Topic: Search for really strong garlic

[newspud9]

Can anyone suggest some really strong garlic bulbs (and who supplies them) that I can put in later this year....I loves me garlic, but I think the passing years have dulled the taste buds.

Thanks for all the comments

[grawrc]

I read somewhere that the flavour of garlic depends as much on the growing conditions as on the variety, however I really don't know whether that is true or not.

A friend recently bought some thermidrome and I could smell them the moment she opened her car door so I think they must be pretty strong.

You can probably get them in your local garden centre but failing that if you google Thermidrome garlic you should get plenty of online suppliers.

[galina]

Apart from 'hot' garlic varieties, you probably already know this, cooking methods can preserve 'hot' flavour or destroy it.

To get the best flavour out of any garlic, it needs to be chopped (or squeezed) and then left for 5 minutes before it gets into contact with heat.  This standing time allows for the allicin (which is both the healthy and flavour chemical in garlic) to develop.  If it gets put straight into a hot saucepan, most of the flavour and health benefits are lost.  The same is true for onions.  Eating them raw has the hottest flavour.

Advice comes from George Mateljan who also suggests to add garlic near the end of the cooking time to keep the most flavour.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=60

[gavinjconway]

Apart from 'hot' garlic varieties, you probably already know this, cooking methods can preserve 'hot' flavour or destroy it.

To get the best flavour out of any garlic, it needs to be chopped (or squeezed) and then left for 5 minutes before it gets into contact with heat.  This standing time allows for the allicin (which is both the healthy and flavour chemical in garlic) to develop.  If it gets put straight into a hot saucepan, most of the flavour and health benefits are lost.  The same is true for onions.  Eating them raw has the hottest flavour.

Advice comes from George Mateljan who also suggests to add garlic near the end of the cooking time to keep the most flavour.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=60

Thanks Galina - interesting.. so many recipes say enthuse the garlic by frying it a bit first but by he end of cooking its all gone... I always add mine last thing..

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

One of my lunchtime standbys is a Spanish garlic soup, recipe given by a Spanish friend living in England. It takes little more than ten minutes to cook and serve up. I always fry half the chopped garlic lightly first as I make the roux and add the other half when it simmers near the end.

I never knew about garlic and onion flavour strengthening after it is chopped. I love learning new things.

[grannyjanny]

Could you share the recipe please Tosh, sounds lovely.

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

It's best if you have some chunks of stale home made bread - they are more solid and hold their shape but use whatever solid stale unsliced bread you have. Old baguette perhaps.
So gently fry some strips of cured meat of your choice, not a lot, say bacon or ham or chorizo or salami in some olive oil in a saucepan for a couple of minutes. Mince finely 3 to 6 plump garlic cloves, use more if you want - no rules. Add half the garlic to the oil and bacon and fry gently on a low heat for half a minute or so then put flour in. I use two heaped dessert spoons to thicken about 1 and a quarter pints/700ml of soup but adjust quantities to suit your preferred thickness.
Amalgamate the flour with the oil, adding a little more olive oil to get a soft paste and then add paprika. I put a good teaspoon of sweet and half a teaspoon of smoked and half a teaspoon of piquante (mildly chillified) but plain paprika is fine. I pop in half a beef stock cube in too to soften in the light heat. I might add powdered bay, dried thyme and/or fennel seeds according to mood but they aren't in the original recipe so are optional. So you have the garlic and paprika flavoured roux and the bacon strips gently cooking. Its easy to burn paprika. Now add 700ml of water carefully and stir rigorously to avoid lumps. This is a skill and is best done off the heat. When it is all mixed in raise the temperature a bit to get it to simmering, add the rest of the minced garlic and keep it stirred regularly so it doesn't stick at the bottom. All this is easier to do than to write. Now chop up some bread into chunks and fill 1/3 of your bowl. The original Castilean recipe has an egg cracked into the hot soup in the bowl but I and my Spanish friend prefer the alternative. I beat an egg in a cup and pour it thinly into the simmering soup and stir it around to set. Now taste for salt. The half stock cube and bacon will have provided some but you may want more. Pour the soup over the bread in the bowl and Bob's your uncle. It really takes me not much more than ten minutes and it is very warming as well as delicious. And filling.

[grannyjanny]

Thanks Tosh. Sounds even better after seeing the recipe .

[goodlife]

There is definite differences in 'strongness' of the garlic between varieties and often the 'hot' ones are more pungent as Galina suggested. I've also 'heard' a claim that hardnecks produce stronger flavour than soft neck types.
It is the sulphur content in garlic that bring out the garlicky flavour..apparently applying wood ash into soil during growing season will improve the 'flavour' of the garlic as well as help the garlic to bulb up and harden them off for storage later on.
You could try mixing some wood ash into damp compost and mulching with that couple months before harvest time..ash is fairly quick acting and available for the garlic as it needs it.
I've got couple really strong varieties on a go at the moment..but sadly they are not ready yet for me to share them. They are still on the small side as they originate from part of world where they grow struggling conditions. So at the moment I'm trying to (hoping) that given few years  time to grow in more favourable conditions they might increase their size for something more useable that they are now.
Polish hardneck is one that is one variety that give out more intense  'garlicky flavour', Red Rezan, Kresnodar Red and Moldovan are some stronger types too that comes to my mind.
Sadly I'm still growing my stocks on some of those varieties too so I'm not able to share yet.