It's no surprise that so many recipes call for garlic–it reliably adds delicious aroma and depth of flavor to whatever you're cooking. The popular allium has numerous health benefits due to the presence of allicin, the compound in garlic that's also responsible for its aroma. Preparing garlic in certain ways can both boost its flavor and enhance its health benefits. Read on to find out how to prepare and cook with garlic for maximum potency. Plus, learn how to cure garlic breath and get rid of smelly garlic hands.
To get the most health benefits from garlic, always choose fresh over bottled. Allicin–a helpful immune-boosting and cancer-fighting compound–is most potent in fresh cloves. Japanese researchers found that crushed garlic stored in water lost about half its allicin in six days; stored in vegetable oil it lost that much in under three hours.
2. For Maximum Health Benefits, Cut Garlic and Wait
Cutting a garlic clove breaks its cells and releases stored enzymes that react with oxygen. That triggers healthy sulfide compounds, such as allicin, to form. Letting the chopped garlic stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking allows the compounds to fully develop before heat inactivates the enzymes.
3. What's the Best Way to Prep Garlic: Crush, Mince or Mash?
The more you damage garlic's cell walls, the more sulfide-transforming enzymes you release-and with them, more pungent garlic flavor. Since crushing breaks the most cells, crushed garlic cloves taste stronger, whereas coarsely chopped or sliced garlic cloves taste milder. Intact garlic cloves are mildest of all. Mashing minced garlic with a pinch of coarse salt can help tame the harsh flavor.
Instead of a garlic press, you can use a chef's knife to crush the garlic. With this method, you don't have to peel the garlic to remove the papery skin first, making it an efficient method.
To do this, lay the flat side of the knife on top of a clove of garlic. Place the heel of your hand toward the spine of the knife (not on top of the blade) and press down on the knife with the palm of your hand using your weight to smash it, separating the clove from the skin. Remove the skin, then trim the root end.
How to Mince Garlic
Follow the steps for crushing garlic. After removing the skin, finely chop the garlic, pushing the chopped garlic into a pile and wiping any that's collected on your knife blade back onto the cutting board. Continuously run your knife through the pile until the garlic pieces are minced to your desired size.
How to Mash Garlic into a Paste
Follow the steps for crushing and mincing the garlic. Sprinkle the minced garlic with a generous pinch of salt. Use the broad side of the knife (or a fork) to press and smear until it's a paste. Need to mash lots of cloves at once? Simply remove the cloves from the garlic bulb, peel the cloves, then place them in a zip-top bag. Press the air out of the bag, and use a rolling pin to mash multiple cloves.
4. How to Get Rid of Garlic Breath and Garlic Smell from Hands
To get rid of garlic breath: Brush, floss, chew on some parsley or drink milk-its fats and water help deodorize volatile compounds.
To get rid of garlic smell from your hands: Rub garlicky-smelling hands with a lemon wedge, salt, baking soda or maybe even a piece of stainless steel, like your kitchen faucet (molecules in steel are thought to block odor-producing reactions). Rinse hands well with water.
Watch: How to Make Broccoli & Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter
Use dried garlic raw in dressings, salsas and butters; roast whole bulbs (25 mins) or individual cloves (20 mins) to serve with roast meat; fry (slowly, for just a couple of minutes) to use as the base for sauces, casseroles, soups. Roast fresh garlic (25 mins). For more ideas, check out our garlic recipes.
Use dried garlic raw in dressings, salsas and butters; roast whole bulbs (25 mins) or individual cloves (20 mins) to serve with roast meat; fry (slowly, for just a couple of minutes) to use as the base for sauces, casseroles, soups. Roast fresh garlic (25 mins). For more ideas, check out our garlic recipes.
The 10 Minute Rule helps you to maximize the medicinal benefits of your garlic. The medicinal component of garlic is called allicin. Essentially, you want to press or chop your garlic, and then wait 10 minutes before using it.
For something so small, a clove of garlic packs a powerful flavor punch that changes with various cooking methods. Raw garlic has a pungent, spicy taste that's great for salad dressings, dipping sauces and marinades for meat, fish, chicken or vegetables. Cooked garlic takes on a sweeter, nuttier flavor.
Garlic is a popular cooking ingredient that may offer a range of health benefits. These can include reducing the severity of common cold symptoms, helping manage cholesterol and blood pressure, boosting heart health, and reducing the risk of liver injury.
If you see something that looks like a super-long, curly green bean with a tapering tip, you're probably looking at garlic scapes. While garlic scapes do have a garlicky flavor, it's much more muted than that of the bulbs. It often has a grassy flavor to it as well, similar to scallions.
When you cook the garlic a bit in some oil before adding other ingredients, it has a chance to mellow and get that hint of sweetness, and also has a chance to lightly infuse the oil. It's the same reason why many recipes often start with the onions before anything else.
If you keep the garlic aside for 10-minutes, this will create enough allicin that stays intact even when heated. After 10 minutes, you can fry, saute or bake it without disrupting the nutritional values.
Mohan Kameswaran, chief surgeon, Madras ENT Research Foundation, who laughed off the claim, saying, “Some people will do anything I suppose! No, putting garlic up the nose does nothing for the nose or sinuses except creating an unpleasant odour for the unfortunate owner of the nose.”
Cutting a garlic clove breaks its cells and releases stored enzymes that react with oxygen. That triggers healthy sulfide compounds, such as allicin, to form. Letting the chopped garlic stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking allows the compounds to fully develop before heat inactivates the enzymes.
Cook whole garlic cloves in oil and then remove them: You can cook whole cloves directly in a healthy amount of oil until the cloves are lightly brown all over. This infuses the oil with a subtle garlic flavor. It's the perfect way to start your pasta sauce! 🍝 Once browned, you can then remove the cloves.
Burnt garlic has a very distinct, bitter and unpleasant taste. To prevent burning your garlic when cooking in a frying pan, always add it toward the end of your process.
There's a simple fix that we routinely build into our recipes: Wait until the onions or other vegetables are almost completely softened—and then stir the garlic into the mix. Allow the garlic to cook for just 30 to 60 seconds before adding liquid or other ingredients to the pot.
Freshly peeled garlic is 100% worth it, whether you're making pasta, pesto or pizza. Taking the time to free those pungent cloves from their papery jackets — instead of buying the jar of pre-chopped garlic — can make all the difference in the flavor of a recipe.
Crushing or chopping garlic releases an enzyme, alliinase, that catalyzes the formation of allicin, which then breaks down to form a variety of healthful organosulfur compounds. The researchers believe that crushing garlic before cooking may allow alliinase to work before cooking inactivates the enzyme.
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Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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