Wow that article was interesting. We were watching the Doctor oz show and the topic was natural ways to get rid of a cold. One method that I remember him talking about was to rub garlic and olive oil on your feet. There was also a chef who appeared on the show. He made a hot and sour soup which also prevents u from getting sick. That also had a lot of garlic in it as well
Sent from my iPhone On Feb 12, 2012, at 9:28 AM, "Rhonda Scott" <[email protected]> wrote: > Garlic > > Garlic is one of the most versatile flavors to ever grace a kitchen. It not > only tastes wonderful, it's very good for your body. Learn about Mother > Nature's most precious gift to cooks of all levels of expertise. You > don't have > to be dodging vampires to love garlic! > > Garlic (allium sativum) has lovingly been dubbed The Stinking Rose, yet > it is > actually a member of the lily (Liliaceae) family and a cousin to onions, > leeks, > chives, and shallots. The edible bulb or head of garlic is composed of > smaller > cloves. It's a root crop, with the bulb growing underground. Crops are > harvested in mid-July and hung in sheds to dry before reaching their > prime in > late-July/early-August. > > There are over 300 varieties of garlic grown worldwide. American garlic, > with > its white, papery skin and strong flavor is one of the most common > varieties. > Italian and Mexican garlic, both of which have pink- to purple-colored > skins, > are slightly milder-flavored varieties. Elephant garlic (allium > scorodoprasum), > which has very large, extremely mild-flavored cloves, is not a true > garlic, but > a closer relative to the leek. > > Garlic has long been considered a medicinal food, being used to protect > against > plague by monks of the Middle Ages. Hippocrates used garlic vapors to treat > cervical cancer, and garlic poultices were placed on wounds during World > War II > as an inexpensive, and apparently quite effective replacement for > antibiotics, > which were scarce during wartime. > > Now science is beginning to prove the medicinal properties of garlic > that our > ancestors took for granted. Studies have shown garlic can suppress the > growth > of tumors, and is a potent antioxidant good for cardiovascular health. Other > studies show garlic can reduce LDL or "bad" cholesterol and is a good > blood-thinning agent to avoid blood clots that could lead to heart attack or > stroke. All this at only 4 calories per clove! > > Believe it or not, one raw garlic clove, finely minced or pressed > releases more > flavor than a dozen cooked whole cloves. When garlic cloves are cooked > or baked > whole, the flavor mellows into a sweet, almost nutty flavor that hardly > resembles any form of pungency. This nutty flavor makes a surprisingly nice > addition to desserts, such as brownies or even ice cream. Whole, unpierced > cloves barely have any aroma at all, while raw garlic is the strongest in > flavor. When sautéing garlic, be very careful not to burn it. The flavor > turns > intensely bitter, and you'll have to start over. > > Selection and Storage: > Choose heads that are firm to the touch, with no nicks or soft cloves. > If you > notice dark, powdery patches under the skin, pass it up since it's an > indication of a common mold which will eventually spoil the flesh. Store > unpeeled in an open container in a cool, dry place away from other foods. Do > not refrigerate or freeze unpeeled garlic. As garlic ages, it will begin to > produce green sprouts in the center of each clove. These infant green > sprouts > can be bitter, so discard them before chopping the garlic for your recipe. > However, if you plant the cloves and let them sprout to a height of > about six > inches, you can use the sprouts like chives in salads and such. Properly > stored > garlic can keep up to three months. > > To peel a clove, place it on a cutting board on its side, and gently > press down > quickly with the flat side of a butcher knife. The skin should then > easily peel > off. If you find the skin clinging desperately to the clove, > congratulations! > You have fresh garlic. As garlic ages, it shrivels inside the skin, > making it > easier to peel. > > Garlic can also be purchased as peeled whole cloves or minced, both > stored in > olive or vegetable oil. It's imperative that garlic in oil be stored under > refrigeration to avoid potentially-deadly bacteria growth. If you use a > lot of > garlic and wish to cut your preparation time down, you can also pre-peel and > store your own in olive oil in the refrigerator, but the best flavor > will come > from freshly-peeled cloves. Use garlic powder, garlic salt, and garlic > extract > (juice) only as a last resort. > > Source : An e-friend > > _______________________________________________ > Cookinginthedark mailing list > [email protected] > http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list [email protected] http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark
