Garlic, Do you remove the green stem?

[Mylegsbig]

are you guys forced to buy garlic with the sprouts or do you choose to?

i can always find good fresh garlic with none of those sprouts.

 

[Andy M.]

No one consciously chooses sprouted garlic!

You select garlic by looking for heads of garlic with clean white outer coverings, no brown spots and firm cloves.

You take them home and store them properly and, sometimes, by the time you need some garlic for a recipe, some of the cloves have begun to sprout. Then you have to decide if you want the little buggers in your food.

 

[buckytom]

HAH!

i've finally found something i know that andy doesn't.

people actually do buy sprouted garlic specifically for the sprout. it is inexpensive, and is featured in some dishes. i'm currently enjoying a pint container of garlic sprout kimchee. man this stuff is hot!

also, not all garlic is white. i agree that there should be no brown spots, but purplish-tan stripes are ok. in fact, i've found the more purple color, the sweeter it is.

 

[Andy M.]

HAH!

I've finally found something i know that andy doesn't.

people actually do buy sprouted garlic specifically for the sprout. it is inexpensive, and is featured in some dishes. I'm currently enjoying a pint container of garlic sprout kimchee. man this stuff is hot!

also, not all garlic is white. i agree that there should be no brown spots, but purplish-tan stripes are ok. in fact, i've found the more purple color, the sweeter it is.

OK, ya got me on a technicality! No one who wants actual garlic cloves consciously chooses sprouted garlic.

And you're right about the purple streaked garlic heads. I neglected to include those in my statement. Clean, unblemished paper with no black mildew spots are what you should look for.

Thanks for keeping me honest, Tom.

 

[Claire]

I definitely would NOT buy garlic that had visibly sprouted. BUT ... well, I joke that I could be a Mormon judging by my pantry. In other words, it'll be a rare day that you enter my kitchen and don't find at least two heads of garlic in it. Sometimes they sprout just sitting there, waiting for a meal to come along. If there is only one head of garlic on grocery day, I buy another. I think that when this rain stops I may weed a spot of my herb garden and simply plant the ones that have sprouted. I've been told it grows really well here and that this is the time to plant it.

 

[GB]

i'm currently enjoying a pint container of garlic sprout kimchee. man this stuff is hot!

I don't know what it is about the name of that, but man does it sound amazing. Did you buy it or make it bucky?

 

[buckytom]

i bought it, at an asian market (mostly korean influenced). they have all kinds of kimchee: from the regular ol' cabbage, to cucumber, scallion, to all kinds of radish.
i have to admit tho, while it's tasty, it's tough to chew. kinda stringy, but it's very hot and stinky, in that good kimchee sort of way.

i would love it if someone posted a "how to make kimchee" thread.

 

[Ardge]

Dude, I used to have a 2nd job at a liquor store to make ends meet. The guy who owned the place was really flexible with my hours. Sometimes the restaurant I worked at would send me home after 2 hours or so. I'd show up at the liquor store and work the register the rest of the day. Anyway, the dude who owned the place bought it from this Korean couple. They got him hooked on Kimchee. As luck would have it, my girlfriend's apartment is located mere steps away from this Korean restaurant that the liquor store's prior owners would get take-out at all the time. My girlfriend brought in food from us that my boss ordered for the three of us. It was a 20 mile drive for her, but the food was still piping hot. Tofu, Korean fermented pickles, Bibim Bap Fu Soo somethin or other.... Oh My God.... I never ate food that stunk so bad. Crazy spice heat too. I remember being initially repulsed by it, but then really finding the experience fun.

Hmmmm....

Maybe I'll try it again sometime.


RJ

 

[Michael in FtW]

Bucky - another one of those foods with two spellings ... kimchee and kimchi.

Here are some recipes I found under kimchi

 

[buckytom]

thank you very much michael. not sure if i'll ever have the chance, capability, or permission to make something so smelly at home. but it's good to know.

ardge, korean food is terribly addictive. altho, not for a delicate palate. one thing i've learned is never judge it by the smell or look. it's all just for the flavor. i'm not sure i would have ever sucked on a skate wing, eaten anything called fermented bean curd, or had miniature whole crabs in spicy sauce if it wasn't for a few ob's and soju (beer and vodka-like drink, respectively) beforehand. but now i'm hooked.

i've noticed a few expended cartons of cabbage in my korean neighbor's recycling pile this past week. i'm hoping they're gonna make it the real traditional way i've heard about, by burying the clay pots in the yard.
btw, they finally broke down and mowed the lawn. my jedi powers are finally starting to work...

 

[prada]

isnt it sprouting already?? i dont bother to take it out, either i just ignore it or I would throw the entire clove out

 

[marigeorge]

I always take it out, it does cause bitterness.

 

[cook4fun]

removing the garlic germ

There's no need to remove the green germ from garlic, although it gives some people indigestion. Yiou can see the easiest way to peel and crush garlic at
http://www.chefstoolbox.com.au/HowToVids.aspx
Bon appetit