Paper Scraps Vol 16 – Interesting Garlic Facts

At the beginning of Autumn I was lucky enough to buy some beautiful purple garlic at the local markets. It is a gorgeous looking bulb with stripey mauve and violet streaks at the base. I roasted it whole with some chicken and veggies in the oven after dousing it in extra-virgin olive oil. It turned out to be one of the most delicious things I have tasted. The sharp flavour was balanced by a sweet after taste. Wonderful! A few months ago, I noticed what looked like baby onions with thin, papery white skins in a basket at the markets. On reading the sign closely, I found that they were actually single-clove garlics. I didn’t even know that such a thing existed. My curiosity was piqued and I picked up a whole bunch before I left. Much milder than the regular garlic, they were extremely juicy and delicious. How did I cook them? Well, I just used them in normal cooking like I would regular garlic cloves, which is such a shame. These pretty little babies deserved more than ordinary cooking. But we were in the middle of the move and I was pressed for time. I haven’t found them since and I have looked!! Here are some interesting and fun facts about garlic.

Did you know ….. 

1. that garlic has insecticidal properties and is often planted with plants like tomatoes, roses or eggplants that are bug magnets?
2. that if garlic is added to a dish when it starts cooking, it will lose its sharp flavour as opposed to be being added at the very end?
3. that garlic cloves are planted with their pointy tips pointed upwards?
4. that Egyptian slaves built the pyramids on a diet of garlic, bread and water?
5. that it is said to have originated in Siberia?
6. that it is a member of the lily family? [what!!!! how can something as pretty as lily and as pungent as garlic come from the same family?]
7. that the Egyptians worshipped garlic and placed clay models of garlic bulbs in the tomb of Tutankhamen. [The Egyptians sure did love garlic!]
8. that there are roughly 300 varieties of garlic grown all over the world.
9. that it can control acne.
10. that it is universally known as "the stinking rose".
11. that Chicago got it’s name from the American Indian word for the wild garlic that grew around Lake Michigan – "chicagaoua".
12. that there is a thing like "garlic cheesecake" and it is served in the all-garlic restaurant of Stockholm.
13. that an all-garlic restaurant in San-Fransisco offers garlic icecream.
14. that China and India are the largest and second largest producers of garlic in the world.
15. that it is called "Ail" in French and "Aglio" in Italian.
16. that the city of Gilroy, California promotes itself as "Garlic Capital of the World", and hosts the three-day Gilroy Garlic Festival every summer.
17. that in some episodes of Popeye, prior to him eating spinach, sniffing garlic was his source of energy.