Garlic
Allium sativum
F
rom all my reading, it’s been hard to come
up with plants that have a longer history of
cultivation (other than grains) than garlic. It
has been cultivated since at least 3000 BCE!
Garlic loves a cool start during short days.
As it grows, so should the length of the day and
the temperature. It’s actually best to plant in
late autumn, about 6 weeks before you antici
pate your first frost. Failing this, you could
keep the seed bulbs in your refrigerator at
about 40ºF until the soil can be worked in early
spring.
When the flowers form and the stems yel
low, you’ll need to lodge them by bending the
stalk right over, pointing to the ground. Do
this carefully so as not to break it.
Harvest 2–3 weeks after lodging. Brush off
soil and leave on shaded screens (for air circula
tion) to cure until the outside is dry and the
neck tightly closed.
Garlic’s pronounced flavor has been enjoyed
by billions and was an obvious choice for my
first year in the kitchen garden—coupled, nat
urally, with its relative ease of farming and
storage.
I grew up in the hotel business in Europe,
where my parents were hoteliers. Our waitstaff
was from northern Italy and Poland and thor
oughly enjoyed their garlic—even to the extent
of chewing whole cloves raw! This greatly trou-
bled (nice way of saying infuriated) my dad, who
couldn’t stand its aroma on a waiter’s breath.
When a waiter would ask politely, “How is your
meal, sir? Is everything satisfactory?” my dad
would humph, “Yes—everything except your
breath!”
The problem was solved by a
stern rule: before each meal ser
vice, each garlic eater had to eat a
small bunch of fresh parsley
and then breathe on the
maitre d’, who would also
inspect their teeth for large
green fl ecks. Today’s
unions may not be so per
missive!
For me, garlic in the right measure is an ab
solute essential. But it doesn’t have to be used
as a blunt instrument. It should have a small
but important walk-on part in the drama of
great food.
To become such a fan, you could try it
roasted, which makes it quite mild and sweet.
The Numbers
For every 100 g raw (3.5 oz ; ½ cup): 149 calories,
0.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 33 g carbohydrate, 6 g
protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 17 mg sodium
Note: 1 garlic clove weighs about 3 g and translates
to 4 calories, 0 g fat, 1 g carbohydrate, 0 g protein, 0 g
dietary fiber, 1 mg sodium
154 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE
