This is version 0.05 of Garlic
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Version 0.05 dated 17.04.2006
Garlic
Introduction
Garlic or Allium sativum to give it its proper name is a perennial plant in the family Alliaceae and genus Allium, closely related to the onion, shallot, and leek. It does not grow in the wild ( not sure if this is right I am sure that I saw a programme on the television, where the guy presenting it had wild Garlic, I will have to check this), and is thought to have arisen in cultivation, probably descended from the species Allium longicuspis, which grows wild in south-western Asia.
Garlic has been used throughout all of recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes (Here I want to say that recorded history means 4000 years or more, which is not a lot of as history goes)
The portion of the plant that is most often consumed is an underground storage structure called a head. A head of garlic is composed of a dozen or more discrete cloves, each of which is a botanical bulb, an underground structure comprised of thickened leaf bases. Each garlic clove is made up of just one leaf base, unlike onions, which are composed of numerous leaf layers. The above-ground portions of the garlic plant are also sometimes consumed, particularly while immature and tender. (Good in a salad so I am told, I have yet to work up to trying this, but one of the problems is that I suspect you have to grow the Garlic yourself as this appears to me to be the only way to get very fresh Garlic)
Garlic has a powerful pungent or "hot" flavor when raw, which mellows considerably when it is cooked. Raw or cooked, garlic is noted for its strong characteristic odor, and for giving those who eat it a distinctive breath odor as well. Some cultures accept the odor of garlic more than others. Northern European cuisines, for example, use garlic only modestly and tend to cook it for long periods of time to diminish its strength.
Chapter 1
Some Garlic History
From the earliest times garlic has been used as an article of diet (Yes, which means more than 4000 years ago, well it does for this book and as I am the writer that’s what its going to be). It formed part of the food of the Israelites in Egypt and of the laborers employed by Khufu in the construction of his pyramid. Garlic is still grown in Egypt, where, however, the Syrian is the kind most esteemed, mainly as it has a better flavor, maybe some thing to do with the soil in Syria.
It was largely consumed by the ancient Greek and Roman soldiers, sailors and rural classes, and, as Pliny tells us, by the African peasantry. Galen eulogizes it as the "rustic's theriac" (cure-all), and Alexander Neckam, a writer of the 12th century, recommends it as a palliative of the heat of the sun in field labor.
Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, gives an exceedingly long list of scenarios in which it was considered beneficial. Dr. T. Sydenham valued it as an application in confluent smallpox, and, says Cullen, found some dropsies cured by it alone. Early in the 20th century, it was sometimes used in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis or phthisis.
Garlic was rare in traditional English cuisine (though it is stated to have been grown in England before 1548, I shall have to do some more research to see if I can find a reference that I can put in here to back this statement up), and a much more common ingredient in western and southern Europe, notably in French cuisine. Garlic was placed by the ancient Greeks on the piles of stones at cross-roads, as a supper for Hecate (Theophrastus, Characters, The Superstitious Man); and according to Pliny, garlic and onions were invoked as deities by the Egyptians at the taking of oaths. The inhabitants of Pelusium in Lower Egypt, who worshipped the onion, are said to have held both it and garlic in aversion as food (just look what they were missing out on)
To prevent the plant from running to leaf, Pliny advised bending the stalk downward and covering with earth; seeding, he observes, may be prevented by twisting the stalk (by "seeding", he mostly likely means the development of small, less potent bulbs).
Garlic is among the oldest known horticultural crops. In the Old World, Egyptian and Indian cultures referred to garlic 5000 years ago and there is clear historical evidence for its use by the Babylonians 4500 years ago and by the Chinese 2000 years ago. Some writings suggest that garlic was grown in China as far back as 4000 years ago.
Garlic grows wild only in Central Asia (centered in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) today. Earlier in history garlic grew wild over a much larger region and, in fact, wild garlic may have occurred in an area from China to India to Egypt to the Ukraine.
This region where garlic has grown in the wild is referred to as its "center of origin" since this is the geographic region where the crop originated and the only place where it flourished in the wild. In fact, although we sometimes hear about "wild garlic" elsewhere in the world, this is the only region where true garlic routinely grows in the wild without the assistance of human propagation.
There are other plants locally referred to as "wild garlic", but these are invariably other species of the garlic genus (Allium), not garlic itself (Allium sativum). For example, Allium vineale is a wild relative of garlic that occurs in North America and is commonly called "wild garlic". One thing that I am having a bit of fun with is this, who was the person who ate this plant that they thought was Garlic where was it and when some one else then told them that they were eating the wrong plant what did they do?
The "center of origin" for a plant or animal species is also referred to as its "center of diversity" since it is here that the broadest range of genetic variation can be expected. That is why those of us who have sought to find new genetic variation in garlic have collected wild garlic in Central Asia.
Once cultivated by the first garlic farmers outside of its "center of origin", what types of garlic did early afficianados grow? In fact, we know almost nothing about the early types of garlic produced. No designation of garlic varieties was made in the early writings discovered to date, be it hard neck or soft neck, red or white, early or late, local or exotic. Throughout its earlier history some have speculated that soft neck garlic was the predominant type cultivated although evidence of what would be interpreted as a hard neck type was found interred in Egyptian tombs. It was not until garlic was cultivated in southern Europe within the last 1000 years that the distinction between hard neck and soft neck was routinely noted. Until more ancient writings which describe garlic are found, or old, well-preserved samples are unearthed, we can only speculate about the early types of garlic grown.
Garlic producers and consumers have come through 5000 years of history growing and eating their crop with little need to specify type or variety. In fact it is a rather modern habit of only the last few hundred years whereby more detailed descriptions of varieties have come to be developed for any crop plant.
Chapter 2
Garlic through the Ages (Say 2 pages)
Some thing will have to go here, not yet sure what, maybe a series of dates with events that happened with regards to garlic.
Chapter 3
All about the Garlic Plant
Garlic has been used for thousands of years as a food additive and as medicine in China. The name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from gar (a spear) and lac (a plant), referring to the shape of its leaves.
It belongs to the Liliaceae family and genus Allium, which has more than 600 available species. Included in this family are onions, shallots, leeks, Japanese bunching onions, Chinese and common chives. Mostly all Allium crops originate from the main centre of Allium diversity that stretches from the Mediterranean basin to central Asia. Garlic has a long history of use throughout Europe as well, being used as a food additive and for various medicinal purposes, and has often been mentioned in folklore.
There is a Mohammedan legend that states: "When Satan stepped out from the Garden of Eden after the fall of man, Garlic sprang up from the spot where he placed his left foot and Onion from that where his right foot touched". In some parts of Europe, there is a superstition that if a man running a race chews on a morsel of the bulb, it will prevent his competitors from passing him.
However, garlic is very important in many cultures for their cuisine. What would Chinese or Italian food be without garlic?
And its long history of medicinal uses are now being backed up by numerous studies proving its antibacterial and healing powers.
Origin of Garlic
Garlic is believed to have originated in western China from around the Tien Shan Mountains to Kazakhstan and Kirgizstan. A chap called Vvedenskv proposed that garlic evolved from the wild species Allium longicuspus. The spread of garlic probably was first to the Old World and then to the New World.
Garlic Chromosome Number
Common garlic, found in supermarkets, has a somatic number of 2N=16 with a karyotypic formula of 6 metacentric chromosomes, 4 submetacentric chromosomes, and 6 acrocentric chromosomes. Garlic plants found in the Campania region of Italy were shown to be tetraploid with 4N=3 2.
Garlic Nutritive Value
While garlic is primarily used as an herb to enhance many food dishes in various cultures, many compounds can be found in its bulbs. It contains vitamins A and C, potassium, phosphorous, selenium, and a number of amino acids.
Most important are the over 75 sulfur containing compounds including alliin (S-allyl-Lcysteine sulfoxide). If the bulbs are ground or crushed, alliin is transformed into allicin (diallyldisulfide S-oxide), which the typical garlic odor is attributed. A broad spectrum of antibacterial properties is associated with allicin .
Morphology of Garlic
There are two distinctive botanical varieties of garlic recognized, Allium ophioscorodon (L.) and A. sativum (L.). Variety ophioscorodon is characterized by an initially coiled, tall woody scape with relatively few brownish-purple cloves per bulb.
The sativum variety, or common garlic, produces a weak flower stalk, if it bolts, and has a bulb with many pure white or pink-blushed bulblets. The bulb, or part which is eaten, is composed of numerous bulblets or cloves, they are enclosed in a whitish skin and grouped between membranous papery scales.
The leaves are like grass, long, narrow, and flat. If flowers are produced, they are at the end of a stalk rising directly from the bulb. The flowers, which are white, are grouped together in a globular head, or umbel, and are enclosed in a kind of leaf or spathe. Small bulbils may be produced to replace the flowers. The development of these aerial bulbils may be a result of domestication.
Cultivation of Garlic
Garlic is normally cultivated vegetatively. Garlic grows best in a rich, moist, sandy soil, but can also be grown in a loam or clay soil. A little lime should be added to the soil. The bulb should be divided into individual cloves, and these are planted separately about 6 inches apart and 2 inches deep. A sunny spot is best and weeding recommended while occasionally gathering the soil up around the roots.
A look at the effects different fertilizers can have on garlic showed that phosphorous can decrease plant height, average bulb weight, and marketable yield. Farmyard manure can also decrease the average bulb weight and marketable yield but increase the plant height.
The date that garlic is planted can have a significant effect on the yield. In one study, bulbs planted in the autumn increased total yield by 3.13 tons/ha and marketable yield by 2.93 tons/ha as compared, with bulbs planted in the spring. Trimming can also affect yield. Trimming an upright shoot can increase total yield by 10.07 tons/ha and 0.42 tons/ha for marketable yield. Therefore, if planting for higher yield, planting in the autumn and trimming the shoots can be very advantageous for greater bulb let production.
Chapter 4
Garlic the Varieties
Garlic Variety German Red
Large bright purple bulb contains 8-12, extra easy-to-peel, round, light brown cloves with some purple at the base. Flavour is strong, hot, and spicy. Keeps moderately well when properly cured and stored. Can be grown in mild climates; however, develops better quality and size where the winters are cold. Colour will become brighter if it is stressed by too much water.
Garlic Variety Spanish Roja
Gourmet garlic famous for flavour! Light purple streaks on 7-13 easy-to-peel cloves. Suited to colder climates. May not yield well where winters are too mild. Very popular with market gardeners and restaurants. Brought to the Northwest before 1900; often called "Greek Blue" by Northwest gardeners.
Garlic Variety Early Italian Purple
The bulb is large and white-skinned with purple stripes and numerous small cloves. This vigorous plant is better adapted to summer heat than Italian Late. Widely grown around Gilroy, California in the United states of America, the “garlic capital” of the world.
Garlic Variety Inchelium Red
From Inchelium, WA, on the Colville Indian Reservation in the USA are large - to 3+ inches in diameter. 8-20 cloves of good size. Mild, but lasting, flavour, with a hint of hot! Dense cloves store well. Flavour can get stronger in storage. This vigorous soft-necked variety won a Rodale taste test of 20 garlic strains - named "Very Best of the Soft-Necks."
Chapter 5
Garlic and its uses (Say 2 pages)
Chapter 6
Garlic Medicinal Uses
In the 1970's many epidemiological and experimental studies provided evidence that garlic influences risk factors associated with heart disease, Feeding garlic to patients with coronary heart disease decreased serum cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and VLDL and increased HDL levels. A 1993 study showed garlic can lower serum cholesterol by as much as 9 percent by stimulating the release of bile by the gallbladder and by decreasing the production of cholesterol in the liver. Garlic may also aid in the lowering of blood pressure by slowing the production of the body's pressure raising hormones.
Another benefit of garlic is its ability to relax vascular smooth muscle, which prevents the acute hypoxic increase in pulmonary pressure.
Garlic is also able to stimulate the immune system's macrophages, white blood cells that destroy foreign organisms. It also increases the activity of T-helper cells, and can be used to treat upper respiratory viral infections because of its ability to clear mucous from lungs, and help asthma patients.
During WWI garlic was used as an antiseptic for wounds and to treat typhus and dysentery, the Russians are sited as being the guys who did this as they did not have access to the new wonder drug Penicillin at that time, in fact lots of people did not have access to it as it was in very short supply.
Researchers have found that garlic blocks the action of certain enzymes that help infectious microbes survive in host tissue.
Potent antioxidants are found in garlic that protects cell membranes and DNA from damage. A study was done on different 22 vegetables and tea, it found garlic to be in the top quintile of ORACroo, or oxygen radical absorption capacity. Garlic also had the highest antioxidant activity against peroxyl radicals based on fresh weight. It also stimulates the production of the liver's detoxifying enzymes that neutralize carcinogens. Nitrosomes are carcinogens absorbed from food and water and can be blocked in a test tube by garlic.
This is evidence that higher intake of garlic may reduce some cancer type risks. Dietary intake of garlic is inversely related to the incidence of gastric cancer as shown in a study in Shandong Province, China. Chemical studies have shown diallyl sulfide to be the major active compound of garlic.
Chapter 7
10 Great uses of Garlic (Say 2 pages)
1. Ice-cream
Chapter 8
Garlic Recipes (Say 2 pages)
Chapter 9
Notes (Say 2 pages)
Total Number of pages 42
As you can see the book could with a bit of effort be at least 42 pages long and if you added some copyright free pictures maybe the book would run to 55 pages. I reckon that someone else must have written a book on Garlic as it is such a popular cooking ingredient that selling such a book to a publisher would not be a problem. Not that I am going to do that with this book if I ever get round to doing the whole thing.
You might think that saying all this stuff here would mean that I have no chance of making any money from doing such a book. But the truth be told I write because its fun and all my books have be made available under the share and share alike licence.
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