    2 sprigs of fresh thyme
    2 cloves
    3 leaves fresh sage
    4 sprigs parsley
    2T olive oil
    1 bay leaf
    3 1/2 oz.vermicelli (optional)
    2 egg yolks
    1C graged swiss
    12 rounds toasted french bread
    
    Peel garlic and crush in a mortar (garlic press or flat part of
    knife).  Place all garlic and all ingredients except the last four
    into a 3 quart sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, simmer, stirring
    occasionally (30 minutes).  If using vermicelli, add it two minutes
    before soup comes of the fire.  In bowl for serving, beat the egg
    yolks with a wooden fork until thick.  Add the soup, strained, in
    a thin stream, beating contiously (BEWARE of curdling).  Add salt
    and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately w/bread and cheese.
    
    Yield:  6 servings
    
    ENJOY!!
    
    Laura

    
    I don't have a complete recipe for you, but at the Garlic Festival
    in California I hear that they serve chocolate covered garlic.
    
    From what I understand, you boil the garlic cloves in sugar-water
    until they become soft and "sugarfied".  Drain them on paper towels,
    and then skewer and dip in melted chocolate.  Supposedly the 
    sugar-water takes away the strong garlic bite.
    
    Let us know if you try it.
    
    -Leslie

    
          Garlic Pudding
    
    2 bulbs fresh garlic
    1 1/2 cups cold water
    1 cup sugar
    1 envelope unflavored gelatin
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/4 cup lemon juice
    1 tsp lemon peel, grated
    2 egg whites
    1/4 tsp nutmeg
    Custard sauce (recipe follows)
    
    Wrap garlic bulbs in foil and bake until done (soft).  Remove from
    foil and boil in water until flavor is transferred from bulbs to
    water and water is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups.  In saucepan combine
    sugar, gelatin, and salt.  add 1/2 cup garlic water;  stir until
    dissolved and remove from heat.  add remaining 3/4 cup garlic water,
    lemon juice and lemon peel.  Chill until partially set.  Turn into
    large bowl.  Add egg whites and beat with electric mixer until mixture
    begins to hold its shape.  turn into mold.  Chill until firm.  Unmold
    and garnish with sprinkles of nutmeg and custard sauce.
    
    Custard sauce
    
    4 egg yolks, beaten
    1/4 cup sugar
    2 cups milk
    dash salt
    
    In saucepan mix all ingredients.  Cook over low heat until mixture
    coats spoon.  Cool.
    

    Fry about 6 cloves garlic in 1/4 cup oil till brown, take it out
    and fry some cubed bread (about 1 cup), take it out and in same
    skillet put back the fried garlic, add a spoon of paprika and
    immediately add 4 cups of water, let it boil, add 1 boullion cube
    (beef or chicken will do) let it boil and add the fried bread along
    another cup of normal cubed bread, add salt (to taste) and break
    3 eggs on top, cover and let the eggs set, serve on earthenware
    bowls garnished with a spring of mint.
    This is a deliciioous, very typical Spanish soup (I mean Spanish
    from Spain, not South of the Border which is South America, not
    Europe).  Garlic lovers will love this soup. My only concern to
    get it right is...not let the paprika burn, add the water immediately
    after the paprika, as the oil is hot and paprika burns quickly.
    Buen provecho a todos!
    (recipe from Andalucia and Castilla la Nueva)

    I am hoping that somebody will be able to explain to me what I did
    wrong, or why this strange phenomena occurred the other evening.
    
    I was making scallops au gratin for dinner.  I started by taking
    a small pan, putting in some olive oil and butter and let the butter
    melt.  I then minced a clove of garlic and added it to the pan.
    I also added about 1 or 2 Tablespoons of chopped onion, and a splash
    of lemon juice.  I then put some heat under the pan and started
    to sautee the onion and garlic.  Lo and behold, my garlic started
    turning blue.   And the more I heated, the blueer it got.  It was
    kind of like an aqua blue color.
    
    So, anybody know why my garlic turned blue?

    I've had the same thing happen when cooking Chicken Verdicchio.
    
    I think it is the lemon juice that cause the garlic to turn BLUE.
    
    It is a little strange, but a real pretty blue!

Funny -- as soon as I read the title line, I said to myself, "she used 
lemon juice..."  I don't know why, I must have read it somewhere.  
Garlic and lemon juice can coexist when combined after the garlic has 
been cooked, but they don't like eachother early on.  I don't know why, 
and I don't know why the garlic sometimes turns blue and sometimes doesn't.

						>>>==>PStJTT

    Well,  I know you have been holding your collective breaths for
    the results of the dinner...
    
    We had 15 people and all enjoyed it to the max and the dessert was
    by far the favorite.  Thanks for the chocolate and pudding recipes.
    Both were spectacular.
    
    All the other menu items came from The Garlic Lovers' Cookbook Vol
    II.
    
    Appetizers were Wowchos (p21, unique nachos) and Garlic-Spinach
    Snacks (p26)
    
    Salads were Middle East Carrot Salad (p35) and Lucia's Vegetable
    Salad (p56)
    
    Veggie was Garlic Jalapeno Potatoes (p48)
    
    Main course was California Chicken (p124) {one batch uses 60 cloves!)
    
    Dessert was the chocolate dipped sweetened cloves and the garlic
    pudding.  Everybody was amazed at how tasty both desserts were,
    although a never-before-seen phenomena was observed: this group
    loves dessert and nobody wanted to be first to try it!
    
    Thanks for the inputs.  It helped and we had a great time putting
    it together.   BTW, munching some fresh parsley after pigging out
    on garlic helps the breath.
   
    R

    I noticed an item in the news the other day about the danger of
    leaving chopped garlic in olive oil unrefrigerated.  Some people
    got botulism poisoning from some commercial brand that had been
    stored on the shelf at room temperature over a period of time after
    it had been opened.  The victims suffered from eating garlic bread
    made with the spoiled mixture.
    
    

    I've just discovered the joys of cooking with garlic.  Can anyone
    offer some helpful hints on garlic?  
    
    What is the best way to store garlic?  I just put my cloves in a
    drawer.  I reached for a clove last night and found several had 
    sprouted.  Are they safe to use after they sprout?   
    
    What's the best way to get the oil out?  I have a cylindrical press 
    where you put the cloves in the cylinder and screw the base to press 
    the garlic.  You can also store garlic in this contraption but not 
    for very long.
    
    How do you get (or keep) the smell off your hands?
    
    Any other hints would be appreciated.
    
    Jodi-

    
    I heard that if you use a sterling silver spoon as a bar of soap
    under running water that it helps neutralize the smell of garlic.
    I know it works with onions.  If you don't have "good silver" you
    can pick up a spoon at most antique stores...that's what I did.
                                                                   
    DM
    

    Rubbing lemon on your hands or your cutting board will get rid of
    the smell of onions.  (And the lemon oil from the peel is great
    for the skin!)  This may also work for garlic.
    

    I've been using the chopped and pressed garlic which comes in jars
    for over the past year now.  As far as I'm concerned this is fresh.
    It's easy to use, I don't have to worry about getting the garlic
    smell from my hands, it lasts, and it's good.  You can pick it up in
    the vegetable section of your favorite grocery store.
    
    Julie

    RE: .10
    
    Actually I have tried the stuff in the jar, but for one particular
    recipe that calls for garlic (which I will share with you all some
    day), it just wasn't the same rich flavor.  
    
    Jodi-
    

    
    I won't get into the "fresh v. bottled" argument. In my mind its
    no contest, but then to each their own...
    
    You can store fresh garlic much as you would onions. Put them in
    a mesh bag and hang them in a well ventilated, cool, preferably
    dark place. You can buy perforated clay pots conveniently labeled
    "GARLIC" in some gourmet kitchen equipment shops that do almost
    as well, if you want to spend the money.
    
    The sprouts are harmless: cut them off and discard them before using
    the cloves.
    
    You can also store it by chopping it and bottling it in oil
    (approximately what shop bought bottled garlic is, without the
    preservatives used commercially). We (ie my wife - I rarely cook
    now) occasionally stir fry some garlic and store the garlic and
    the oil in which it was fried for a while (5 - 10 days perhaps)
    in a well stoppered bottle.
                              
    /. Ian .\

    
    Alternatively if they have started to sprout, pop one or two into
    a medium plant pot containing potting compost and leave o grow.
    You then will have all the garlic you'll ever need :-)
    
    /. Ian .\

    According to "the Fruge" this weekend, you can remove garlic smell
    from your hands by washing them with coffee grounds! If anyone tries
    it, let us know.
    
    Debbie
    

RE: .7
  >>I have a cylindrical press where you put the cloves in the cylinder and
  >>screw the base to press the garlic.
    
    I've owned every kind of garlic press known to man over the years, and
    I've never found one as effective as thoroughly mashing the peeled
    clove up with a fork on a cutting board.
    
    							Pat

    The best thing I have found for chopping garlic is the Cuisinart(sp?)
    mini chopper.  In ten seconds it chops them up really fine.  I do
    miss the smell of garlic on my hands however.  Just a little wierd
    I guess!!!!

    
    Mini-food-processors make great garlic choppers - we have a baby
    Oskar that is used almost exclusively as a garlic chopper.
    
    However Ann can chop it quicker with two Chinese knives (aka cleavers)
    than the Oskar does it, but then again...
    
    For pressing we tend to coarsely chop it then put it in a glass
    mortar and pestle and pulverise it (nothing special about using
    glass as far as I know - it was a present, and the granite and pottery
    mortar_&_pestles we have have other daily uses... using the glass
    one avoids getting garlic oil into other ingredients, and it is
    easy to clean.
    
    And yes you really can grow garlic - I've done it several times,
    starting as a 9-year-old when it was one of my class science
    experiments.
    
    /. Ian .\

    We use LOTS of garlic and Ive never been concerned about storing
    it because its gone so fast....I usually just put the head in the
    refrigerator.....however, this past weekend, somewhere I heard that
    all you need to is peel each clove, put in a glass jar and cover
    with olive oil and it will keep for months in the refrig....then
    you can use the oil in salads.
    
    As far as growing your own garlic, you can and its easy.....in August
    you plant one undamaged clove, or as many as you want, in the garden.
    Then next year, when all the tops die back, you can harvest it....but
    for some reason it has to stay in the garden all winter...
    
    Rick

    You can plant garlic cloves anytime indoors.  The tender green shoots
    are to be treated just like chives.  They are delicious.  Try adding
    some chopped shoots to a salad or on baked potatoes or..........
    
    They sprout in about two weeks.

    My brother-in-law got transferred, so they were moving and there
    was no difference in the price they got with or without the appliances.
    We were renting at the time but planning on buying a house, so we
    drove the 8 hours, got a side-by-side frost-free, a washer and dryer.
    When we got back, we stashed the stuff in the garage.  Next spring 
    we bought our house, moved the stuff, installed it, and opened the
    door of the fridge - SURPRISE!  Two cloves of garlic had been in
    there since who knows when!! Enough to knock you over! I can't believe
    they were in there when we moved; I mean I can't believe that at
    some point we didn't idly open the door to look in and discover
    them! If not that, someone must have put them in there while they
    were in storage - but I'd hate to think I know anybody that cruel!
    Which is worse - being stupid or not trusting your friends???
    
    We ended up swabbing it out with ammonia, lemon juice, bleach -
    anything to cut the smell!  We had one little fan aimed up and into
    the fridge, and another to help blow that air out of the house!
    Yuck!! It took a couple of days before we could even close the door
    and not be knocked over opening it again!

    Too bad I couldn't have reclaimed all that garlic-flavored lemon
    juice to use on fish!
    
    TW
    

< Note 552.15 by DLOACT::RESENDEP "nevertoolatetohaveahappychildhood" >


RE: .15
  >>I have a cylindrical press where you put the cloves in the cylinder and
  >>screw the base to press the garlic.
    
   > I've owned every kind of garlic press known to man over the years, and
   > I've never found one as effective as thoroughly mashing the peeled
   > clove up with a fork on a cutting board.
    
    I OWN A "SUSI" GARLIC PRESS. IT IS THE VERY BEST THAT I'VE EVER USED.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

CHUCK_WHO_IS_WAITING_FOR_ROBERT_PARKER'S_COOKBOOK_TO_BE_PUBLISHED

				GARLIC SAUCE


		1 Head of garlic
		3 Cups of heavy cream
		Salt and fresh black pepper


		Peel all of the garlic cloves.

		Combine the garlic and cream in a sauce pan.

		Gently simmer until the garlic is very soft
		and only about 1 1/2 cups of sauce remain.

		Puree sauce in a blender seasoning with salt
		and pepper to taste.




				CHILI SAUCE


		1 Cup of pure chili powder
		1/2 Med. white onion
		4 Cloves of garlic
		2 Cups of water
		1 Cup of chicken stock
		Salt and fresh black pepper


		Place the chili powder, onion, and garlic
		in a food processor.

		Grind ingredients until smooth.

		Gradually pour in the water followed by
		the chicken stock.

		Pour mixture into a sauce pan.

		Heat and gently simmer for 5 min. whisking
		as it cooks.  Note: sauce scorches easily so
		be sure to constantly whisk while cooking.

		Add water while cooking to thin to the consistency
		of heavy cream.

		Add salt and pepper to taste.

		Allow to cool before serving.
		

I had this for the first time in an Italian restaurant (Verdiles?) in 
Troy, New York. It's best with garden-fresh tomatoes, and making this is 
when I learned about the sweet taste of fresh garlic (over older garlic). 

	Slice large, very ripe (but not gone by) tomatoes about 5/16" to 3/8"
	thick and arrange slightly overlapping on an oval dish. One dish per
	person.

	Pour a generous amount of good olive oil over the slices, then top 
	them with paper-thin cross-cut slices of garlic cloves. Believe it or
	not, two or three cloves should be used _per dish_. 

	At various times I've also crumbled on some (just a pinch) rosemary, 
	sometimes sweet basil. I like this best when the tomatoes are at room 
	temperature.
	
	Deeelicious, but be warned that you'll advertise the garlic for a few 
	hours after enjoying this. 

    	Noreen:
    
    One of the most interesting ways I've had garlic was in mashed potatoes
    - yes, mashed potatoes!  Several years ago I had an excellent dinner
    in a family style rest. in the western part of Mass.  They served
    mashed potatoes that were the best I'd ever had.  After much pleading
    they parted with their secret.  To cooked and well drained, and they
    stressed well drained, potatoes add a generous portion of minced
    garlic that has been sauted in butter.  What you do is basically
    saute the garlic and then add the garlic and the butter it was sauted
    in.  For a serving for two, I usually use at least 4/5 cloves. 
    The second part of the secret is to use sour cream rather than milk
    when you mash the potatoes.  Don't use any water, only sour cream
    and top with finely minced chives.
    
    I think your family will get hooked on the above.
    
    Enjoy!
    
    Bob

    Here's an *exellent* garlic bread recipe from
    my sister-in-law!
    
    1 sm loaf of french or italian bread, split lengthwise, then halved
    1 stick butter (or margarine)
    minced garlic
    parsley
    
    Melt butter in baking pan in 350 degree oven. When butter is melted,
    remove from oven and place bread in butter, soft/cut side down to
    absorb butter. Turn bread so all sides are well coated. Spread or
    sprinkle minced garlic over top of bread. Sprinkle with a little
    parsley. Place back in oven and bake till top is golden and the
    garlic has darkened. UMMMMMmmmmmmmm :-)
    
    pat
    

A nice addition to any garlic bread, particularly the recipe just mentioned, 
is to sprinkle paprika on the bread before heating.  Adds a nice color.

Judy

    My daughter-in-law gave me this recipe.  Chop up onions in large
    pieces and mince 4-5 cloves of garlic in olive oil and after the
    onions are tender, pour over plain spaghetti.  My neighber said
    that he also adds anchovies, which I haven't tried yet, but I'm
    going to.
    
    I'll tell you, I never thought I'd like spaghetti with onions, but
    it was great.
    
    fran

 If you liked the onions over spaghetti, try this out..Saute your 
    onions in butter until translucent...add some minced garlic and 
    saute just a bit longer....be careful NOT to brown the butter..
    now add fresh heavy cream and reduce heat to VERY low.....add in 
    some fresh grated parmesan cheese...a touch of WHITE pepper and 
    just a dash of nutmeg...stir until thickened and then mix in some 
    pre-cooked pasta! You can add several things to embelish this.....
    vegi's, shrimp, clams...
    
    I'm HUNGRY!!!!!
    
    

     Two other recipes come to mind that I enjoy....they're easy to
    make and GREAT to eat!!
     1st is baked stuffed clams/quahogs. Select a half-dozen fresh,
    large quahogs. Slice open being careful to save the juices and the
    shell (to be used for stuffing!). Scoop out the meat and save with
    the juices. Thoroughly clean out the shells and put aside. Chop
    up the quahogs into 1/2 inch pieces. Chop up a medium size onion
    into 1/2 inch pieces. Mince 5-6 cloves of garlic....saute onion
    and garlic in fresh butter until onion is translucent. Add the quahogs,
    juice and all....cook approximately 5 minutes on high heat....I
    generally judge the quahogs to be done when they've become "firm"
    and their color changes to a brownish tan....to this mixture, add
    in worcestershire sauce (no measurement available here...it's "to
    taste") and a few dashes of tabasco sauce....cook this for
    approximately 3-5 minutes over medium-low heat. Now, just turn off
    the heat and mix in bell stuffing mix to the consistency of your
    choice....if you like your stuffing moist, then add less stuffing.
    If you like more "meat" in  your quahogs, add a can of chopped/minced
    clams...again, cook in the juices.....put the finished stuffing
    in the shells, sprinkle on paprika and bake at 350 for about 5 minutes.
    You may want to sprinkle on some cheddar or monterey jack cheese
    when baking...adds a nice flavor. Also, these can be frozen and
    reheated easily in the micro-wave.
    
     I'll be glad to provide a recipe for steamed garlic muscles if
    anyone is interested......??
    
    bon appetite!!
    

    Hi, Noreen.  I made a dish that seemed very unusual.  I sauteed
    sliced almonds and minced garlic in extra virgin olive oil, then
    tossed vermicelli in the mixture.  I sauteed the almonds for a couple
    of minutes before adding the garlic so that the almonds would brown
    but the garlic wouldn't burn.  It's delicious!  I've made variations
    adding crisp-cooked vegetables, like broccoli, pea pods, cauliflower,
    etc.
    
    I've also made garlic chicken.  Rub the skin with a cross-cut piece
    of garlic, then put thin slices under the skin.  And/or fill the
    cavity with garlic cloves, unpeeled, and roast as usual.  Later,
    take unpeeled garlic that's been cooked and squeeze it onto bread
    or crackers (like melba toast).  It's delicious, and not at all
    strong.  I think using fresh garlic is key, as someone else noted.
    
    Be innovative!  Any pasta, vegetable, or meat can use garlic in
    some way.  My aunt has never made a roast of beef or lamb that wasn't
    first rubbed thoroughly with garlic!  If you eat salads, try rubbing
    the salad bowls with a cross-cut piece of garlic first.  It imparts
    the flavor without having pieces of garlic in the salad.
    
    Good luck and have fun!
    
    Susan

    Stop at a farm stand on the way home (or, in August, go out to the
    garden), and get one vey ripe tomato per person.  As soon as you
    walk in the door, chop, and place, in bowl.  Add 1-2 T (per tomato)
    of the best olive oil you have. Add garlic to taste (I used 3 cloves
    for one tomato), by squeezing through a garlic press.  Add some chopped
    fresh basil.  Now, get changed and relax with a glass of wine;then
    boil the pasta of your choice.  Drain, and mix warm pasta with sauce.
    Toss with coarsely grated parmesan cheese and pepper.  Mangia!(Eat)
    
    Susan

  Yes, it's a lot bigger than "ordinary" garlic, and a bit milder.
  Anything you can do with it you can also do with ordinary garlic,
  though. It's easier to work with, because you don't have to peel as
  many cloves, but I'd never go out of my way to shop for it.

    Jeff Smith did an Italian dish with elephant garlic that I just
    saw.  He sliced the garlic in thin slices and sauted in some olive
    oil.  He then added some white wine,
    heavy cream, salt and pepper. He cooked this for a bit until it decreased
    to approximately half.  This was poured over cooked fettuccini and
    topped with lots of parmesan.  
    
    Looked delicious and I could almost smell it.
    
           Flo

  I've made my own version of this dish with black beans (in paste form
  from a jar), light soy (because the bean paste already has salt), LOTS
  of garlic, white pepper, black pepper, sesame oil, onions, water and
  corn starch. You can also add a little sugar if you like. Also,
  cloud's ears (sometimes called black mushrooms in some restaurants)
  just for looks (not much flavor in these), and bamboo shoots or water
  chestnuts, if you like these (in addition to any other veggies you
  might be using -- broccoli, snap beans, pea pods, celery, carrots,
  etc.).

  For a different version, use dried mushrooms instead of black beans.
  Use a lot of these (5 or 6 or more medium-sized). These should be
  soaked in water for several hours beforehand.

	When I posted the note in (.0), I also posted the same question to
    the Usenet "rec.food.cooking" newsgroup. I received the following
    recipe and tried it out. It's very good (tastes very much like the
    restaurant version) even though I improvised a bit. I made it with
    chicken instead of pork. I left out the salt and water chestnuts. I
    used a little extra garlic. Instead of "1-1/2 tsp hot pepper paste" I
    used 1 tsp chile paste. Instead of "1-1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes in oil"
    I used 1 tsp hot oil. I also added the "optional" water during cooking
    to prevent it from drying out. Preparation time was a little steep, but
    cooking time is insignificant. It was worth the effort. Here's the
    recipe:
    
The actual translation for this dish is, "Pork in the Style of Fish," which
simply means that the sauce was originally used for fish dishes.  I found 3
versions that were basically the same.  I am posting the one from, "Mrs.
Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook,"  Ellen Schrecker, Harper and Row.
 
"... Mrs. Chiang's version of this famous disk features an equally unusual
interplay of textures.  She gets it by adding fresh water chestnuts and tree
ears to the pork shreds and chopped ginger and garlic.  The combination lets you
experience crunchy, gelatinous, fibrous, and soft textures all in one mouthful.
 
Do not use canned water chestnuts in this dish.  If fresh ones are unavailable,
leave them out.  The texture me be less intriguing, but the taste will be
authentic.  It will also be hot.  Some Szechwanese dishes are more fiery than
others; this is one of them.  It can be toned down somewhat by reducing the
amount of hot pepper flakes in oil.  Don't omit them though; "yuxiang rousi"
should be hot.
 
 
 
            PREPARATION
 
3 medium pork chops	Remove all the fat and bone from the pork and slice
(for a yield of 3/4     it into very thin shreds, 2 inches long and 1/8
 pound meat, approx.)   inch thick, or about the size and shape of a wooden
    		        matchstick. (It is always easier to cut meat into very
			fine slices if you first put it in the freezer for
			about 10 minutes, until it is slightly stiff, but
			not frozen.)
 
4 scallions		Clean the scallions; then cut them (both green part
			and white) into shreds about the same size as the pork.
 
(pork)			Take half of the scallion shreds and put them in a bowl
1/4 teaspoon salt	with pork shreds.  Add the salt, sesame oil, and ground
1 teaspoon sesame oil   roasted Szechwan peppercorns to the meat and scallions.
  roasted Szechwan
  peppercorns
 
1/8 cup dried tree ears Put the tree ears in a small bowl, pour boiling water
1 cup boiling water	over them, and let them soak for at least 10 minutes.
 
1-1/2 inch piece ginger Peel the ginger and the garlic and mince them together
4 cloves garlic         very fine, until they almost reach the consistency of
			farina.
 
5 water chestnuts       Cut off the dark outside part of the water chestnuts
   (optional)		and chop them into tiny pieces the size of a match
			head.  (The water chestnuts should not be minced quite
			as fine as the ginger and garlic.)
 
(tree ears)		Before you drain the tree ears, make sure that they
			have become soft and slightly gelatinous,  Then rinse
			them thoroughly and pick them over carefully to remove
			any impurities, such as little pieces of wood, that
			may still be embedded in them.  Slice the tree ears into
			shreds approximately the same size as the pork and
			scallion shreds.
 
1 teaspoon cornstarch   Combine the cornstarch and water, then add to the pork
1 teaspoon water        mixture and stir thoroughly.
 
 
		COOKING
 
3 tablespoons peanut    Heat your wok or pan over a fairly high flame for
  oil			for 15 seconds, then pour in the oil.  It will be
			hot enough to cook with when the first tiny bubbles
			form and a few small wisps of smoke appear.
 
(garlic, ginger)	When the oil is ready, quickly add the ginger, garlic,
1-1/2 teaspoons hot	hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes in oil, tree ears,
      pepper paste      water chestnuts, scallions, sugar, and, finally the meat
1-1/2 teaspoons hot     mixture.  As you throw in the various ingredients,
  pepper flakes in oil  agitate them around in the bottom of the pan with your
 (tree ears, water      cooking shovel or spoon so that the little pieces of
  chestnuts, and        ginger, garlic, and water chestnuts cook without
  scallions)            burning.  Then stir-fry everything together, using your
1/2 teaspoon granulated shovel or spoon in a scooping motion to toss the
  sugar                 ingredients around in the pan so all are equally exposed
(pork and marinade)     to the hot oil.  If the mixture seems too dry and is
1 Tablespoon water,     is sticking to the pan, add a little water to it. 
  approximately         Continue to stir-fry the pork shreds until they are
  (optional)		thoroughly cooked; they will have stiffened and turned
			pale.  This whole process should take only about 3-1/2
			minutes.
 
1/4 teaspoon rice wine  Add the vinegar and mix thoroughly; then taste for
 vinegar.               salt and serve immediately.
Salt to taste     

    I went to a friends house for dinner and as they were preparing their
    meal - they mentioned to me that they were using 'garlic oil'.  At
    first I thought it was something you could buy at the supermarket
    but then told me that they had seen it on the 'Frugal Gourmet'.
    
    Basically they took any clean jar - put about 10 - 12 cloves of
    peeled garlic in it - and filled the jar with vegetable oil.  Olive
    oil breaks down - over a period of time - and turns either to mush
    or gel.
    
    So, I promptly went home and made up a jar with garlic and oil
    ...then another with garlic, oregano oil and basil; and one with 
    garlic, oil, Italian spices and red pepper flakes (hot and spicy).  
    
    I make a lot of soups, sauces and such - and the oil is great.
    I have a couple of recipes I made up and have served to company -
    if anyone is interested I would be glad to post them here.
    
    Marilyn
    

>    [...] Olive oil breaks down [...]

  You can still use olive oil this way if you like the flavor. Flavored
  olive oil is common all over Southern Europe, and garlic is one of the
  things commonly added. It's true, though, that it may go rancid,
  especially if it absorbs water, which garlic cloves have.

    There has been some reports on bottled garlic in oil
    as being poisonous/harmful - hate the word poisonous - but I think
    its the only word that describes the effect you get from this bottled
    condiment. Maybe its the length of time you would keep this before
    using that is the problem?
                               
    Jeff Smith also added some garlic gloves to red wine and let it sit
    for about a week.  I did this and it made a great deglazing media
    and well as adding that extra to sauces, etc.
                              
    Flo

    While I haven't tried the herbed or garlic oils yet, I do make my own
    wine vinegars.
    
    Good idea to start now!  Buy and consume Grolsch beer from Holland --
    in comes in the 'snap-cap' bottles I used to 'see' in Germany.  Save
    the bottles -- the consumption is only necessary to get the bottle!
    If you need help emptying the bottles, don't hesitate to call or send
    mail!
    
    In the Fall, when the herb gardens are ready to harvest, buy cheap
    red and white wine by the gallon and white vinegar in large quantities.
    
    Sterilize the bottles (not a bad idea to do them throughout the
    emptying and saving process to avoid build-up of fungi and other
    creatures in storage).  Heat equal parts of vinegar and wine to the
    simmer stage.  Heat the bottles in the dishwasher.  Put clean herbs
    (tarragon, rosemary, oregano, and garlic are my favorites -- sage gives
    an interesting effect) into the bottles -- best not to mix them!
    
    Pour in the wine/vinegar liquid and seal.  Put them away for several 
    weeks in a cool, dark place.  They make great gifts at Christmas --
    and serve as a constant store for your own culinary magic.  Not a bad
    idea to apply labels of contents and dates.  It's hard to see which
    herbs inhabit the red wine vinegars.
    
    Only problem is that next year you've gotta go thru the tedious chore
    of emptying the Grolsch bottles because nobody ever gives 'em back!
    
    Bon Appetit! Bill
    

    Re: .2!
    
    Yuk...wouldn't want to get sick or anyone else, for that matter.
    
    To be honest - I go through a couple of bottles a week (so I am
    constantly using a fresh batch) and I keep mine refrigerated...
    which is why the olive oil breaks down.  The bottles I use are
    the ones I buy the Olive oil in (Berrio...the smallest size)
    which is just right for about 12 cloves of garlic, spices and
    vegetable oil.
    
    Will look into this further though...and here I thought I had a
    good thing!
    
    Marilyn
    

    Odd.  I thought I just read in an article from Bon Appetit that crushed
    garlic in oil is harmful (will cause some disease that starts with a
    'B'?!) if it doesn't have any acid as preservatives.   Actually,
    manufacturers of crushed garlic in oil have to recall their products, and
    reformulate them.
    
    I will go home tonight and check which issue it was.  Meanwhile, go
    easy on the stuff!
    
    Stella

RE: .6

The disease in question is botulism.  There is a bacterium called Clostridium
botulinum that is part of the normal bacteria in soil.  It and its spores are
everywhere.  These bacteria release a toxin that is one of the most potent
poisons known.  These bacteria cannot live in the presence of either high
acidity or oxygen.  Since freshly-prepared food is always exposed to the air,
growth of botulinum is not a problem except with preserved foods where you have
(1) sufficient moisture to support the bacteria, (2) insufficient heat during
the preparation process to kill off the bacterial spores, (3) no oxygen, and
(4) low enough acidity that the bacteria can grow.  Improperly canned beans or
cold soups such as vichysoisse (sp) are common sources of the problem. The
canning prevents exposure to air, the food doesn't have high acidity to keep
the bacteria from growing, the food is moist, and it isn't heated thoroughly
enough to kill the spores.  Crushed garlic in oil has the same potential, in
theory.

Botulism isn't to be trifled with.  It is often fatal.

On the positive side, I would think this is really a problem with commercial
production of garlic-in-oil, which has to sit on store shelves for a long time,
rather than the home product.  Steeping garlic cloves in oil in the refrigerator
for a few days isn't likely to be a problem.

--PSW

  Ah, that explains why botulism must be rare from garlic olive oil in
  Europe -- everyone (including restaurants) makes their own, and they
  go through it quickly. It sounds like it would be a very bad idea to
  make up lots of it for storing or giving as gifts.

    From Bon Appetit 3/90 issue, page 56:
    
    The USDA has warned that minced garlic in oil --- without some kind of
    acid, like vinegar or lemon juice, to inhibit bacterial growth ---
    might cause botulism.  The agency has asked manufacturers to reformulate
    garlic products that don't contain citric or phosphoric acids and to
    remove the old versions from the market shelves.  And they've asked the
    rest of us to discard any homemade garlic oil made from minced garlic
    and prepared without the added acids.
    
    *********************************************************************
    
    I wonder if the same thing applies the roasted peppers that I stored
    in olive oil?
    
    -Stella

    what about whole garlic cloves in wine.....what would be the shelf
    life?
    
    Rick

    Looks like I opened a can of worms...pardon the phrase!  But, if it
    helps to inform, so that no one gets sick (or God forbid worse..) then
    I am glad I wrote it.
    
    I, personally, have used fresh peeled (not crushed) garlic and herbs in
    vegetable oil....which I refrigerate immediately, and use within the
    week.
    
    I don't know as I will do this anymore - don't want to tempt fate and
    it is better to be safe than sorry.
    
    Thanks for all the replys...nice to know people out there care!
    
    Marilyn
    

RE: .9

I don't think this would apply to roasted peppers--the roasting kills bacteria.


RE: .10

Garlic cloves in wine will not have botulism problems.  First, wine is a
potent disinfectant on several accounts (acidity and alcohol), and secondly,
oxygen can dissolve in wine.  So you don't have the low-acid, anerobic
environment that botulina needs.


RE: .11

>    I, personally, have used fresh peeled (not crushed) garlic and herbs in
>    vegetable oil....which I refrigerate immediately, and use within the
>    week.

This should never be a problem, since you refrigerate the preparation and use
it very promptly.

--PSW

How about if you heated up the oil with whole cloves.  Anyone have an idea 
how hot for how long.   And, if this were done in a small amount of oil (just
to cover the cloves), and then put into a bottle for gift giving or longer term
use, would it cause any problems with the oil?

 A pizzeria in Boston's north end has bottles of olive oil containing a dozen
or so garlic cloves on each table for those who like their pizza especially
oily. I doubt very seriously that they ever refrigerate these bottles. Is there
much potential for botulism here? If one were to replicate this at home, would
there be a problem there?

 The Doctah

    You can buy powdered citric acid in the grocery store.  It's often
    sold as "Fruit Fresh," since one use is to sprinkle on cut fruit
    like bananas and apples to keep them from browning.  If you want
    to add acid to olive oil/garlic without adding the taste of vinegar
    or lemon, you might try using powdered citric acid.  I think it's
    added to many preparations by manufacturers for just that purpose.
    
    Maybe someone else in the file might be able to give proportions?
    
    PS. regarding roasted peppers - the problem is that you roast them
    and then cool them in your bacteria-infested kitchen (all air contains
    the little critters) or at least carry them through that air before
    putting them in the bottle...I can just see those herds of bacteria
    swarming around the tray of roasted peppers...(maybe it's time for
    more coffee ;-) )...but peppers have acid in them - citric acid,
    to be specific so they may be less dangerous than garlic anyhow.
    
    Anyone know what the shelf life of garlic/oliveoil/basil pesto stored
    in the fridge might be?  Is basil acid?
    
    --Louise

RE: .15

Pesto is an emulsion, and as such, contains enough oxygen to prevent botulism
from developing (thank God that the Clostridia are very strict anerobes!  Nasty
family of bugs--in addition to botulism, the genus includes the bacteria
responsible for tetanus and gas gangrene).

--PSW

    
    A couple of months ago, Gourmet Magazine had a short one sentence 
    blurb about Sun Dried tomatoes in olive oil being a possible health
    hazard.  It gave no other details about the problem other than the
    fact that the FDA was investigating.  Anyone know if it's the same
    type of problem being discussed here ?
    
    - Larry

RE: .17

I don't think so.  Tomatoes have too high an acidity to be a botulism hazard.

--PSW

    Can some of you check your local gourmet/specialty shops next time you
    go for a specific item?  My Mom has a jar of "Cook's Classics Garlic
    Lover's Herb Sauce".  It's the most wonderful concoction. Can't even
    begin to describe it, except that it's great cold, as a dressing for
    macaroni or potato salad, or hot over linguini.  It has a bit of a
    vinegar taste, and is the consistency of creamy salad dressing, with
    dill and some other herbs.  Mom bought it at an herb farm in
    Connecticut, too far for us to go get more.  Sound familiar, or like
    something your favorite store will sell?  If you find something like
    it anywhere near Worcester Ma and Littleton Ma (and points nearby),
    please let me know!
    Sarah
    

    Can someone check their Frugal Gourmet books for "Chicken With 40
    Cloves of Garlic"?  I know reply .3 has a recipe for this, but a friend
    is looking for the EXACT Frugal Gourmet recipe.  I have a feeling .3
    won't do it for her, even though I printed it out.  I will need the
    recipe by Friday, if anybody has it.
    Thanks,
    Sarah
    

    
    
    The Gilroy Garlic Festival will be held this weekend!  I can hardly
    wait!  There should be plenty of delights to sample (garlic jelly,
    mustards, sausages, pastas etc.).
                                     
    Since I drive through Gilroy every day on my way to/from work,
    I have been getting a good wiff while all the harvesting has been
    going on the last couple weeks!  By the time I get home I ready to COOK!
    This is a recipe I used last night.  Yummy.  Since I live close to
    Monterey Bay and we have foggy, misty evenings this time of year, this
    was a real nice starter.   
    
    		     French Garlic Soup
    
    1 large leek
    1/2 yellow onion
    6 cloves garlic
    1 potato
    2 cups chicken stock
    1 1/2 C water
    Croutons
    Olive Oil
    Butter
    1/2 C Heavy cream (optional)
    
    Chop the leek (leaves and all), onion and potato.  Cook the leek 
    and the onion in about 2 Tsp of Olive oil and 1 Tlbsp butter until 
    onion is soft. Add the peeled garlic cloves and the peeled chopped 
    potato.  Add chicken stock (I used Campbells chicken broth) and the water.
    Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer about 45 mintues or until
    potato is fully cooked and soft.
    
    If you want this to more gourmet ("Gourmand" as I say), strain and then
    add the cream and heat through.  Season as desired ( I use white pepper
    and some Mrs Dash - spicy variety).  Top with croutons (homemade
    garlic ones of course).
    
    I have also made this without straining, and without the cream.  Just
    depends on the mood.   I find it to be a bit thicker if I strain it and
    essentially mash the potatoes into it as my thickening agent.
    

I stayed at a country inn in Vermont last winter and they had a very 
delicious garlic spread which I haven't found a recipe that would duplicate it 
yet.  It was very tasty and served warm.  The consistancy was that of 
extrememly soft cream cheese (although I couldn't tell if there was cream 
cheese in it or not by the taste).  They served it with lots of fresh bread.

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions? 


Thanks!

								Lisa-Marie

    I suggest you visit Idylwilde Farms, Acton or Fieldstone Farms,
    Littleon and look in the refrigerator section for Harry's Special
    [garlice] Sauce.  It's a sourcream and mayonnaise-based product of
    incredible versatility, with a month-long shelf life.
    
    I've served it with crackers, vegetables and chips as a dip, mixed a
    small amount with spaghetti sauce, used it as a chicken marinade,
    thinned it with mayo. for use in both pasta and potato salads, and
    served it as a sandwich spread or the perfect hamburger condiment. 
    It's terrific straight or as an ingredient - hot (wait'll you SMELL the
    aroma!) or cold.  A 12 oz. jar runs $3.49 at Idylwilde (only $2.99 at
    Fieldstone.  And soon it will be available in Stop & Shop.  
    
    I bless the friends of its creator who turned me onto this stuff; if
    you love garlic, you should give it a try!
    
    Sue   

    Gilroy, California is the garlic capital of the world.  Maybe you could
    ask the chamber of commerce for a few telephone numbers for local farm
    stands and call them.  (you'd be surprised at how many recipes some of
    these places have)
    
    Another option is to write a letter to Bon Appetit to see if they can
    get the recipe from the Vermont inn?  Did you ask the inn for the
    recipe and they refused?

try my "secret garlic spread" for homebaked french bread:


	Mix neufchatel (lite cream cheese) with 1/2 the same amount mayo
	until well mixed.  Season with BAKED garlic and salt to taste.
	You can add parsley and pepper for color.  

	Baked garlic, you say?  Yes!  Wrap a whole bulb of garlic, all
	peeling intact in foil and bake in a slow oven approx. 1 hour
	or until the bulb "gives" easily when pressed (pot holder is
	a necessity for this, of course).  Cool till you can handle
	the cloves.  Snip one end of each clove and squeeze the garlic
	into a small glass bowl (unless you NEVER PLAN TO USE THIS BOWL
	FOR ANYTHING ELSE AGAIN IN YOU LIFE - then plastic is okay).
	Stir the garlic around, smooth it out and float a little olive
	oil over the top of the garlic.  Store, tightly covered in
	the fridge.  Use in recipe above.

	back to the recipe....suggested amounts of all ingredients are:

		8 oz. lite cream cheese
		1/2 cup mayonaise (i don't recommend lite mayo)
		2 teaspoons baked garlic
		1/2 teaspoon salt
		1 teaspoon cracked pepper
		4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

hold in fridge for at least 2 hours for tastes to meld....add more of
or less of whatever to please yourself.

You're "Secret Garlic Spread" sounds wonderful.  I'll have to give it a try
this weekend.

The only thing I do remember from this country inn was that the spread was
served hot (it came fresh from the oven).  The woman who ran the inn as ill
and her daughter didn't know the recipe so I left without it.  

Well, if I never manage to get that recipe atleast I'll have lots of great 
"secret" recipes from this file!   :-)

Thanks

    I belong to the Country Living Book Club and just received a cookbook
    I ordered..."Garlic Lovers Cookbook" published and written (I believe)
    by people from Gilroy, California...the garlic capital of the world.
    
    If you would like I will bring the book in with me Monday and enter
    a recipe for a garlic spread/butter...I am sure there has to be one
    in there.
    
    
    
    

I would love it if you could enter any recipes from "Garlic Lovers Cookbook".
(especially the ones for the spread/butter).

How do you like the cookbook itself?   Do you know if it is available in 
bookstores as well?  It sounds like my kind of book.  I add garlic to almost
everything I cook.

							Lisa-Marie

    
    One of my favorite places to shop is called Garlic World. It is
    located in Gilroy, CA and is surrounded by garlic and (this year) 
    green/red pepper fields.  They sell everything you can think of related
    to garlic.   If your interested in the cookbook, I'll  see how much they 
    get for it...   
    

Yes, I'm definately interested in the cookbook.   Gilroy, CA is alittle bit 
of a far drive from Littleton, MA, so I would really appreciate any information
you can get for me (how much? how can I get a copy? etc.).   Thank you!

From Gilroy, the Garlic Capital of the World -

The Garlic Lover's Cookbook - ISBN 0-89087-272-4
The Garlic Lover's Cookbook, Vol II - ISBN 0-89087-420-4

Copyright: Gilroy Garlic Festival Association, Inc.
PO Box 2311
Gilroy, CA 95020
408-842-1625

Published by: Celestial Arts
PO Box 7327
Berzerkly, CA 94707

-Jack

PS. Deserts include Garlic pudding, Sicilian Gems (Grand Marnier chocolate
    coated garlic cloves), and Garlic chip cookies. Also, I believe there are
    a few recipes which are duplicated in both books (less than 10%).

    I just tried .14 this weekend.
    
    WARNING... SHOULD ONLY BE EATEN BY CONSENTING ADULTS!
    
    I was a little afraid of the work (single and little experience with
    roasted garlic) of peeling and mooshing the garlic.. but was pleasantly
    surprised that it squeezed out like toothpaste.  So far I've only tried
    it as a dip and look forward to spreading it on veggies.
    
    Since eating it, my cold has cured and I haven't been bothered by
    vampires.   In short,..  the best Dammned dip I've tried!
    
    Did I mention that it seems to be an aphrodesiac...
    
    Bob

    I couldn't find just 4oz ... so I increased the amount a bit.
    
    I could notice it in the aroma... but we are dealing with powerful
    taste!   I think it added to the flavor.  I would be good without it.  
    
    Bob

    
    I made this dip last weekend also! It was pretty tasty.  
    
    Used 4oz of bleu cheese and it was the dominant flavor!
    
    Could have refilled that cabbage 6 or 7 times - we still have 
    some left!
    
    I used whipped cream cheese and it was rather heavy for dip - could
    this be the reason for so many leftovers?
    
    Rochelle
    
    

    
    RE:14
    Oooooo  I have to agree...... This was the best stuff at the Garlic
    Festival this last year......  I was there and thanks for reminding me
    of it.   I have gone to this great 3 day annual event since it started
    way back...  Well back a while ago :) !!!!   And I have watched it grow
    from the first year that only 5,000 people attending to now with last year
    well over 250,000 went.......  What a great time. And you can smell the
    garlic from 25 miles away.......
    
    Robbin
    

    Re: .14 Roasted Garlic Dip
    
    I made this for over the holidays and there are two more people in hog
    heaven.  We put it on crackers because we couldn't get enough on a
    lousy vegetable - fast enough.
    
    Everyone asked for the recipe.
    
    Mary Lou

    
    I made a garlic soup last night and had such a hard time with the
    recipe.  Maybe you could help me out:
    
    1. Boil water, Add the garlic cloves, bring to boil again, drain
       and peel.
    
    	>> How does one peel a boiling hot clove of garlic?  I wasn't
        >> sure whether to cool it first or not.
    
    2. Becareful not to bruise the garlic when you peel it.  The
       bruised cloves will make the soup bitter.
    
       >> How exactly can you bruise a garlic clove?
       >> What does a bruised garlic clove look like?
    
    3. Bring stock to boil, add garlic and simmer for 30 minutes.  Whisk
       up two egg yolks.  Add a ladle full of stock to the egg while
       wisking, then pour the egg mixture into the stock pot.
    
       >> Well the soup turned very creamy looking, but had the consistancy
       >> of water.  My husband thought his spoon was carrying a heavy
       >> creamy soup, and his mouth was very surprised.  Also, the flavor
       >> just didn't make it. 
    
       >> I'm wondering if I didn't wisk the egg enough or is this the way
       >> it is supposed to be?  By the way, the recipe came from a Kosher
       >> cook book which means that if it was supposed to be a cream soup
       >> which a chicken stock it wouldn't get into the book without it
       >> being kosherized. (Can't mix dairy and meat)
    
    The accompanying garlic croutons I made came out great so we ate those
    all up.
    
    		aud...

>    1. Boil water, Add the garlic cloves, bring to boil again, drain
>       and peel.
>    
>    	>> How does one peel a boiling hot clove of garlic?  I wasn't
>        >> sure whether to cool it first or not.
>    
>    2. Becareful not to bruise the garlic when you peel it.  The
>       bruised cloves will make the soup bitter.
    
    What about peeling the garlic raw?  Hold the fat end of the clove
    between your thumb and index finger, apply pressure, and gently roll
    until you feel the skin separate from the clove.  This may increase the
    intensity of the garlic flavor since your not doing the first boil. 
    Why a bruised clove would make the soup bitter I not sure, unless some
    other chemical deeper in clove is released by damaged (i.e., bruised)
    section of the clove.
    
    --- Gavin

    
    I had garlic soup at Rocco's last weekend, and this weekend I tried the
    soup in .24 to see how it compared.
    
    Even though they tasted quite different, the soup in .24 was great. 
    Things I did differently from what the recipe said:
    
    	- I didn't use the WHOLE leek.
    	- I pureed the vegetables in a blender and added them to the
    	  strained broth.
    
    Next time, I'll use beef broth (I think that's what Rocco's used) and
    I'll use more than 6 cloves of garlic the recipe called for.
    
    Cara
    
    

    Garlic as a side dish? Hmmm... Does anyone have a cookbook distributed
    by the Gilroy Garlic Festival?  If it isn't served there, it doesn't
    exist: )  It sounds like it wasn't a "spread", which is what #522 seems
    to be.  Can you find out if it started out that way, roasted then
    squeezed out whole, then maybe stirred into a cream base for creamed
    garlic?  Or just squeezed out and tossed in olive oil and herbs? If you
    could give us a good description of the dish (as best you can, second
    hand), maybe we can suggest ways to duplicate it?  I would hazard that
    #522 would be a good start, then there may be other steps after the
    roasting to accomplish the final dish.
    Sarah  

    
    This recipie is from Newsgroups.
    
    Baked garlic is usually served as an appetizer, but we have a habit of
    making a dinner out of it.
    
    Start with one head (not clove!) of garlic per person for an appetizer. 
    Cut off the top (pointy end) so that the ends of the cloves are exposed.
    
    Make a "boat" out of foil, and place the cloves cut-side up in the boat.
    Pour a little bit of olive oil over each head, and then seal the boat.
    Place the package in a 325 oven for about an hour, or until all the
    cloves are soft.  Remove the top of the boat, and place the garlic
    under the broiler until the tops are slightly browned.  Be careful that
    you don't burn it this step doesn't take very long.
    
    While the garlic is baking, slice a loaf of Italian Bread in to 3/4
    inch slics and brush both sides with olive oil.  Place on a cookie
    sheet.   When the garlic comes out of the oven, put the bread in,
    and toast it lightly on both sides.
    
    We usually serve this with softened cream cheese.  To eat, we spread a
    little  bit of cream cheese on a slice of bread, then tear 4-6 cloves
    off of the head  of garlic.  Squeeze the garlic out of the paper
    "wrapper", and spread on the bread.  Yum!
    
    
    
    
    

    
    	I use my microwave for the recipe in .8.
    
    	Use wax paper instead of foil and nuke for 3-4 minutes.
    
    	Be VERY careful not to over cook because burnt garlic smells
    	extremely bad!
    
    	rjc

This is taken directly from page 176 of Volume 2 of the Gilroy books (for which
I've posted Publisher's info and ISBNs elsewhere in the conference, but I can't
find 'em right now.)

"		BAKED WHOLE HEADS
  One of the most popular ways to serve fresh garlic is to bake whole heads
to serve as an hors d'oeuvre with crunchy bread or as an accompaniment to
meat or vegetables. Peel as much of the outer skin away as possible leaving
the cloves unpeeled and the head intact. Place heads in covered casserole
or on a piece of heavy aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, dot with
butter, salt and pepper to taste and bake covered at 350 degrees for
about 45 minutes or until cloves are soft and can be squeezed easily out
of their skins onto bread or other foods.				      "


-Jack

    For a lower fat version, the garlic can be roasted in chicken stock
    instead of the oil and butter.

    My wife found a recipe using 6 HEADS of baked garlic. The recipe makes
    (I think) serving for six, an indescribable 'garlic custard'. It
    is served as individual appetizers in (probably) 6 oz. custard
    dishes. I'll bting in a copy of the recipe if someone will type it in.
    Recipe came from Gourmet, I think.
    Randy
    

    What I do when I bake garlic is take the whole bulb (if that's what you
    call it.....), cut just a very little bit off the top, so you can just
    see the garlic *meat*, pour olive oil over the top (not to to much)
    and bake with the roast/chicken/pork for the last 30 mins or so.
    
    SO SO SO yummy.....you must eat it hot, as that's when the garlic
    cloves (ya, that's what they're called) slip right out of the skins
    (I use a little lobster fork to pull the cloves)
    
    I served this to my Dad (taking a chance) AND HE LOVED IT!
    
    My husband also loves this and always asks for me to make it when
    he smells a roast in the oven. To simple to make for me to say "no"
    
    Give it a try

    Well I'm a garlic lover, so wasn't I mortified when last night, while
    perusing my Corrine T Netzer nutritional values encyclopedia (my bible)
    I stumbled on the fact that garlic is *highly caloric*.  What's the
    problem here - garlic is supposed to be a *vegetable*!!  However, one
    ounce of garlic has something like 40 calories, as compared to, say,
    onions (pretty high calorie as vegetables go) which has only something
    like 10 calories per ounce, or a "real" vegetable like green beans
    which have only about 3 calories per ounce.
    
    Doesn't matter much if you are only using a little for flavor, but I
    was hoping to try the baked garlic mentioned elsewhere...
    
    *sigh*
    
    So much for Diana's Cardinal Rule of Cooking: "Anything can benefit from
    the addition of either garlic or chocolate."
    
    D!

    I have to consume between 3000 and 10000 calories per day, if I can
    hold down the fat-calories and simple carbohydrates and boost the
    complex carbohydrates, getting more from garlic doens't matter.
    If green beans are that low it must be the fiber andf water.
    
    It's the daily total and the type that count.
    
    And, ahh, how many calories in an ounce of chocolate?  How many fat?
    
    ed

                            Garlic Whipped Potatoes
    
    2 Heads Garlic, peeled and chopped
    4 T Butter
    2 T Flour
    1 cup boiling milk
    2 Lbs. Potatoes, boiled and mashed
    
    Place 4 T butter in saucepan, add garlic and simmer for 20 minutes.   
    Add 2 T flour to saucepan stirring constantly until it is thick and smooth.
    Slowly add one cup boiling milk until sauce is thick and smooth.  
    
    Mash the potatoes and shortly before serving fold in the garlic sauce.
    Add salt and pepper to taste.
    
    Yummy!
    
     ^_^
    (>.<)
     ) ( Jeanne

    All I do for garlic whipped potatoes is throw a few cloves of peeled
    garlic into the pot with the boiling potatoes.  Drain, leaving the
    garlic in with the spuds, and mash/whip as usual.

S.O.S. - Super Omnipotent Spuds

The ondion and garlic flavor are suprisingly mild in this
light and fluffy potato dish.

	8 baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
	1 tsp salt
	1 large onion peeled and sliced
	6 cloves fresh garlic peeled
	1/2 cup cream or condensed milk
	4 TBS (=1/4 cup) sweet butter
	1/2 grated cheddar cheese
	1/2 vup buttered bread clumbs

Boil potatos, onion and garlic in salted water for 15 minutes or until
soft.  Drain well.  Mash potatoes, onion and garlic until smooth. Add
cream and butter and beat well.  Place in buttered casserole, sprinkle with
mixture of cheese and bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30
minutes until bubbly.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Pickled Garlic

Put 2 or 3 heads of garlic, separated into cloves but unpeeled, into
a small jar with a tightly fitting lid.  Add white vinegar and sugar
to cover adding 1/2 tsp sugar for each 1/2 cup vinegar.  Refrigerate
1 month before using, keeps indefinitely.

Pickled garlic is an outstanding condiment.

(used in Garlic Chicken with Plum Sauce recipe, qv)
    
I made this but peeled the garlic before adding the vinegar and sugar.
    
    ed

	Several notes have mentioned garlic requires a long growing season.
I'm writing to confirm this and to provide additional, perhaps new, information 
about garlic.   
	While vacationing in Maine last year, I ran across a newspaper article 
about a man who was having great success in growing garlic; in fact he could 
not grow enough to keep up with his customers, which included several local
restaurants.  The garlic was different from the usual stuff you find in stores 
- its cloves were larger and more regular in size and they grew in a formation
similar in structure to an orange.  My wife and I paid him a visit and we spent 
over an hour listening to him talk about garlic.  He was fascinating.  He had 
no garlic to sell but he gave us a small bag of garlic 'rounds' that we could 
use to grow garlic like his and a jar of his pickled garlic (made similar to
the recipe in .104 but he blanched the peeled garlic and used different
herbs to give them different flavors, even adding hot peppers for a 'bite').  
The 'rounds' are the seeds that form at the end of stalks and are about the 
size of small marbles.  He gave us detailed instructions on how to prepare a 
plot in which to plant the 'rounds' and when to plant them.  To be brief, he 
told us to prepare a well-fertilized, raised bed (to prevent rot) and to plant 
the 'rounds' the latter part of September for a crop in August.  He also told 
us to mulch the bed over the winter and to cut off the seed-stalks in order to 
get bigger bulbs, letting several grow to produce 'rounds' to plant for next 
year's crop.  
	We followed his directions religiously and have just harvested our crop 
- around 40 bulbs and about the same number of 'rounds' to plant this fall.  
Each bulb has only a single row of cloves that circle about a central stalk.  
The cloves in one bulb are the same size and even the smallest bulb had fairly
large cloves.   And, yes, it tastes the same as regular garlic.  We don't know 
what variety of garlic this is but are glad that we have it.  Next year we plan 
to let more bulbs go to seed so we can share our find with others.

						Mike Pelon

    it sounds like elephant garlic.  How big are the bulbs?
    
    ed

    
    The bulbs aren't as large as elephant garlic.  The larger ones have
    cloves about half the size of elephant garlic cloves.  The bulbs are
    very symmetric and there is very little variance in clover size.  
    Maybe elephant garlics were developed from this variety?
    
    
    					Mike

    I've been growing my own garlic now for 5 years.  Planting on the
    shortest day and harvesting on the longest.
    
    People are always asking if mine are "elephant" garlic.  They're not.
    I planted my first crop from ordinary supermarket bought cloves.
    But each year, the cloves have been larger than the year before.  The
    only fertilising I do is to dig in mushroom compost every second year.
    No insectide seems to be needed either.
    
    As for letting some bulbs run to seed, I let my whole crop run to seed.
    It doesn't seem to affect the bulbs underground.  If anything, it seems
    to improve the "keeping" quality.
    
    regards,
    joyce

Where are you, that you can plant on the shortest day of the year? Do you
plant inside then move the plants outside after danger of frost has
passed?

Thanks,

Art

	Since I stumbled across this note...

	Up until a couple of years ago, the only form of garlic that 
	I used was garlic powder.  Then I started using the crushed 
	garlic in the jar.  I like the convenience of powder and garlic
	in a jar but have found that the taste leaves something to be
	desired.

	For instance, crushed garlic in a jar absolultely destroys 
	Ceasar salad.  Also, I've been trying to figure out how to make
	Schezuan chicken with garlic sauce and just couldn't get it
	right.  Finally tried fresh garlic and what a difference!

	So, I'd like opinions here as to when the various types of
	garlic are acceptable.  I know that some of you will say always
	use fresh and that isn't the answer I'm looking for.  I want
	to know what sort of recipes absolutely require the use of
	fresh garlic.  In my opinion, spagetti sauce and garlic bread are
	pretty good no matter what form of garlic is used.  

	Also, for you fresh garlic addicts, if given the choice between
	jarred or powder which would you choose?  Would it differ
	depending on what you were cooking?

	Karen

    
    I always use the minced garlic available in jars.....
    
    

    I'd have to count myself as one of the "always fresh" users.
    
    The jarred stuff gets used occasionally, but not often. Not to 
    sound snobbish, but I don't even have garlic powder in the house,
    possibly more a reflection of *what* I cook, not how.
    
    The jarred stuff just tastes different, mayeb as an artifact of
    whatever they pack it in.
    
    Edd

    
    What about the tubes of garlic paste?
    
    

Some of the recipes in Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook call for 
both powdered and fresh garlic.  Chef Prudhomme says in his notes on 
ingredients that the two have a different taste and should not be substituted 
for each other in the recipes.

I always use fresh garlic in stir-fry Chinese recipes.

--PSW

re .109

>Where are you, that you can plant on the shortest day of the year? Do you
>plant inside then move the plants outside after danger of frost has
>passed?

The South island of New Zealand gets pretty cold Winters. :)  I plant them
outside, in the middle of Winter, about 2-3 inches deep, and they don't wait 
for Spring to start growing either.

My vege. garden was covered in 4 feet of snow last year, and the garlic
survived quite well.  Perhaps it's the Winter chill that results in the
large size?  All I know is that they're hardy plants.

regards,
joyce

I usually use fresh garlic, never even tried the tubes or jars.  However, I
always have garlic powder (never garlic salt) on hand for when I need dried
garlic, for example, to season flour for dredging.

    
    
    
    What is the process of planting garlic.    If I had some garlic cloves
    in my refrigerator and wanted to plant that, is there a good chance
    that these will grow?   When I separate each clove to plant them, do I
    leave the papery skin on them, or do I pull that off?   How deep.  I
    was planning on planting them in the garden right before the first
    frost,  how deep do I plant them, and do they need to be heavily
    mulched to survive the winter.   I'm in Massachusetts if zone makes a
    difference.   Can garlic even grow in Mass?
    
    Sarah

    What I did:   (I planted in Mass)
    
    Pick the largest cloves off of the garlic.  Remove any loose skin.
    Plant pointed end up, Making sure the soil is loose for root vegetables,
    as in turned over deeply so the garlic can spread. Plant each clove
    at least 8 inches away from each other, about 5-6 inches deep, in the
    mid-late fall timeframe.  The clove will send up a shoot, and will also
    set roots, and will go dormant after the first good frost. 
    
    Come spring, it will start to grow, sending up a stalk (mine were at
    least 2 feet tall) and flowering.  Towards July/Aug, the stalk will
    start to turn brown and die off.  When completely dead, garlic is ready
    to harvest.

re: .118

Do you only get one bulb per plant?  If so, I'd have to plant a large
garden full to satisfy our garlic needs. :-)

When choosing cloves for planting, I select not only the largest, but also
the ones on the *outside*, not the inner segments.  For some reason, these
outer ones appear to grow better.

I've never had a need to remove the papery skins.

re -1,  Yes, one bulb of mulitple cloves per plant.  I plant 24 - 30 cloves
per year, 2-3 inches deep, and about 8-10 inches apart.  This yields enough
to last me through the year, with excess for the next planting and for friends.
They really don't take up that much room.  They also seem to keep aphids away
from the surrounding plants, so why not interplant them with other things
if you're short of space?

regards,
joyce

RE: .119

You only get one bulb per plant, but you get one plant per clove from the 
original garlic head that you planted.

--PSW

    >>When completely dead, garlic is ready
    >>to harvest.

	i.e., the head simply won't get any bigger?  Is that all she
	wrote?  Or will it continue to grow if left alone?

What's the best way to store all those heads once you've dug 'em up?

Scott

    Scott,
    
    I leave mine out in the sun to dry.. this also softens the stems.
    Then just plait them with a bit of rope/string and hang somewhere
    dry and cool.  I hang mine in the kitchen.  They'll keep well if
    properly dried.
    
    regards,
    joyce
    

    
    Does anyone know how to make the following?
    
    My husband had garlic and toasted bread served to him in a 
    restaurant.  He said the top of the garlic had been sliced
    off, and you took each clove and squished it onto the bread.
    

	See topic 305.  I entered note 305.23 which uses garlic squeezed from
	the clove.  Very tasty imo.

         Lv

    I am looking for a recipe for pickled garlic.  The one in this file is
    a refrigerator pickle and I am looking for a "canning style" recipe. 
    Pickled garlic is available in the market I use, but it is VERY
    expensive.  Any suggestions?
    
    -jer

    Last week I ate at a restaurant in San Francisco known as "The Stinking
    Rose" that bills itself as a garlic restaurant.
    
    I had a delicious dish called "garlic chowder". Thick, creamy, and
    reeking of garlic. The only ingredient I could get out of the cook 
    was "italian bacon" (prosciutto?) and, of course, garlic.
    
    Anyone have a recipe?
    
    Edd
    
    P.S. Eat this with whoever you'll be spending the next day with, as
    garlic will be ozing from every pore on your body...

    I think they featured this restaurant in the series about spices
    on TLC, this episode featured garlic and was set in this place
    (I think) and centred around a totally garlic meal  (including a 
    garlic wine!)
    
    Monica

    I didn't see any garlic wine listed, but one of my co-diners feasted
    on garlic ice-cream for dessert...
    
    Edd

The italian bacon was probably PANCETTA, not prosciuto (cured ham).

    Of course, it may have been cured ham that was in there!
    
    Edd

    From Fine Cooking Magazine, OCT/NOV issue:
    
    Q:
    
     What are the safety limitations of storing fresh, chopped garlic in
    olive oil ?  I have several half-pint jars in my refrigerator, but I've
    heard that it isn't recommended to store garlic this way for more than
    24 hours, due to the possibility of food poisoning.  Is this true ?
    Can anything be done to salvage these jars ?
    
    A:
    
     You're not in any danger of food poisoning, but falling victim to
    stale, acrid garlic far past it's prime is a strong possibility.
    
     Once chopped, garlic immediately begins to lose its pungency,
    character, and taste.  Putting chopped garlic in oil only slows this
    process, and rather minimally: the garlic will retain a semblance of
    freshness for only 2 to 4 days.
    
     If keeping chopped garlic in oil still appeals to you, there are a
    few guidelines to remember.  Put the garlic in oil immediately after
    chopping; garlic oxidizes upon contact with air, which causes the 
    characteristic raw garlic smell and encourages discoloring and 
    decompositon.  Always keep chopped garlic in oil in the refrigerator.
    And, after the garlic's 2 to 4 day life span is complete, you can use 
    the garlic-infused oil as long as the garlic is removed and the oil 
    is stored in the refrigerator.  However, that oil should not be used 
    to store future batches of chopped garlic.
    
     On the whole, keeping batches of chopped garlic in oil seems more 
    trouble than it's worth.  Unless you use enormous quantities of 
    chopped garlic, I recommend chopping fresh garlic as you need it.
    
    	<reprinted without permission>

    I'd like to readdress the note stream in .11 - .14.  I have a couple of
    questions.
    
    It all started when I wanted to make garlic oil - really strong garlic
    oil.
    
    I put an entire head of uncrushed, peeled cloves in about 12 oz. of
    vegitable oil in a bottle  with a corked top.  I never considered
    botulism to be a problem because I was under the impression that it
    had to be in a completely anaerobic environment - like a sealed can
    or jar.  Since the bottle I was using is sealed with a cork, and I
    open it occasionally, I didn't think boutulism would be a concern.
    Should it be?
    
    In the "Olive Oil note" someone has apparantly been adding both garlic
    and oil to the same bottle for more than 6 months (as they use it). 
    That would indicate that it is okay.
    
    On another note, the garlic has been in there for about a month and it
    seems to have been producing some sort of gas (bubbles).  Not a ton
    of them, but when ever you sit it down for more than a couple of
    hours and pick it up, a whole "mess-o-bubbles" float from out of the      
    garlic.  Also the oil has become noticably cloudy - at room
    temperature.  Any thoughts as to what's causing these things.
    
    
    				Thanks,
    
    				   David

    
    	I did the same as you - garlic and oil in a corked bottle. And I
    	witnessed the same things too - bubbles around the garlic and the
    	oil becoming very cloudy. 

    	The milky cloudiness and bubbles scared me, so I threw mine out.
    	It's not worth any doubt. Nor did it look too appetizing either. 
    	I just stay with my store-bought brands of garlic oil now, I don't
    	seem to use as much of it as I feared I would (at exorbitant
    	only-available-at-gourmet-store prices).

    	-Erik

    RE: -.1
    
    Yeah, I came to the same conclusion last night and tossed out the oil.
    It was a nice thought, if the work was minimal, but this has turned
    into much more trouble than its worth.
    
    I also agree about the cloudy oil.  Not very appealing.
    
    
    
    				-David

RE: .134

Who are you going to trust more on this issue, a cooking magazine or 
the Centers for Disease Control?  There *have* been cases of botulism 
from garlic stored in oil.  In my book, that's enough to keep me from 
fooling around with it.


RE: .135

Oxygen does not dissolve in oil to any appreciable degree.  This is 
why the ancient Greeks and Romans put a layer of oil on top of wine 
stored in jars, and why oil is poured on ponds to stop mosquitoes 
from breeding.  Thus, the oil provides a perfect anaerobic 
environment for the growth of Clostridium botulinum.

The bubbles you're seeing are the result of anaerobic fermentation, 
either by the still-living garlic cloves themselves, or by bacteria 
or yeasts living on the cloves.  Since you also see cloudiness, it's 
most likely bacteria.  Obviously it's not Clostridium botulinum, 
since you're still alive to write about it.

--PSW

>Oxygen does not dissolve in oil to any appreciable degree.  This is 
>why the ancient Greeks and Romans put a layer of oil on top of wine 
>stored in jars, and why oil is poured on ponds to stop mosquitoes 
>from breeding.  Thus, the oil provides a perfect anaerobic 
>environment for the growth of Clostridium botulinum.

    Very interesting.
    
>The bubbles you're seeing are the result of anaerobic fermentation, 
>either by the still-living garlic cloves themselves, or by bacteria 
>or yeasts living on the cloves.  Since you also see cloudiness, it's 
>most likely bacteria.  Obviously it's not Clostridium botulinum, 
>since you're still alive to write about it.

    Not necessarily.  There was too much "activity" in the bottle, so
    I decided to be prudent and not use it.  As I mentioned in my last
    note, the whole thing got the "heave" last night, after deciding
    that the garlic oil wasn't worth the mental energy I have been spending
    on this - let alone the actual processing of the garlic.  
    
    
    				Thanks,
    
    				  David 

    
    Despite what one may or may not want to believe about storing garlic
    in oil, based on the article I entered a few notes back, why would 
    one want to bother ?  Doesn't sound like there's any benefit to be
    had by doing so.  One can always buy liquid garlic juice if you need
    to flavor something where you don't actually cook the garlic in oil.
    
     I'm not saying I don't believe that garlic stored in oil may cause 
    botulism, and I'm not concerned since I won't be doing it, but despite
    all of the literature I've read, this notesfile is the only place I've
    seen this mentioned.  And the original reference that I saw at the 
    beginning of the string was a warning from the USDA that garlic stored
    in oil _may_ cause botulism.  This sounds like they don't know for 
    certain.  Whatever, your arguments concerning the perfect growth medium
    for botulism certainly sound valid to me.  I will continue to use fresh
    garlic as needed and either saute it in oil to flavor the oil on demand,
    or use the liquid garlic juice(very good).
    
    Lv

 I was somewhat surprised to find only one reference in here to
 pickled garlic (Ed's .104). I was even more surprised to find
 that out of all the cookbooks I have at home, including both
 volumes of the Garlic Lovers' Cookbook, I can't find a single
 recipe for Pickled Garlic which offers some variants on the
 spices/method. Can I assume that most recipes for pickling
 onions should work? (If anyone has a good pickled garlic recipe
 I'd love to see it.)

    the garlic in the bottom of our pickles seems to come out quite tasty.  
    
    1 part water, 2 parts white vinegar (4% the cheap kind), 1/8th part 
    pickling or Kosher salt.
    
    bring to a boil
    
    Scrub gerkin cucumbers (or maybe in this case peeled garlic) well and
    dry with a clean towel.  (this is to make sure you get all the moldies
    and muddies off the cukes.)
    
    Pack tightly into hot sterilized 1qt jars with 1 clove (the spice kind), 
    five black peppercorns, 1 or 2 dill flowers, and a couple of chili
    pequins.  With cukes we usually add two large peeled cloves of garlic.
    
    Pour the boiling brine over the jar leaving 1/2 inch of headroom seal
    the jars and process for fifteen minutes (At my altitude approx 6K ft.) 
    in a hot water bath.  Let sit for at least two weeks before sampling
    These keep well outsie of the fridge (when processed in the water bath. 
    If you choose not to water bath, I would keep them in the fridge.
    
    meg

Last November, in an experiment inspired by something I read in here, I
stuck six garlic cloves down about six inches in the dirt in my little
garden. I forgot all about them all winter (I'm in New Hampshire). Well,
I now have six plants shooting up, varying from 4" to 8" tall! What do I
do now? Wait until August? Do they have to fall over and turn brown
before I pick them?

Art
(who is very surprised by this)

  .143 Same here, only it was seven and I didn't bury 'em that deep.
       Pretty cool, eh? ;>  


  Diane

You harvest garlic as soon as the "greens" fall over, and before they turn
brown.

Actually, you can harvest them just as they flower, as well. The difference
is that the head that's harvested later lasts less long.

Can you also eat the greens, like garlic chives?

Laura

    
    
    Rep .146  Laura
    
    >>>Can you also eat the greens, like garlic chives?
    
      Yes, you can.
    
    -mike
    

    	And it'll probably be in July and not August that they'll be ready
    to harvest. Dig them up, wipe off the bulk of the dirt (but don't worry
    about a little dirt), and then hang them up to dry someplace "cool" and
    dry for 10-14 days. I tie string around the greens and hang the bunch
    up in my garage. Then take them down, cut the greens off, wipe off the
    excess, dry dirt along with an outer layer of husk, and store someplace
    cool and dry. I got about 25 heads of garlic last year. Good stuff.

    Is the taste affected by when the garlic is harvested?  If you
    wait to harvest, does it get stronger?  Just curious.

    The only thing that is affected when you harvest garlic is the size of
    the bulbs and cloves and how long it will store.  Since I like nice,
    big cloves, and also like to store mine through the winter until I get
    more (haven't been able to grow enough to make that a reality yet)  I
    let my tops completely die down before harvest.  
    
    meg

    	Not sure if garlic grows like onions, but last year we planted
    onions and they did not do well. I left them there thinking that they
    all died. This year we have a bunch of onions alive and well. 
    
    	Not sure if I planted them too late or what, but they were up and
    lived through the last two snow storms this year. They were about
    quarter-sized last year. Perhaps they'll be full grown this year ?
    
    	Ray

    sounds like your soil was too heavy or that you used a bunching onion
    variety.  we had "necky" onions last year due to heavy soil from too
    wet a season.  slicing them and putting them in the dehydrator was our
    solution.  Note from personal experience; if you do this set the
    dehydrator outside for the first few hours, or learn the true meaning
    of nature's teargas.  It lingers for days in the house.
    
    my eyes finally clered up after about four days.
    
    meg

    Also in Gilroy is another company, Festival (?). They were here for the
    Tempe Arts Fair and I ordered from them for X-mas. The pickled garlic
    and garlic olives are really good. The pickled comes in a variety of
    heats, including jalapeno.
    
    Their # is 1-888-GARLICFEST
    
    Jim
    
    PS - The galic mustards are good, too.