The most interesting use of garlic, as well as one of the earliest, is as a performance enhancing substance. It was given to Olympic athletes in ancient Greece to reduce fatigue and enhance physical capacity.
4.5 cal/clove
1g carbs
High in vitamins A & D ♡
High in omega-6 fatty acids♡
Calcium, potassium and other vitamins and minerals
! Sensitivity alert - High FODMAP
A century ago a French writer used the term "rose puante" to describe garlic. It's debateable whether he meant "stinking rose" affectionately or not, but it stuck. Just like the smell itself, causing equally questionable affection between couples where one is a lover and the other a hater.
Despite it's BO issues, garlic stays as captivating in the kitchen as it has been for millenia: used for cooking, as a medicine and even for pest control, although protection against the supernatural was a more modern development. Scientists and nutrionists today are finding evidence of the healing properties the ancients simply believed in, and chefs and their adoring diners continue discovering the endless versatility of this root vegetable.
Can you tell that I'm in love?
Tastewise, I can't get enough of garlic. But I discovered the hard way (again) that too much of a good thing can indeed be bad. Despite what I saw as my culinary prowess with the clove, I hadn't realised glorious garlic was a FODMAP food until I stuffed myself with it!
Aside from stuffing, I love to add whole garlic to my roasts or steamed veg. One day, drunk on this love, I ate too much and began drunkenly belching. Garlic-scented. My near-heartbreak (as a life without garlic would seem a flavourless death to me) launched me into the complex world of FODMAP quantities and led me to discover that 'all in moderation' is not just a preachy phrase used by the unadventurous. I was lucky enough to find that tempering my urge to garlic-binge means that, unlike most of my previous FODMAP affairs, garlic and I... c'est pour la vie.
(If you can... only as much as you can)
As loveable as it is, garlic is off the table for many sensitive foodies. Some are allergic, which is not very common. It's an immune system reaction that causes your body to go into a fight-or-flight response. Typically that involves various parts of the body that seem unrelated to eating, like the chest, head or skin.
It's a relief to know that we can love garlic guilt-free:
Of course, the real impact of growing garlic depends on the farm and farmers' practices. We value local, privately-owned farms that we can visit, and farmers we can get to know and love. That way our support nourishes those who nourish us.