Garlic’s Allure

By Susan M. Keenan

An awakened interest in garlic has the pungent bulb popping up in virtually every restaurant, kitchen, and main dish.  Once shunned for its strong taste, garlic has been transformed into a welcome enhancement to culinary temptations.  Its newly earned reputation as a desirable cooking ingredient can be credited to a newfound interest in ethnic dishes and healthier eating.

 

A population of diners, whose consistent quest for new and eclectic taste experiences is never satiated, increases garlic’s popularity in the world of culinary delights.  The newly recognized ability of garlic to enhance the true flavors of many foods has led to its welcome addition as a major player in the world of fine dining.

 

World travel has awakened this interest in international dishes with an obvious respect for the flavorful attributes of the garlic clove.  An awareness of the aromatic and bold dishes served in Europe, Africa, and Asia, as well as elsewhere, has led to a rising popularity of ethnic dishes.

 
Likewise, a long history of use for medicinal purposes has contributed to the belief in the health enhancing benefits of garlic that is being touted by the health and supplement industry.  Garlic provides a healthy dose of vitamin c, sulfur compounds, selenium, potassium, and amino acids.  The potential health benefits of garlic enhance its use as a functional food to a perception of a food that not only is good for you, but tastes good as well.

 

Authentic ethnic cuisine demands authentic ingredients.  Since cooking with garlic, one of the most significantly pungent gifts of nature, is an art, it follows that it needs to be developed as a skill.  Cooking with garlic leads to new culinary delights as the garlic enhances each dish in its own unique way.

 
While raw cloves of garlic are quite strong in flavor, chopped garlic that has been cooked has a milder taste that is quite appealing to the taste buds.  Crushed garlic, by far, offers a pungent taste that is not easily forgotten.  Garlic tossed into a dish near the end of the cooking phase will provide a stronger taste than garlic used at the beginning of the cooking phase.  Garlic that has been cooked whole will produce a sweet and mild flavor that is certainly enjoyable.

 

Fresh, dehydrated, powder, salt, whole, chopped, sliced, or crushed- the forms of garlic are many.  A healthy dose of garlic goes a long way to tempt the taste buds to reflect upon the benefits of a multi-cultural experience while breaking bread.

© Doityourself.com 2006