Garlic is an incredibly useful seasoning, but it's not impossible to misuse it.
In fact, there are plenty of different ways to get garlic wrong, and succumbing to any
of these pitfalls could ruin an otherwise delicious dish.
Here are all the mistakes you should avoid when cooking with garlic.
Let's start with the simple stuff: If you want to use garlic in the kitchen, use garlic.
All that pre-minced stuff you find in jars at supermarkets and grocery stores is just
going to steer you wrong.
Garlic isn't the most exciting thing in the world to peel and chop, but putting yourself
through the minor hassle of using actual, fresh garlic will pay dividends during the
cooking process.
"The chopped stuff in a jar?
That’s got preservatives in it, it stinks, and it tastes bitter."
Some research has shown that fresh garlic contains higher levels of allicin, an ingredient
which prevents blood clots and bacterial infections.
So if you're eating that stuff that comes pre-packaged and stewing in oil and water
for weeks on end, you won’t even be enjoying any of the amazing health benefits for which
fresh garlic is renowned.
"In fact, the fresher, the higher the concentration of the active ingredients ."
But if that's not enough to convince you to go fresh, take it from Anthony Bourdain, who
wrote this in his book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly:
"Misuse of garlic is a crime.
[...] Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screw-top jars.
Too lazy to peel fresh?
You don't deserve to eat garlic."
If you're buying fresh garlic, make sure it's actually fresh.
According to Simon Richard, produce buyer for San Francisco's Bi-Rite Market, there
are a few choice things to look out for to ensure you're getting the right stuff at the
right time.
He told Epicurious,
"Local fresh garlic season runs from mid-summer through early fall.
At other times of the year, the garlic you see in the store is probably coming out of
storage."
No matter when you buy your garlic, however, it's always good to test what you've got to
make sure it's not a dud.
According to Richard, you should pick the bulb and give it a nice squeeze to make sure
the outside cloves aren’t too soft or dry.
CBS New York also has a great tip when it comes to picking out the perfect bulbs.
"When you buy it, nice and white like this, all the way around, free from any sprouting
whatsoever, and if there’s a little purple, that’s ok, just a little bit."
Improperly storing garlic is probably one of the most common mistakes people make.
Making sure it's kept in the right place will mean it keeps its flavor and its health benefits
... not to mention helping it stay fresh for months on end.
New season garlic ... the kind which is harvested in early summer ... is a milder kind of garlic
which is more easily digested and arguably more flavorful than dry garlic.
This type needs to be refrigerated immediately and used within a week.
Dried garlic ... the kind you're more likely to find at a grocery store ... should be stored
at room temperature in a dry, dark place with plenty of circulation.
It can also be stored in a paper or mesh bag, as long as there's plenty of dry air around
it to stop it from sprouting.
Just keep it out of the refrigerator.
As long as you do this, the garlic will keep for several months, though that time period
decreases significantly once you've started to remove cloves from the bulb.
If you've already minced garlic, you should be able to keep it in an air-tight container
in the refrigerator, but you still ought to use it as soon as possible.
Finally, freezing is a huge no-no ... it'll damage the garlic's flavor and its texture.
Peeling garlic is never fun.
It's fiddly, sticky, and takes just long enough to constitute a real pain in the neck.
Some would even describe it as one of the most tiresome duties in the kitchen.
However, it’s not as bad as it seems.
For starters, there's no need to mess around trying to find a way to scratch off the skin.
Nor do you need to cut off any more of the clove than just the top in order to more easily
peel it ... this is largely inefficient, and will waste as much time as it does garlic.
There are two simple ways you can peel a garlic clove.
The first involves placing the clove on a chopping board, placing the flat side of a
knife against it and pushing down with your hand.
It will crush the garlic itself downwards and loosen the skin, allowing you to take
it off with almost zero effort.
The second method involves pulling apart all the cloves and placing them inside a bowl
and resting another bowl on top.
Then, shake the bowls as hard as you can for around 20 seconds, after which the cloves
should have pretty much peeled themselves.
Empty them out, separate the skin and the cloves, and you're left with a fully-peeled
bulb of garlic.
You can also try this trick using a mason jar.
Trust us, you'll never look back.
Chopping garlic isn't the most difficult process in the world ... especially if you've got
experience in the kitchen ... but that doesn't mean it's not possible to make some errors
while you're at it.
Firstly, speed is good, since taking too much time chopping means the garlic could oxidize
and become bitter in flavor.
Of course, it's worth remembering that at no point should you actually rush to chop
garlic; knives are knives, after all.
The slices you cut from the clove should always be identically-sized.
Keeping them consistent in thickness and length means that, should you use slices rather than
diced garlic in your recipe, they'll be less likely to burn during cooking.
When dicing, keep your hand steady, your knife under control, and make sure not to have any
mismatched pieces once the clove has been diced.
Each little piece of garlic should be the same size to keep it cooking consistently
and prevent any from burning.
Yeah, we get it.
Buying a garlic press is a tempting idea.
After all, what could possibly be wrong with a handy tool which crushes all your garlic
into mush without any of the hassle of chopping and dicing?
As it turns out, a lot.
One of the many, many problems with garlic presses is that mush.
Garlic should never be chopped too fine and keeping the texture rough and well-defined
makes all the difference in the finished dish.
According to Serious Eats, chopping garlic is also better for delivering a more mellow
flavor, whereas pressed garlic is more aggressive and intense.
"That was intense."
Finely pressed garlic can also burn easily, making them good to use in no-cook sauces
but pretty much useless anywhere else.
And then you've got the fact that the press itself can only be used to press garlic, meaning
it takes up lots of valuable space in the kitchen for little reward.
Finally, how much time are you really saving by pressing garlic?
The whole process doesn't happen much quicker than a decent cook can chop up a clove.
So why waste the money?
So you think you're ready.
You have a nice bulb of fresh, seasonal garlic.
You've stored it well.
You've peeled it, diced it, recycled your garlic press responsibly, and now it's time
to throw it in the pan.
Right?
Wrong.
Lower the garlic and step away from the pan ... because, yes, adding garlic to a dish
too soon can ruin the whole thing.
Here's the thing: garlic burns really easily.
Like, really, really easily.
And chopping it into little pieces will make it cook even more quickly.
It's crucial that you don't add the garlic to the pan until at least half-way through
the cooking process, in the case of stir-fries and sautés, or very soon before you add a
liquid element, such as pasta sauce, to the pan, which will bring down the temperature
and prevent burning.
If in doubt, add the garlic later rather than sooner ... it's always better to have it come
out undercooked than overcooked.
Besides, raw garlic is good for you, dontcha know?
"Garlic’s said to do everything, ward off the common cold, lower high blood pressure,
and reduce your risk of cancer."
So far, the worst consequences of falling for any of these garlic traps could involve
a lessening of flavor, a messy chopping board, or a burnt clove.
These are all issues you'd probably expect to happen ... but it'd be more alarming if
you found your garlic turning blue or green.
It can happen, though.
The sulfur contained in the garlic reacts with copper, which you might find in water,
butter, or lemon juice.
And thanks to enzymes contained in the garlic, copper sulfate is formed and a blue-green
hue appears as a result.
If you heat garlic too slowly, use lots of butter or lemon juice, or refrigerate your
garlic, this can end up happening ... luckily, however, even blue garlic is safe to eat.
Green garlic can happen because of the chemical precursors contained in older garlic, and
the shade of green you see in your garlic can actually indicate how intense the flavor
is going to be.
It can happen because you left your chopped garlic out for too long before cooking, because
you cooked your garlic together with onions, or because you added acid to the recipe before
the garlic.
Of course, seasoned garlic pros might have never made these mistakes ... or, at the very
least, are long past making them anymore.
So where can you go once you've perfected the art of cooking with garlic?
Maybe it's time to give up buying garlic in the store.
Planting and growing your own garlic can be an immensely rewarding experience, not to
mention cost-effective and environmentally-friendly.
If you do make the switch to home-growing, however, there are still a few mistakes you
need to keep a lookout for.
You've got to plant it at the right time, for example.
If you plant too early, the garlic shoots can rise too high and draw water from the
clove, potentially killing it.
It's also important to make sure it's planted the right way up ... garlic shoots grow from
specific areas of the clove, and planting it upside-down will make the garlic work harder
to get to the surface, which can cause problems when it comes to harvesting.
Garlic requires deep planting, too ... at least five inches deep ... to mitigate the
effects of freeze-thaw frost heaving during the winter.
These are only a few of the roadblocks you might run into when planting your own garlic,
but they're all easily avoided if you know what you're doing.
Get it right, however, and you'll never want to buy from a store again.
This is a painful one to bring up, but that doesn't make it any less true.
Sometimes, the worst mistake you can make with garlic is using it at all.
The plant's versatility means it's suitable for pretty much every savory dish ever created,
but that doesn't mean it needs to be used.
According to Feast columnist Anna Jones, overuse of garlic in modern cooking is a genuine problem,
especially in vegetarian dishes.
"I like to keep some meals more gently flavored, so leave it out altogether.
More subtle dishes don't need garlic, and that should be celebrated."
Chef Simon Rimmer suggests using alternatives to garlic, such as paprika.
Other garlic substitutes could include lemon juice, grated zest, balsamic, sherry vinegar,
palm sugar, maple syrup, or honey.
Think carefully next time you find yourself picking up a clove of garlic to use in your
next recipe ... you might well decide that the best thing you can possibly do is put
it back down again.
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