@ForkReporter- Technique of the Week - Garlic Tips

It's National Garlic Day so we are talking all things garlic. Garlioc tips and tricks in this extra long technique of the week. You'll want to hear this!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's get into garlic. Shallowis let's talk garlic today. Throughout
the program, I'm gonna show you a couple of tips
and tricks for roasting and different things to do with garlic,
but I wanted to start with just some facts about garlic.
You know, what exactly is garlic? Uh? You know, you
see it like cartoons or movies, people hanging you know,

(00:22):
multiple bulbs hanging down in the kitchen. I've never done that,
but I do like garlic and I have it in
the house constantly all the time because it's quintessential to cooking.
It's actually part of the onion family. It's also you know,
related to leagues and scallions, chives, that type of thing.

(00:44):
But unlike its cousins, garlic bulbs are made up of
smaller pieces. They're called cloves, and it is this bunch
of those cloves that come together to make the garlic bulb.
And it just has so many different properties, including some
studies that tie it to medical benefits as well. So

(01:06):
even though they sound similar, wi old garlic and elephant
and garlic aren't the same thing. Elephant garlic is actually
more like a leak in disguise. It's a little different.
So why does garlic smell so pungent on its own?
When you get it in a ball? Not much there,

(01:29):
you know, But the moment you peel it, you chop it,
or you crush it, it releases these sulfur compounds. And
that's what gives garlic that signature kick, that flavor that
can't be replicated by anything else, and it's just magical. Now,

(01:51):
I'm sure there's people that don't like garlic, but it
is one of those flavors and one of those smells
that if you just throw garlic in a pan of
hot olive oil or something, it just immediately onions the
same thing. They just make the house smell delicious and

(02:13):
like something wonderful is about to be made. Cooking will
tone those flavors down a bit. And you know, some people,
it gets pretty intense in your mouth. And some people
don't like the garlic breath. The way it mixes with
your own breath can be nasty. Some people say you

(02:34):
can chomp on a mint leaf or an apple slice
or some lettuce after a garlic meal. We know through
a lot of studies that what our friends at Zelmons
have taught us, and that is clinically tested to beat
the crap out of garlic breath and things like that,
so onion breath because it's really attacking it with that

(02:58):
parsley seed oil. Where did garlic come from? This is
one of those things that you can trace it back,
but no one's really sure where it first showed up.
Experts think it probably started in Central Asia. People in
India and Egypt were already farming it over five thousand
years ago, so that's a long time to trace back

(03:20):
when you consider, you know, humans in this state or
go back what ten thousand years history wise, so makes
garlic one of the earliest crops in human history. Eventually
it made its way to China and then you get
southern Europe and today all the garlic in the US
comes from California, so we have a lot of garlic here.

(03:44):
Garlic in ancient times was all over the place as well.
Back in the day, garlic was a big deal. The
Greeks even gave it as an offering to their gods
and stuff like that. The father of medicine and the
you know, the birth of the hippocritic oath and all

(04:06):
of that used it to treat parasites, help with digestion.
Romans loved garlic too. They used to it both as
a seasoning and a remedy for things, so tuberculosis fevers.
Some even believe rubbing a mix of garlic juice and
thyme on your skin could protect you from snake bites.
Don't know if that's true. I that's not what I

(04:29):
would That's not what I bet a snake bite on. Personally.
It's Garlic Day, so I'm gonna be talking a lot
about garblic today because garlic is fantastic. It is just
it is just one of those ingredients that is quintessential
to the smells of a kitchen and one of those

(04:52):
things that the minute I smell it, I just you know,
you start to salivate and think, ooh, something good is
being made, something good is being made, and it just
is a magical ingredient. So we're kind of doing our
nod to that today and all the goodness it brings,
so fighting colds, plagues, and more. Let's look at some

(05:12):
of the things that have been said or done throughout
the centuries of people believing that it has medicinal purposes,
and then we'll get into what science says about that. Currently. Okay,
so fighting colds and the plagues and all that stuff.
In England, people used to mix garlic with honey. Now
honey has antibiotic I think that's what now disinfectant, No antibacterial,

(05:39):
That's what I'm looking for, antibacterial properties. As a matter
of fact, hot honey has been used and honey has
been used for bullet woans in the trenches and has
its own power to it. So mixing garlic with honey
and sometimes alcohol treat colds, stomach bugs, things like that.

(06:04):
During the plague outbreak in France in seventeen twenty, many
folks believe garlic saved hundreds of lives. Even into the
nineteen hundreds, people or garlic nex next lists to guard
against illnesses like the flu. I don't think that does anything,
but you know you're desperate, You going to try something now.

(06:24):
The garlic necklace makes me think about vampires. And we've
all heard the stories in movies and writings that con
continue to push this narrative of garlic scaring away vampires.
That ties back to an actual ingredient that is found

(06:47):
a chemical reaction, a compound inside garlic that shows itself
and multiplies in its robustness and potency when it's exposed
to oxygen. So the minute you peel garlic and I

(07:10):
got it, smash it, any of those things, then you
get something called alison. I suppose it could be pronounced
Allison as well, but alas in a L L I
C I N is always how I've pronounced it. Compound
gives garlic its intense smell in medieval Slavic countries, and

(07:33):
that's where a lot of the vampire tales began. That's
their origin. Garlic was thought off to ward thought to
ward off evil spirits. Since people all used it to
fight diseases and you know all that that, it kind
of makes sense. It became this vampire repellent, which stinks
because you know, as a vampire you live all that time.

(07:55):
You think you want to jump into some Italian food. Yeah, right,
as a vampire, doesn't that bug you? It really does,
And I'm glad that you're bringing awareness to it. Finally, Well,
you know what, the vampophobics that are out there don't
like me to talk about these things. I know, but

(08:18):
I am all for the blood and biting and fang banging.
But it's because of all of that that I can
only come out at nighttime. You know. Yeah, it's just
that right. I know. That's why you are sitting in
the dark in our news room every weekend. I appreciate it.
So how to store garlic like a pro? This is

(08:41):
key for cooking. You can buy garlic. You look for
the bulbs that are plump, tightly wrapped in their skin.
I want some resistance there. Skip any that are sprouting.
You don't want them sprouting or have mold. Obviously they're
past the prime. You don't want that. Store your garlic
in a cool, dark place, just like Andrew Caravella, and

(09:01):
with some airflow like a pantry, and it'll last months,
you know, best flavor and health benefits. Try and use
it within a week, but a last month in there.
So what makes garlic good for you? So that's smelly
oil we were talking about alison or alison is actually
packed with antibacterial power. Garlic also has other you know,

(09:26):
like forty other beneficial compounds flavonoids, selenium, gosh, just tons
of it. So experts think that it's the mix of
all of these that gives garlic its health boosting reputation.
So how might garlic help your health. Now, keep in
mind a lot of studies they continue to do studies

(09:48):
on this and the compounds in the food. The foods
are the first medicine. These are extracts from foods, extracts
from play, These were the first medicines. And so learning
about food as medicine, you know, as your first medicine,

(10:08):
is something that I encourage you to find out more about. Now,
there's limitations to these things. And I am a Western
medicine guy, which means I do believe in the power
of Western medicine and the intellect that went into it.
But I think that also our medical doctors learn don't

(10:29):
learn as much as they should about food. I mean
they'll tell you to eat less or don't have this
type of food, or less red meat and things like that.
Those are the simple ones, but obviously there's other things
to be learned and understood about them. Some doctors know
it because they're interested in food, but otherwise I don't

(10:50):
think it's part of the curriculum the way it should be.
Just my two cents. So there's a lot that suggests
that garlic is good for heart health, might lower cholesterol,
might lower blood pressure, prevent clots, keep your arteries flexible,
and there's even talk that it could help reduce your

(11:11):
risk of stroke. Again, these are things you should talk
to your doctor about. I am not a doctor, but
poking around and doing research is my thing. And of
course none of these things are a substitute for medication.
Even you know, I was talking about zelmens. Okay, So
the active ingredient in zelmens that make it different is

(11:33):
the partially seed oil. Right. Well, I've had conversations with
Anthony and Jared about this. Well, okay, so what is it,
you know, for you go back centuries and you can
find out that in Rome, you know, partially's always been
something that you've had on food to freshen your breath,
so people would chew on it. However, the concentration, the dose,

(11:57):
for lack of a better term then that you have
to have and the quality you have to have to
do it in small capsules is different. So in other words,
the amount that you need of a particular item for
medicinal purposes is something different. So I'm not sure what

(12:18):
all that is, but of course it's no substitute for medication,
but it could be a great accoutrement if you will,
So Garlic might also help regulate blood sugar levels for
people with diabetes diabetes, and these are all things that
are being stuttered studied by modern science. The line between

(12:40):
fact and myth uh is major. Obviously they're making these claims.
The separation has to come through studies. So it's got
its legendary legendary rather reputation. But not all claims are
going to hold up scientifically, and that's what you have
to figure out. There's not solid proof it helps with

(13:01):
colds or sore throats, or Alzheimer's or as an immune boost.
And these are claims that are made all the time.
And so some studies link garlic to lower cancer rates,
which is interesting to say the least. There's still much
more research that needs to be done. I wanted to
get back into garlic because it's kind of all garlic.

(13:25):
I do have some other stuff, a new Kraft mac
and cheese flavor that is not garlic. Earlier, Robin who
does manages our music and engineers the show she in
my ear was like, is it garlic? No Raft macaroni
and cheese. You know, they do have a ranch flavor.

(13:47):
They have some limited flavors of jalapeno. This is a
new one for summer and spring that is out and
about I'll tell you about coming up. Also, Martha Stewart
go to host gift I really really dug and why
frozen food might be better than you think for you

(14:08):
and for the planet. I'll explain all of that coming
up just a bit from now. Garlic ten minute rule.
That doesn't mean that you can drop garlic on the
floor and wait ten minutes to pick it up and
everything will be okay. That's not what it is. The
ten minute garlic rule refers to letting chopped or crushed

(14:28):
or minced garlic stand for ten minutes before cooking or
consuming it. Why do they do this? What is this rule? Well,
this is about maximizing the health benefits, particularly the activation
of that alesin. This is this chemical reaction. The enzymes

(14:51):
react to the oxygen oxidize in a way that is beneficial.
So this weight allows that time to have up in
and it converts al a lenin you know how you
pronounced theeser up to you and makes it into this

(15:14):
other chemical compound with all these health benefits that have
been studied for some time. So activating that a lesin
is important. So the garlic is chopped, it's crushed, the
cells rupture, and like I said earlier, it is in
the family of onions. And you know when you cut

(15:38):
an onion, that's when you are rupturing the cells. And
then similarly that inside those cells, that oil releases and
in this case, not only does it oxidize, but the
minute it mixes with your tears, with the the say

(16:00):
lean in your eye, it's what makes that burning. So
that's what causes that burning sensation in your eyes and
then tearing, which I can't stand. And I love cutting onions.
The actual act of cutting onions, I think is fun,
but I can't stand what it does to my eyes.
It drives me nuts. So it releases those enzymes in garlic,

(16:24):
they react with the oxygen, and that reaction naturally these
occurring compounds and make this kind of super compound that
has medical benefits. So these health benefits, I think is
probably the best way to say them, known for things
like being anti inflammatory. And if you look at a

(16:48):
lot of the things that happen, especially as you get older,
a lot of the concerns you have have itis at
the end of them. And itis is just part of
the fancy term for swelling or inflammation. Really Now, there
are people that go nuts about this, and I haven't
done the deep dive that I should about looking into

(17:13):
just straight anti inflammatory stuff. And there's very many people
that look at this and say, you've got to cut
down the inflammation. Makes sense to me, but there's always
people that are religious about certain parts of you know,
whether it can't eat meat, or you can't do this,
can't anything that's all across the board makes me a

(17:34):
little nervous. So they say it's also an anti viral antibacterial,
and these things are continually being studied by science and medicine.
Some say it reduces blood pressure, improves cardiovascular health, and
there is some evidence of that through studies that have
been made. So why wait, Well, when you cross your chopgarlic,

(17:58):
that rest for ten minutes gives the maximum amount of
this compound being formed before it's cooked or consumed. And
the reason why you want it to proliferate as much
as possible is that gives you one the most health
benefits you can get from garlic, but two is a

(18:21):
lease in is heat sensitive, so like other things, it
degrades during cooking. So the hope air is the longer
you wait, in this case ten minutes before cooking maximizes
the amount of a lease in present and therefore the
stuff that gets cooked out, you still have more that

(18:44):
is preserved preserved through the cooking process because you waited
long enough. So that's where the ten minute rule comes.
You know, the whole ten minute rule with garlic is
to be able to wait until that process takes place.
That is how you know it is at it it's peak,
and so anything that is lost during the cooking process,

(19:06):
you still have a good amount for those potential health benefits.
Garlic's pretty fascinating. I mean, in addition to just being delicious.
It's one of those things because it seems in life
all the things that are delicious aren't good for you.
I mean, I know that's a broadbrush, but you know
what I mean. AnyWho, it's you know, no one ever says,

(19:26):
oh my gosh, you have to have cake all the time.
It's so good for you. Celery, that's good for you.