Garlic – a bulb with a healthy effect
Garlic (Allium sativum) is available in almost every shop all year round. Opinions differ on the smell, but the health effects of garlic are undisputed. The white tuber is also popular for cooking. For a long time now, the spicy ingredient has not only been valued in the kitchens of hot countries, where garlic has been on the plate for a long time, not least because of its antibacterial properties. Spaghetti “Aglio e Olio”, a fresh tzatziki or a hint of garlic in the tomato sauce are now an integral part of many menus in Germany. You can read here what you need to consider when cooking with garlic and what makes the “Knobi” so healthy.
ingredients of garlic
A garlic bulb consists of individual cloves, which are full of effective ingredients. The sulphur-containing amino acid alliin and its breakdown products are particularly important for health. Fresh garlic contains 0.5 to 1 percent alliin.
If you crush garlic, a chemical reaction is set in motion: alliin is converted into allicin by the enzyme alliinase . This substance is responsible for the typical smell of garlic – as well as for the sharp, aromatic taste of the cloves. The juice from the toes has a sticky consistency.
Regeneration of the body: garlic and lemon cure
Garlic is considered so healthy that there is even a garlic cure: In the lemon-garlic cure, you drink a drink made of water, untreated lemons and garlic several times a day. This should:
- rid the body of calcium deposits
- regulate blood pressure
- promote the cardiovascular system
Ginger , turmeric or pepper can support the effect.
What to do against a garlic flag?
Unfortunately, there is no effective remedy against the smell of garlic, which many people find unpleasant – nor against the notorious garlic plume that wafts around us after eating garlic.
Sometimes, however, home remedies such as milk , ginger, lemon juice , and peppermint chewing gum or candy will alleviate garlic breath, at least for a while.
Chlorophyll capsules, a popular remedy for bad breath , can also help reduce a garlic odor. However, you should discuss this measure with your doctor in advance.
Purchase and storage of garlic
Garlic is available year-round in most supermarkets. You can buy the tuber fresh, semi-dry or dry (then usually chopped or as a powder).
When it comes to storage, garlic prefers a dark, cool, and airy but dry environment. Then the garlic bulbs will keep for several weeks.
Cooking with garlic: what does it go with?
Due to its aromatic taste, garlic is very suitable for seasoning and refining salads, sauces, meat and vegetable dishes. Garlic is an essential part of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Asian dishes in particular.
Well-known dishes or recipes with garlic are, for example, garlic shrimp, garlic bread, garlic dip or garlic in combination with pasta, such as spaghetti with garlic.
5 tips for preparation
Here are five tips for a successful preparation of garlic for you:
- Garlic is easier to peel by pressing on the clove with the broad side of a knife. The peel then often comes off almost by itself.
- When cooking, be careful not to burn the garlic, otherwise it will taste bitter and become inedible.
- Add a few whole cloves of garlic to stir-fry or oven dishes. Then, before serving the food, fish the cloves out again. The garlic leaves a wonderfully light aroma.
- You can get rid of the unpleasant smell of garlic on your hands by rubbing your fingers on a stainless steel surface – for example the sink. Or you can use a garlic press.
- Put the garlic in: Simply peel the cloves, put them in mason jars, fill them up with olive oil and then close them. This preserves the garlic and gives the oil a wonderful aroma. The garlic oil is ideal for dressings or sauces.
A new trend from Japan is black garlic. Black garlic tastes like umami, the fifth taste, and works well in garlic sauces and marinades.
Garlic: A bulb with a history
Garlic has a long history as a medicinal plant: it is said to have been used as a tonic by the Egyptians and to have been used successfully against intestinal parasites. Later, the tuber was even said to have a positive effect on bite wounds, hair loss or lung diseases.
There is hardly any talk of all these areas of application today. Garlic is now primarily used in the fight against the common disease arteriosclerosis.
Origin of the medicinal plant
Garlic is one of the leek plants and blooms in Germany from June to August. Although the tuber originally came from Central Asia, it is now cultivated worldwide.
Garlic can grow up to 90 centimeters high. The plant forms a bulb underground , surrounded by a thin, white or reddish sheath. About five to twenty other toes are arranged in a circle around the main toe, which together form the bulb.