Garlic, Garlic, Garlic
Place a garlic clove on a work surface. Cover it with a flat side of a Chef's knife blade and press down on it hard with your fist. The clove will pop out of it's skin.
PREPARING GARLIC
You should remove all of your garlic cloves from the head before starting.
Crushing garlic is recommended if you want a stronger garlic flavor--this releases more of the pungent flavor and natural juices of garlic. Marinades and foods such as Caesar salad and shrimp scampi demand crushed garlic.
Garlic chopped into slices or larger pieces will usually add a light flavor to your dish. It's less likely to dissolve or soften, so you won't get as strong a garlic flavor as you will with crushed garlic.
Minced garlic which is less pungent than crushed garlic, but still adds great flavor for recipes that require stir-frying or sauteeing. Since minced garlic is very finely chopped into small cubical pieces, it will dissolve more easily when cooking. In stir-fry dishes especially, minced garlic adds a great deal of flavor to the cooking oil used in the frying pan.
General Descriptions of Garlic Types
Hardneck types:
Rocambole, serpent, or Bavarian garlic, sandleek, Spanish shallot and top-setting garlic. Their distinctive flower stalks form a coil after they emerge. Blotchy-purple coloration on wrapper leaves, cloves brownish sometimes reddish. Cloves arranged in a circle around the flower stalk and are full flavored.
Roja: Symmetrical, attractive, uniformly colored brownish-red, medium-sized bulbs. Commonly grown by gardeners.
Continental: Purple-striped, symmetrical bulbs. Some purple coloration of cloves.
Porcelain: Tight, paper-white, shiny wrappers. Plump, large cloves.
Asiatic: Uncommon in the northwest. Cloves plump and well defined. Bulbs usually well colored. Skins often very thick. Bulbels often dark purple.
Softneck types:
California Early and California Late. The most common commercial garlic grown in the Pacific Northwest and California. Many selections and strains developed by dehydration companies for their own use in dehydration. Some also used for fresh market. Synonymous with "artichoke" garlic.
"Silverskin" types: Similar to California types above except bulbs have more but smaller cloves. Adapted to colder areas of the Northwest. Numerous strains grown by gardeners.
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Types of garlic include the mild green garlic, the purple-skinned Italian garlic and Mexican garlic, and the common white-skinned garlic = California garlic, which is the most pungent of all.
Equivalents:
A head or bulb of garlic usually contains about 10 cloves. 1 clove = 1 teaspoon chopped garlic = 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic = 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes = 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic = 1/2 teaspoon garlic juice
Substitutes:
* granulated garlic (provides flavor, but not texture) OR
* garlic flakes (Substitute 1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes for every clove of garlic) OR
* garlic powder (Substitute 1/8 teaspoon powder for every clove of garlic called for in recipe.) OR
* garlic salt (Substitute 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt for every clove of fresh garlic called for in recipe. Reduce salt in recipe.) OR
* asafetida (powder) OR
* rocambole OR
* garlic juice (especially when you want the flavor, but not the pungency, of garlic) OR
* shallots OR
* onions OR
* garlic chives
Varieties:
dehydrated minced garlic See garlic flakes.
dried garlic flakes See garlic flakes.
elephant garlic = great-headed garlic = Oriental garlic Notes: This looks like an overgrown garlic, but it's more closely related to a leek. It's much milder than ordinary garlic, so it's a good choice if you want to impart the flavor of garlic to a delicately flavored dish. It's often sold in a mesh stocking to keep the cloves together. Substitutes: garlic (smaller and more potent)
garlic flakes = dehydrated minced garlic = dried garlic flakes Notes: When rehydrated in water, garlic flakes provide much of the flavor and texture of fresh garlic. Substitutes: garlic (1 clove of garlic = 1/2 teaspoon of garlic flakes) OR garlic powder (1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes)
garlic greens = garlic sprouts Substitutes: greens onions + minced garlic
garlic juice Notes: These are sold in spray bottles or in small jars. Look for them in the spice section of larger supermarkets. To make your own: Strain the juice from a jar of minced or pressed garlic. Substitutes: granulated garlic (1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic = 1/2 teaspoon garlic juice) OR garlic powder (1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/2 teaspoon garlic juice)
infused garlic oil To make your own: Add whole cloves of garlic to olive oil and heat gently, then discard cloves. Use immediately or refrigerate and use within 24 hours. OR Combine one cup vegetable oil and one teaspoon minced garlic. Use immediately or refrigerate and use within 24 hours.
garlic powder = powdered garlic Notes: Garlic powder provides some of the flavor, but not the texture, of fresh garlic. It disperses well in liquids, so it's a good choice for marinades. Substitutes: fresh garlic (Substitute 1 clove for every 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.) OR garlic salt (Substitute 4 teaspoons garlic salt for every teaspoon garlic powder, then reduce salt in recipe by 3 teaspoons.) OR garlic juice (1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/2 teaspoon garlic juice) OR garlic flakes (1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes) OR granulated garlic (1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic )
garlic salt To make your own: Combine 3 parts salt and 1 part garlic powder.
granulated garlic Notes: Like garlic powder, granulated garlic provides the flavor, but not the texture, of fresh garlic. It disperses well in liquids. Substitutes: garlic powder (1 teaspoon granulated garlic = 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
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