Garlic

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socal27

Assistant Cook
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Messages
1
Hi I am a new member...wondering if any of you have the same experience as i do. Chinese garlic not as potent as California grown. Any comments would be appreciated.
 
Most of the garlic I eat is locally grown, or from the Isle of Wight or even from France. I don't know about Californian or Chinese garlic - I haven't tried either.
 
socal27 said:
Hi I am a new member...wondering if any of you have the same experience as i do. Chinese garlic not as potent as California grown. Any comments would be appreciated.

Over here in Venezuela I've identified 5 types of garlic.
1) Elephant garlic: HUGE cloves the size of radishes - but a very mild taste.
2) "Imported" garlic - a white papery skin. Around 12 - 15 cloves per head. Tastier than Elephant, but not as tasty as...
3) " Criollo" garlic. The heads may well bear 30 cloves, lightly purple in colour, with an intense garlic taste and smell. Undoubltedly the best, flavour-wise, but the absolute worst, peeling wise:wacko: :wacko:
4) Barquisimeto Garlic - a cross between 2 and 3. A large clove, purplish in colour. Very intense flavour - but a thick, thick skin, making it very hard to peel.
5) Peruvian Garlic. Somewhat like No.4, but a milder flavour and easier to peel.

Having said all that, which is totally irrelevant to your question, I'd recommend you try both and then decide for yourself. accepted opinion is not always spot on!!
 
Chinese garlic has a very slight flavor, compared to the usual type of garlic we're used to using. It took me a while to figure out why chinese food that was listed as being in a "garlic sauce" wasn't garlicky at all!

I'd say go with Clive - let your tastebuds be the judge of what you'd like to prepare.
 
A google on chinese garlic turned this up:

http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/vegetables/garlic.htm

"Chinese garlic stems, garlic flower stems, green garlic
[SIZE=-1] suan tai (Chinese), shen sum (Korean)
(Allium sativum) [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Chinese garlic has a symmetrical bulb in thin purple or silver skin, but has little flavour. Its stems should not be confused with the inedible fibrous tops of curled garlic often found at Farmer's Markets and specialty markets. These greens are about a foot long and not hollow like the green onions. They are solid and about the width of a pencil. If snapped or cut, the aroma is unmistakably garlic. In China, garlic flower stems are a side product of the garlic bulb of strains known to produce them. The bulbs are cultivated in the usual way, but the flower stems are cut in early summer when they are green and harvested very carefully so that the bulb will not be damaged and can be left to mature. The stems are usually twelve to eighteen inches in length and sold in bundles. They are too strong for most people to use raw; but, if quickly cooked, they are an excellent addition to dishes requiring a hint or two of garlic."[/SIZE]
 
There are many varieties of garlic and they all differ in taste and strength. The two basic differences are "hard neck" and "soft neck". At a Farmer's market here there was one vendor with more than 10 different varieties! Generally speaking, though, the smaller the individual clove the stronger the taste.

2 in Or
 
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