A Guide To Buying Garlic: The Importance Of Picking Fresh Produce
Garlic is a detoxifying and flavour-full component of many savoury dishes. Popularised Australia by waves of European and Asian immigrants decades ago, garlic helps season and spice meals and has anti-oxidant properties offering a range of health benefits. However, garlic can be challenging to store, because it responds poorly to high refrigeration and humidity. Getting the freshest produce essential, particularly if you’re looking to use your garlic for more than just cooking. The following guide will take you through ways in which you can use garlic, and how the freshness of the produce will affect your experience.
The Fresher The Garlic, The More Pallatable The Taste
300 to 500 tonnes of garlic are produced every year in Australia, with the vast majority being used in cooking. Garlic tastes best within its first few weeks, so make sure to ask the picking date when you bulk-buy garlic. Garlic, like other members of the allium family (onions, leeks and scallions), can taste sour and have a pungent smell when consumed raw. However, it becomes mild and gains a sweet after taste when lightly sauteed.
The fresher you buy garlic, the longer you can store it in your home while it still holds the exotic aroma that will enrich the taste of your concoction. You will need to store it in a dry, cool place with ample ventilation to make sure the bulbs do not get too dry, or rot from excess humidity. When bulbs are round, hard and still ivory in colour, they are best consumed raw, in a salad or vinaigrette.
Plant’s Anti-Oxident Capabilities Are At Their Highest When They Are Fresh
Garlic is often used in home remedies because it promotes vascular health and strengthens immune systems. Garlic contains more germanium than any other plant, and the fresher the garlic, the more germanium it holds. Germanium has been found effective in the prevention of cancer, which is consistent with garlic’s lengthy use as a detoxing agent in cultures around the world.
Garlic also shares the properties of antibiotics, due to its allicin content. Allicin is the compound produced when you chop, chew or bruise garlic. This chemical agent prevents the reproduction and growth of germs in the body. Studies have found that 1 mg of allicin is as effective as 15 units of penicillin. Resultingly, garlic juice is often used to treat shallow wounds, accelerate the healing of bruises and appease toothache inflammation.
A Finishing Word
Whatever your chosen use of garlic, the fresher you buy the plant, the more use you can derive from it. Garlic can be stored relatively long in cool environments; however, it reacts poorly to high humidity and loses flavour over time. Therefore, it is in your best interest to seek out a transparent supplier that will tell you about your garlic’s picking date, and to plan your use accordingly.