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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Cooking -> Garlic
 GARLIC
GOES GOURMET
by Debbie Whittaker
Wafting through the kitchens of America, escaping out of restaurant doors and
seeping from the pores of true aficionados, the pungent aroma of the
"stinking rose" lures its lovers with a Pied Piper attraction, as they
follow the scent of their much-revered garlic.
America’s addiction to garlic increased dramatically with the advent of
California’s Gilroy Garlic Festival in 1979. The annual event spawned garlic
shops, garlic restaurants, garlic publications, garlic festivals and dozens of
garlic contests across the country. Hostesses began to segregate their dinner
guests by those who loved garlic and those who didn’t. One fan announced,
"I just don’t think you can trust anyone who doesn’t like garlic,"
and a sign in The Saucy Noodle, a Denver restaurant, proclaimed, "If you don’t
like garlic, go home."
Garlic’s appeal is widespread and deeply rooted. But, as any knowledgeable
garlic expert will tell you, fans who confine their indulgence to the commercial
fare available in grocery stores have circumvented the true pleasures of garlic
nirvana.
Softneck or Hardneck?
 Garlic is categorized as either softneck, which proffers pliable leaves from
the center of the bulb in the spring, or hardneck, which shoots up a sturdy,
round flower stalk. The lion’s share of commercially available garlic is
softneck, whose characteristic thick skin enables it to last through the winter
until the following year’s harvest.
The tight skin and many small cloves make
softnecks difficult to peel, but their lengthy shelf life includes them among
the most ubiquitous ingredients across the country. Virtually all recipes that
include garlic were developed with commercially available softnecks.
There is no denying the wide appeal of softneck garlic, but to a growing
group of garlic gourmets, hardneck garlic is the ultimate in garlic cuisine.
Hundreds of varieties provide a cornucopia of flavors coveted by garlic
experts--from sweet to earthy, ranging in intensity from somewhat mild to hot,
hot, hot--all of them, of course, unmistakably garlic.
Hardnecks typically have fewer but larger cloves. Their thin skin makes them
easy to peel but considerably more perishable, lasting only three to six months.
For this reason, hardnecks are difficult to find except at farmers markets,
through mail order, and, recently, on the Internet. But the rare, pricey treat
is easy to grow, especially in cold climates, making it a natural for the Front
Range.
Most Varieties Grow Well in Colorado
 Producing less than a dozen acres of garlic annually, Colorado has never been
known for its garlic crop, but it doesn’t take a lot of space to grow
garlic," says Cecilia Schneider, who grows 27 varieties for sale at Tagawa
Gardens in Aurora.
The namesake of the center’s annual Grandma Cec’s Garlic
Festival, Schneider planted 6,000 cloves last year in a space barely 120 by 70
feet. Schneider’s favorite hardneck is the Yugoslavian Red for its large spicy
cloves although she actually prefers growing soft necks. The larger heads make
them easier to dig and clean, and only soft necks are suitable for braiding.
Most varieties grow well in this climate, basking in the full sun and
thriving through cold winters. "The farther north you go, the better the
hardnecks grow," says Walt Lyons, whose Yucca Ridge Farms is one of the
largest growers in the state. When Lyons started the farm, he was looking for a
crop that would withstand the cold, hail, winds and climatic conditions that
have proven disastrous for other crops. Garlic fit the bill. "It is
considerably more sensitive to soil conditions than climate," says Lyons,
"and it is surprising how results with a specific variety will vary from
year to year.
"All of the varieties have their virtues," says Lyons, who grows
several of each of the three types of hardnecks along with some of the more
exotic softnecks. Some grow larger. Some store better. And some can withstand
differing degrees of rain, drought, heat or cold.
Lyons recommends the Siberian Purple Stripe hardneck for novice growers,
which he labels as "practically bullet proof." Other hardy varieties
include German Red, Chesnook Red and the GSF(Garlic Seed Foundation) #65. Lyons
also sells the unusual Colorado Black, which produces large bulbs even when
grown in poor soil.
All varieties like well-drained soil, but the Purple Stripes, a sub-category
of hardnecks, do better in the dry, clay soil of Colorado," says Karen
Beeman, owner of Wee Bee Farms in Longmont, Colorado. Garlic is an easy crop for
the home gardener, but it is difficult to maintain organically on a commercial
basis because the weeding is so labor intensive. Crops that are planted in the
spring are seeded into soil that has been turned or plowed a number of times,
which reduces the weeds. Since garlic is a fall planted crop, the seeds take
hold through the winter and take off in the spring. With the garlic crop already
in the ground, each plant has to be painstakingly weeded by hand.
How to Plant
 The end of October is the best time for planting garlic, which establishes
itself through the long winter months. Choose a sunny location with well-drained
soil. Select the largest cloves from the largest heads and plant them tip end up
about 2 to 4 inches deep. Garlic needs to be watered about every 10 days during
the winter if the ground is not frozen. But stop watering about four weeks
before harvesting to allow the skins to dry out.
Harvest in late June or early
July when the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 of the leaves have browned and dropped to the
ground. Leaving the bulbs in the ground too long will weaken or burst the skins,
which are critical to preserving the heads.
Bundle the bulbs by their stems and hang them to dry out of the sun for
several weeks. Store the bulbs in a dark, dry, well-ventilated place, about
50-60 degrees. Cold temperatures, such as those in the refrigerator, will
stimulate sprouting.
Eating and Cooking Garlic
 Baked, sautéed, dried or fresh, the different forms of garlic are all a
garlic lover's delight, but garlic loses its intensity with cooking. Many
hardnecks are best added at the end of cooking or even eaten raw.
"I hardly
ever cook it," says Beeman. "I just chop it up and add it the last
minute of cooking. Several varieties like the German Extra Hardy and Red Toch
are actually best raw. They lose their flavor almost entirely when cooked. Just
slice them very thinly and serve with something like crackers, Beeman says. Raw
garlic can burn if eaten alone.
Although eating raw garlic would never occur to most people, garlic's
antibiotic constituents are mostly available only when garlic is in its raw
form. The blood-thinning properties that cause the bulb's effectiveness in
reducing LDL cholesterol and high-blood pressure are available in both raw and
cooked forms.
Cooking Suggestions
Homegrown garlic can provides far greater flavor than commercially available
garlic. Here are some of the best ways to partake.
Raw Garlic: Garnish
Stir one teaspoon of minced raw garlic into sauces, soups, stews, hot grains,
steaming vegetables or other hot foods during the last minute of cooking. The
longer you cook the garlic, the milder the flavor. For stronger flavors, garnish
the food just before serving, but beware! Raw garlic can burn if not diluted
with other foods.
The Rub
Whole cloves of fresh garlic impart a noticeable garlic characteristic when
they are simply rubbed over foods and serving or cooking bowls. Julia Childs
rubs her baking dishes with garlic before loading them with scalloped potatoes.
Recipes for Caesar salad include for rubbing the salad bowl with a clove of
garlic first. Scraping a clove of garlic over toasted bread and then brushing
the bread with olive oil showcases significantly more garlic flavor than other
methods.
Oven-Roasted or Grilled Garlic
Roast garlic is a fabulous addition to a great many foods. Whole cloves can
be tossed with vegetables or into salads when cooked, or the flesh can be mashed
and used alone as a spread or added to salad dressings, vegetable purees and
sauces. Even hot, spicy varieties become mild enough to eat by itself as a
vegetable.
Varieties recommended by various growers include: Shvelisi Pink hardneck,
which was the winner for baked garlic but is also good raw; Chesnook Red
hardneck, which stands up to cooking, and Inchelium Red, which is one of the
best tasting softnecks.
Preheat the oven to between 300 to 350 degrees. Wash
several heads of garlic and pat them dry with kitchen towels. Keeping the heads
intact, snip the tips from each clove. Brush the heads, especially the exposed
tips, with olive oil. Wrap the heads tightly in aluminum foil, and bake for
about an hour.
Dried garlic
While it might seem labor intensive, every year Barbara Randl, whose Randl
Colorado White became a staple at Garlic King Farms, chops her small bulbs and
dries them in a dehydrator before processing them through a VegeMatic. Homemade
garlic powder is as distinctly different as any homegrown, dried herb when
compared with commercially available products.
Stir-fried Scapes
Hardneck garlic, also known as top-setting garlic, forms a flower stalk that
proffers some of the most gourmet treats known to specialty growers. In the
spring, many garlic growers snip off the tender young scapes (flower buds),
which is thought to help the bulb maintain vigor and grow larger. The scapes,
however, make an unusual and incomparable stir-fried vegetable, known by some as
"Rich Man’s Asparagus."
A Sprinkling of Bulbils
If the scapes are left on the garlic plant, they develop bulbils, the seed
stock from which heads of garlic will develop after two years if planted. Mary
Sue Sedinger, who farmed the former Garlic King Farms near Pueblo with her late
husband Dean, uses the same technique for raw garnish with the tiny bulbils,
tossing them into soups, stews and other foods. According to Sedinger there is
very little difference in recipes created with bulbils with the skins on or
versions in which the skins have been removed.
Sources:
Wee Bee Farms, Longmont, CO, sells hardneck garlic for eating and planting at
the Boulder Farmers Market at Broadway and Arapahoe, Saturday mornings from 7-11
am from late July until early November.
Tagawa Gardens, 7711 South Parker Rd., Aurora, CO. (303) 690-4722.
tagawagardens.com sells hardneck planting stock from the beginning of October
until sold out.
Yucca Ridge Farm, 46050 WCR 13, Ft. Collins CO 80524. (970) 568-7664.
thegarlicstore.com offers many varieties over the Internet and a significant
amount of information, including links to other garlic sites.
Gilroy Garlic Festival, P.O. Box 2311, 7473 Monterey Street, Gilroy, CA
95020. 408.842.1625. gilroygarlicfestival.com holds an annual garlic festival
the last weekend in July.
Garlic is Life: Grower’s Symposium and Festival, Tulsa, OK,
garlicislife.com will sponsor seminars for members only and a festival open to
the public.
RECIPES:
Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme
- 1 roasting chicken
- 1/4 cup olive oil, or oil of your choice
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 1 lemon
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme (rosemary or lavender may substitute)
- kosher salt and pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Slip your finger under the breast skin of
the chicken to loosen it. Insert two sprigs of thyme in each breast. Mince the
garlic and add to the oil. Rub the garlic oil over the entire chicken. Cut the
lemon in half, squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the chicken cavity.
Squeeze the other half in the baking pan. Place both lemon rinds into the cavity
of the chicken. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Roast for at least 40
minutes, or until the chicken is done and all juices run clear. While roasting,
turn the chicken every ten minutes so that all four sides are exposed. When the
chicken is removed from the oven, allow it to rest about 20 minutes before
serving. This will give you a more flavorful, juicier bird. Lamb
with Garlic and Thyme
- 1 lamb roast
- fistful of fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- kosher salt and pepper
Pull the thyme leaves off the stalk by slipping your fingers on the stem from
top to bottom. Add to the oil. Mince the garlic cloves and add to the oil
Marinate the lamb for several hours in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with salt and
pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Brown the lamb all over in a heavy
skillet on the stove. You need not add more oil since the meat is covered. Roast
in the same pan until the lamb is cooking to your liking (about 10 to 12 minutes
per pound). Allow the meat to rest at least 30 minutes before serving.
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