Spice Nest
What follows is a Spice Nest article that looks at the popular culinary spice garlic and some of its uses.
Garlic
Garlic (latin name: Allium sativum) is a member of the onion family (Alliaceae) and as such is a close relative of the onion, chives, shallots and leeks. Garlic has been used as a culinary spice and a medicinal herb throughout recorded history. It has a very characteristic pungent aroma and a spicy flavour which mellows and sweetens with cooking.
The bulb of the garlic plane, which is the most commonly used part, is sub-divided into several fleshy sections known as cloves. These cloves can be used as seed for propagating more plants, for consumption, either raw or cooked and also for medicinal purposes. Most parts of the garlic plant are edible, including the swordlike leaves, stems (scape) and flowers (bulbils) which appear on the head (spathe) and are most often consumed while immature and tender.
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Garlic is used in the traditional dishes of almost every country in the world, including those of Indian, Chinese and Thai curries, many far Eastern dishes,Caribbean cuisine and most Arabic dishes. Mediterranean countries also use garlic extensively in their cooking, most notably French, Italian, Greek, Spanish and Turkish cuisine.
Garlic is the basic ingredient for the Spanish sopa de ajo, or garlic soup, as well as alioli, which is a strongly garlic flavoured mayonaisse. Turkish and Greek kebab dishes also rely heavily on garlic to provide the main flavouring for them.
As a healing plant, garlic is antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal, making it ideal for treating most illnesses and diseases of the human body. Its blood clensing properties are well known as is its ability to reduce levels of LDH, or bad colesterhol in the bloodstream. It can be used to treat cuts and burns. It's immune system boosting qualities mean that regular use can help to ward off colds and flu as well as other viral diseases.
For the maximum health benefits, garlic should always be used raw as it loses much of its health giving properties in cooking. Also, garlic should be finely chopped rather than crushed to preserve its health giving structure.
In the garden, garlic mixed in water is an effective aphid killer for roses and other plants where they are a niusance and you want to avoid using dangerous chemical insecticides.
Janice White
Spice Nest
