More than just a potent meal-time ingredient, garlic has been used for centuries to combat every aliment from sickness to hair loss. While some claimed uses are nothing more than myths, there is substantial evidence for legitimate health benefits. Studies have shown garlic to lower blood pressure, increase insulin production and work as a topical antibiotic, among other things.
History and Origins of Garlic
Garlic has been a cultivated plant for so long that it is difficult to trace its true origins.
It is most likely that it was originally native to central Asia, spreading throughout Europe and Mediterranean civilizations.
Today, it is cultivated throughout the world grows wild in Italy and southern Europe. Garlic was widely used in ancient Egypt for its healing powers.
Greek historian Herodotus wrote about inscriptions on the walls of the great pyramid of King Khufu recording the amount of garlic, onions and radishes eaten by the slaves during construction.
During this age of the Pharaohs, garlic was handed out to laborers because it was believed to increase their strength and stamina for the difficult job of constructing pyramids.
The Egyptians also accounted garlic for warding off diseases, and kept it in bountiful supply around slave camps. The Ebers Papyrus (an ancient Egyptian medical writing), cites garlic as a remedy for 22 varieties of diseases. There are even accounts of the Egyptians worshiping garlic.
Garlic is mentioned in the literature of several great ancient world kingdoms including Persia, Babylon, Greece and Rome. Discordies, Rome's head medical officer, is reported using garlic to treat intestinal worms. Aristotle and Hippocrates also mention the use garlic as an important holistic remedy.
Theophrastus
Historian Theophrastus records the ancient Greeks serving garlic as a supper for their god Hectate. Greek Olympic athletes used it for improved stamina. However, some Greeks, including Orace, account it as a sign vulgarity, most likely because of its smell. In later times, William Shakespeare discourages actors from eating garlic in order to keep their words sweet.
Our English word "garlic" comes from Anglo-Saxon origins from the words "gar" (meaning spear) and "lac" (meaning plant).
How Does Garlic Grow?
Garlic is classified as a part of the allium family along with onions, leeks and shallots. It grows as a bulb beneath the soil, with leaves shooting up through the ground with large, green blades. Individual cloves can be planted as seeds. If garlic is left on the counter long enough, roots and leaves will begin to appear. All that is needed is to simply place a garlic clove in the ground or in a pot to begin the growing cycle anew.
When garlic matures, the green leaves will turn brown and begin to wither. If the garlic is harvested before this time the cloves will be much too small, and it is impossible to replant the bulb once the cloves have split apart.
After garlic is harvested it must be properly dried. This is often accomplished by hanging the bulbs upside down in a cool, dry, environment. If the garlic is not allowed to dry completely, it will rot. Usual drying time is about one week.
Garlic grows in a number of climates and is easily produced in both the traditional Mediterranean environments as well as in cooler Northern conditions.
Garlic in the Kitchen:
Few common kitchen ingredients are as versatile as garlic. It can be used to flavor a wide variety of food from a number of ethnic origins. Available in most any grocery store, garlic bulbs are inexpensive and keep well.
Each bulb contains several cloves. Each clove can be separated and peeled individually, allowing the others to remain sealed in their husks, prolonging freshness.
Peeling Garlic
To peal a garlic clove, most chefs recommend laying it flat on a cutting board, placing your chopping knife broad side on top of it, and then quickly smashing the garlic with one quick tap with the heal of your palm or the side of your fist.
This separates the skin from the garlic without much damage to the clove inside, and makes it very easy to peel. The clove can then be used whole, minced, chopped or pressed as an ingredient in your favorite recipe.
Fresh young bulbs are the most powerful and are in season during the summer months. After garlic has been peeled and chopped it quickly loses its potency, since the delicate chemical reaction that takes place is unstable and is destroyed within hours.
Aliments Garlic is Recommended for:
Garlic is used to treat many types of infections and health issues. Some of the most common uses for garlic include skin treatments for its antifungal, antiviral and antibiotic properties. Ingesting garlic has been cited for improving circulation, lowering blood pressure and curing a cough.
As an Antibiotic:
Garlic has been used to treat many types of infections. Add it to a foot soak to treat athlete's foot or press a clove and add a little olive oil to help heal a middle ear infection. Crushed raw garlic is a powerful antibiotic that has the ability to kill certain strains of the staph bacteria. It can be safely applied to any open cut.
For Acne:
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