Full The Stinky Rose
Garlic’s curative capacities were documented as far back as 1550 B.C. in civilization’s first medical text, the Codex Ebers. Written by ancient Egyptians on papyrus, the report hailed garlic as a digestive aid, a hemorrhoid remedy, and an energy supplement. Hippocrates, “the father of medicine,” prescribed Allium sativum for everything from pulmonary problems to abdominal growths. Louis Pasteur’s identification of garlic’s antibacterial properties in 1858 led to its use as an antiseptic during both world wars. Yet the healing capacities of this pungent little bulb are still being unearthed. “Historically, there has been a lot of information handed down over the centuries,” says Dr. John A. Milner, chief of the Nutrition Science Research Group in the Division of Cancer Prevention at the National Cancer Institute. “The past 20 years have seen expanded research efforts to pinpoint what of that history is true and what is lore.” Scientists from Shanghai to Switzerland are working to definitively document garlic’s antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. It is commonly used as a digestive stimulant, a diuretic, and an antispasmodic, but its potential to treat cancer and heart disease has rocketed garlic research to the top of our nation’s medical charts. The National Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic are just a few of the organizations funding garlic studies, publications, and even hotlines. “Though we have results from animal and preclinical studies, we need more-definitive studies—clinical trials with humans—to know who exactly benefits from garlic and how,” says Dr. Milner. “Studies are being conducted now in various parts of the world that should lead us to more-firm conclusions.” Even if clinically unproven, garlic’s preventive effects are evident. It provides vitamin C, potassium, phosphorous, selenium, amino acids, and a variety of powerful allylic sulfides. Last year a supplement to the Journal of Nutrition included 35 articles on the latest garlic research. The issue hits all of garlic’s healthy high points: its ability to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, its use in fighting colds and infections, and its potential for preventing cancer and heart disease. So while scientists are determining its precise medical value, the rest of us can savor the byproducts of the government’s newfound focus on one of our favorite cooking staples. Today’s aficionados wouldn’t be debating the virtues of Asian Rose versus Persian Star garlic if it weren’t for two important government missions to garlic’s “center of origin.” Garlic Gold RushThe first mission took place in 1989, the year Soviet Central Asia was officially opened to outside interests. That year and again in 2004, U.S. Department of Agriculture geneticist Philipp Simon joined expeditions to the Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan regions, where garlic still grows wild. There his team found and gathered several new varieties of wild and domesticated garlic. “We saw much variation in wild garlic, suggesting that this crop has quite a wide genetic base,” said Simon, who is also a professor of horticulture at the University of Wisconsin. He says there may be several hundred, or even a thousand, different garlic varieties in propagation worldwide. “There are many more garlics in the wild, a few of which could make it to the gardens and plates of American garlic consumers.” The two missions ultimately expanded U.S. access to Allium sativum by bringing back several new types of garlic. The species includes two main varieties: hardneck and softneck. The garlics gathered in Central Asia were hardnecks, which get their name from the stick that grows from the top of the garlic head. Compared with softneck garlic, hardnecks typically have bigger cloves, more-colorful skins, and stronger, deeper flavors. They also are more rare and expensive than their commercial cousins. Softnecks are believed to be a cultivated version of hardnecks. They are easy to grow, have a longer shelf life, and tend to have more and smaller cloves per head, making them ideal for commercial consumption. The majority of the garlic in supermarkets is most likely a softneck subvariety called Silverskin. Another option found in grocery stores is the faux elephant garlic. Actually a leek, elephant garlic is extremely mild and considered “wimp garlic” by some gastronomic snobs. Both softnecks and hardnecks include equally strong performers in the kitchen, whether roasted or eaten raw. According to garlic guru, writer, and farmer Chester Aaron, the top two garlics in his sales history are the softneck Creole Red and the hardneck Spanish Roja. He avoids recommending one type over another, however, because of varied personal tastes. “Taste differences vary among tasters because everyone has different body chemistry,” says Aaron, who has led gourmet garlic tastings and whose all-time favorite garlic is the mild but rich Cuban Purple, a softneck Creole with very small cloves. “What is hot or bitter or mild or brief or long lasting to one person can be totally different to someone else.” Once the food of grave-digging plague dodgers, garlic has become the guest of honor at gourmet tastings. Garlic sampler kits now include gorgeous rose-and-purple mottled cloves bursting with rich, complicated flavors. And though happily a far cry from the papery white bulbs we grew up with, it will always be the first thing we reach for to flavor our pasta sauce. Garlic SamplerThough most of us think of garlic as just, well, garlic, it actually has two main varieties, with five subvarieties. In all their heady, speckled glory, most of these garlics can be found through boutique growers either locally or online. Softneck Silverskin Artichoke Hardneck Rocambole Porcelain Purple Stripe Aioli, the Ambrosia of Provence For a successful aioli, you need three things: fresh ingredients, good tools, and a willingness to work s-l-o-w-l-y. An olive-wood mortar and pestle is the ideal tool, though a marble set also works well. Make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature. Cut the garlic cloves in half and remove the green central germ, which can make the sauce taste bitter. Basic Aioli Crush the garlic with a mortar and pestle to a smooth paste, working the pestle in slow circles, always going in the same direction. Add the egg yolk and work in until well blended. While continuing to turn the pestle, add the oil very slowly in a thin stream. Keep turning the pestle until the sauce starts to thicken to the consistency of a light mayonnaise. Add salt to taste. If the aioli separates or falls, whisk a single egg yolk in a separate bowl and then fold the aioli into it. Makes 14 to 16 servings. Breath PatrolIf you’ve tasted garlic, you’ve experienced garlic breath. Actually, your body has metabolized garlic’s sulfur compounds so that instead of being digested they are carried to the lungs and the skin and released over several odorous hours. Although there is no cure, there are means to mollify this harmless but miasmic condition:
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