Garlic: A Powerful Vegetable

Garlic is a perennial, purple-flowering white bulb vegetable often used to season dishes. It has also been used throughout history for its professed healing properties. Needless to say, this pungent little vegetable packs a punch much bigger than its small size might suggest.

Botanically, garlic is related to similar bulb vegetables such as onions, leeks, chives, and shallots. And according to Penn State Extension's "Pennsylvania Produce" guide, it is in season from July to September (DiGuiseppe & Young, 2016). In the kitchen, garlic is often added to dishes to give them a pop of flavor. But like its cousin, the onion, garlic has such an intense flavor and lasting odor that most people choose not to consume it on its own.    

Nutrition

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (2020), 100 grams of raw garlic (13–20 cloves) has approximately 143 calories and provides 7 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and 10 milligrams of vitamin C. It also contains "high levels of potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and sulfur, moderate levels of selenium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, and low levels of sodium, vitamin[s] A and C" and several B vitamins (Ansary et al., 2020).

Harvest and Storage

Ford et al. (2023) advise that "Garlic is ready to harvest when 40 to 60 percent of its leaves have yellowed.” Often, in Pennsylvania, this happens by mid-July. When garlic is ready to harvest or when you purchase garlic bulbs from the store, Penn State Extension recommends that you choose "plump, firm, and dry bulbs" (DiGuiseppe & Young, 2016). Don't choose garlic bulbs that are wet or soft, as this can be a sign that they are rotten. DiGuiseppe and Young also affirm that "whole garlic bulbs will keep for 2–3 weeks in a cool, dry place."

Also, when shopping for or storing produce (including garlic), keep it separate from household chemicals and raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. As with all produce, throw out any garlic that shows signs of bruising, damage, or contamination.

Preservation

If you grow or purchase a large amount of garlic, you may want to preserve it for later use. Garlic can be preserved by drying and freezing it, which in most cases allows you to use it all year.

To dry garlic successfully, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension recommends that you peel them, gently wash and chop up the garlic bulbs (Andress & Harrison, 2020). Garlic does not need to be pretreated before drying, so no water or steam blanching is necessary. The estimated drying time for garlic cloves in a food dehydrator is 6–8 hours at 140°F. Be aware that garlic has a pungent odor and should be dried by itself. Garlic is finished drying when it is crisp.

To freeze garlic, the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP, n.d.) advises that garlic-in-oil mixtures can be placed in glass freezer jars or plastic freezer containers with a ½-inch headspace and stored in the freezer for as long as several months. Always label and date items you plan to freeze so you don’t end up with unidentified foreign objects in your freezer.

Alternatively, if you want to make fresh batches of garlic-in-oil, the NCHFP (n.d.) cautions you to store them in the fridge at 40°F (4°C) or lower for no more than 4 days. Were you to store them at room temperature, you would risk the mixture developing Clostridium botulinum.

Adding Garlic to Your Pickles

While garlic itself can't safely be canned, it is often an ingredient in pickled products, such as pickled cucumbers, pickled asparagus, and pickled green beans. Before you include garlic as part of a pickling recipe, though, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension warns home food preservers to be aware that the garlic can turn green or blue (Andress & Harrison, 2020). Extension educators often receive questions from preservers about the safety of garlic that has changed color. In response, Georgia Cooperative Extension says that this change in color does not mean the garlic has spoiled. "This reaction," they say, "may be due to iron, tin, or aluminum in your cooking pot, water, or water pipes reacting with the pigments in the garlic. Or, the garlic may naturally have more blueish pigment that is more evident after pickling." Regardless, they say, the pickled vegetables (including the garlic) are safe to eat.

Cooking with Garlic

To cook with fresh garlic, first remove the outer papery skin. Then gently wash the garlic cloves under cold, running water. Garlic can be used raw or added to dishes where it is sautéed, roasted, boiled, or steamed.

For a recipe that uses fresh garlic, try the following flatbread recipe.

Garlic Roasted Tomato Flatbread Recipe

6 servings | serving size: half of one flatbread

When preparing this recipe, start with clean countertops and utensils. Wash hands with soap and water. Wash the whole, fresh produce by rinsing the spinach and gently rubbing the tomatoes and garlic under cold, running water. Prewashed, packaged items do not require further washing.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 3 whole-wheat flatbreads
• 1½ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, and olive oil.
3. Spread tomatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 20–25 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.
4. Remove the tomatoes after they are finished baking and increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
5. In a small skillet, heat water and spinach. Cook for 1–2 minutes or until the spinach is wilted. Turn off the heat and set aside.
6. Coat a separate baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and then place the flatbread on it. Spread the cheese evenly on the flatbreads and add the tomatoes and spinach.
7. Bake for 9–10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the edges are browned.

Recipe adapted from Butter Your Biscuit (Garlic Roasted Tomato and Spinach Flatbread) 

Sources:

Agricultural Research Service. (2020). Garlic, raw. U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Andress, E. L., & Harrison, J.A. (2020). So easy to preserve. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.

Ansary, J., Forbes-Hernández, T. Y., Gil, E., Cianciosi, D., Zhang, J., Elexpuru-Zabaleta, M., Simal-Gandara, J., Giampieri, F., & Battino, M. (2020). Potential health benefit of garlic based on human intervention studies: A brief overview. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 9(7), 619. Doi.org/10.3390/antiox9070619

DiGuiseppe, K., & Young, N. J. (2016). Pennsylvania produce: A guide to quality produce grown in PA. Penn State Extension.

Ford, T. G., Fronk, L., Kime, L. F., Harper, J. K., Bogash, S. M., & Orzolek, M. D. (2023). Garlic production. Penn State Extension.

National Center for Home Food Preservation. (n.d.). Freezing garlic-in-oil. University of Georgia.