Noxious Garlic?

[Mr_Dove]

I eat alot of garlic. I love garlic. I must admit, however, that I don't have a ton of experience with using fresh garlic. I got tired of mincing about 8 years ago and haven't used fresh garlic in a very long time.

So, I grew a whole lot of basil this year and I decided to try my hand at making bruscetta (sp?). I added alot of garlic because the restaurant bruschetta that I've eaten has been really good with tons of garlic (i think theirs might be pickled).

The bruschetta was TERRIBLE! It took some troubleshooting to pinpoint the problem but my garlic was SPICY, HOT! Even one clove touched on my tongue had a spicy taste instead of a garlic taste. I tried a second clove from another store and had the same results.

Is there something wrong with my garlic or is fresh, uncooked garlic always yucky? Does the mere act of cooking the garlic get rid of the noxiousness?

 

[Andy M.]

Noxious may be too strong a term. Raw garlic is stronger than cooked garlic.

How much garlic did you use? What else was in the topping?

 

[FryBoy]

It sounds like you must have used too much garlic. It's quite strong when raw. Also, maybe you didn't mince it fine enough -- try a garlic press. I like the Zylizz from Switzerland.

Try mixing the pressed garlic with the olive oil, let it set a bit, then use the oil instead of spreading the the raw garlic on your bread.

 

[GB]

For bruschetta all you really need to do is rub a cut clove of galic over the toasted bread. That will impart enough garlic flavor.

 

[Gretchen]

Too much raw garlic can be quite "burning" to the tongue--as others have said in various other ways.

 

[bethzaring]

In my neck of the woods, July is the time of the year to harvest garlic, I dug mine almost one month ago. Last year, I made a gallon of garlic soup with REALLY fresh garlic. The soup was not edible, too hot to consume. I was suprised the soup did not eat away the stainless steel pot. Really fresh garlic can be too hot and spicy to eat. I now let it cure about three weeks before consuming, or giving away.

 

[amber]

In my neck of the woods, July is the time of the year to harvest garlic, I dug mine almost one month ago. Last year, I made a gallon of garlic soup with REALLY fresh garlic. The soup was not edible, too hot to consume. I was suprised the soup did not eat away the stainless steel pot. Really fresh garlic can be too hot and spicy to eat. I now let it cure about three weeks before consuming, or giving away.

Yep, the same as with onions, your suppose to let the garlic dry after harvesting.

 

[amber]

For bruschetta all you really need to do is rub a cut clove of galic over the toasted bread. That will impart enough garlic flavor.

Thats true, and even better if the garlic is roasted in a cast iron pan til brown/black on the outside and soft on the inside.

 

[vyapti]

If the garlic isn't getting cooked, roast it first. Fry the cloves in a dry pan until they start to soften. Then peel them and use them. It'll take the bite away.

I do this with pesto and cold pasta salads.

 

[Ellen]

I roast whole bulbs quite often, they are soft and mellow, lovely flavour, and easy to squeeze from their skins.

 

[Bangbang]

I often use garlic in a jar with olive oil. Good stuff without the fuss.

 

[lindatooo]

I often use garlic in a jar with olive oil. Good stuff without the fuss.

Used to love the stuff, Bang, but isn't it dangerous because of bacteria???? At the very least you should refrigerate it!

 

[karadekoolaid]

I eat alot of garlic. I love garlic. I must admit, however, that I don't have a ton of experience with using fresh garlic. I got tired of mincing about 8 years ago and haven't used fresh garlic in a very long time.

So, I grew a whole lot of basil this year and I decided to try my hand at making bruscetta (sp?). I added alot of garlic because the restaurant bruschetta that I've eaten has been really good with tons of garlic (i think theirs might be pickled).

The bruschetta was TERRIBLE! It took some troubleshooting to pinpoint the problem but my garlic was SPICY, HOT! Even one clove touched on my tongue had a spicy taste instead of a garlic taste. I tried a second clove from another store and had the same results.

Is there something wrong with my garlic or is fresh, uncooked garlic always yucky? Does the mere act of cooking the garlic get rid of the noxiousness?

Raw garlic, like raw onion, is "hot" to the taste. To soften the flavour, you could
a) roast it , as vyapti wisely suggested.
b) marinate it a little while with some fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil and salt
c) fry it gently before using it on your bruschetta

As for preserving whole garlic in olive oil, that's a great idea, providing you keep everything squeaky clean.Unfortunately the scaremongers have convinced half the population that raw garlic in oil causes botulism , which is not case. hundreds and thousands of Spanish-speaking households preserve garlic like that, with no side effects, so perhaps it'd be worthwhile seeking out the original FDA warning to work out exactly what the scare was all about.

 

[Lynan]

GB is right...most Italians rub their olive oiled bread with a cut clove of garlic, not have the pulp present at all. There should be a hint of garlic, not an overpowering ZAP!!!
Try that and let us know your thoughts.