The History Of Garlic
Preserved garlic and garlic fragments found in ancient caves and tombs strongly suggest that our ancestors have been using garlic as a food seasoning since their gathering and hunting days. There is speculation that they began using garlic about 10,000 years ago, just after the last Ice Age. First reference to the health benefits of garlic date back 8,000 years and were found in ancient Chinese writings. Garlic was domesticated during the Neolithic period when humans evolved from semi-nomadic hunter gatherers to sedentary farmers. This evolution changed the way people lived. They built permanent dwellings and started communities which evolved into cities. This in turn gave rise to the great ancient civilizations (and their cuisines) of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, China and India. Garlic featured heavily in the cuisines of all these civilizations.
Garlic In North America
Garlic (Allium Sativum) which is commonly consumed for culinary and health reasons is not native to North America. Allium Canadense (also known as wild garlic, wild onion or wild leek) does grow in the wild in Eastern North America but should not be confused with true garlic. It tastes more like onion than garlic and is not available commercially.
A few varieties of garlic originally came to North America with the first Polish, German and Italian settlers. There is also evidence that garlic from the Spanish Conquistadores found its way north to the Southwestern USA. Most of the rest came in a rush beginning in 1989 with the fall of the Soviet Union. Growers have been slowly increasing the stocks of these newcomers and making them available to garlic consumers. If variety is the spice of life, this is exciting news for garlic lovers and adventurous chefs.
A few varieties of garlic originally came to North America with the first Polish, German and Italian settlers. There is also evidence that garlic from the Spanish Conquistadores found its way north to the Southwestern USA. Most of the rest came in a rush beginning in 1989 with the fall of the Soviet Union. Growers have been slowly increasing the stocks of these newcomers and making them available to garlic consumers. If variety is the spice of life, this is exciting news for garlic lovers and adventurous chefs.
Garlic Today
Most garlic consumers have been conditioned by the fact that there has only been one type of garlic sold in their local supermarkets. Garlic was garlic, but garlic is not just garlic. When considering garlic for planting or cooking, one needs to be aware that there are literally hundreds of different cultivars or sub-varieties in North America, globally more than 1,100. They are almost all different in size, color, shape, number of cloves per bulb, pungency, storage life and, most importantly – taste.
Botanists classify all true garlics as the species Allium Sativum. There are 2 subspecies: hardneck garlics and softneck garlics. Hardnecks were the original garlics and are the closest to wild garlic. Softnecks were developed over centuries through an evolutionary selection process.
Hardnecks are characterized by a central woody stalk that’s surrounded by a single row of cloves. They grow best in cold climates and are the dominant garlic in Central and Northern North America. The stalk or scape is succulent in early spring and is generally harvested because of its culinary value. It is also harvested to force the energy of the plant into the development of larger bulbs. Hardnecks do not lend themselves to mechanized planting as the basal plate (the brown cavity at the bottom of the clove where the roots emerge) must be planted facing down for the scape to properly develop. No machine can accomplish this. Hardnecks are considered the best culinary garlic. They produce large, easily peeled cloves with a dazzling array of robust, subtle, intriguing and delicious flavours.
Softneck garlics produce smaller scapes and sometimes no scapes at all. Softnecks have a soft central stem surrounded by several rows of cloves. They are non-bolting, which means they don’t produce scapes or flowers. They are the most widely grown garlics in the world because they are amenable to mass production and do well in warm climates. The garlic found in most North American supermarkets is softneck. Unfortunately, most supermarket garlics come from China where mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic are habitually present in the soil as well as the garlic.
There are 10 generally accepted varieties or groups of garlic. Five hardnecks: Porcelain; Rocambole; Purple Stripe; Glazed Purple Stripe and Marbled Purple Stripe. Three weakly bolting garlics (considered hardnecks): Creole, Asiatic and Turban. Two softnecks: Artichoke and Silverskin. The 1100 sub-varieties or cultivars of garlic grown throughout the world originally came from these ten basic groups or varieties. The hardnecks evolved in the Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas. Their individual characteristics have been altered over time by careful (or accidental) selection and changing growing conditions, such as soil fertility, rainfall, temperature, altitude, length and severity of winter, etc. as they spread across Asia and Europe. Asiatics and Turbans developed in the East, while the Creoles developed in Spain and southern France. Artichokes and Silverskins developed in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.
Botanists classify all true garlics as the species Allium Sativum. There are 2 subspecies: hardneck garlics and softneck garlics. Hardnecks were the original garlics and are the closest to wild garlic. Softnecks were developed over centuries through an evolutionary selection process.
Hardnecks are characterized by a central woody stalk that’s surrounded by a single row of cloves. They grow best in cold climates and are the dominant garlic in Central and Northern North America. The stalk or scape is succulent in early spring and is generally harvested because of its culinary value. It is also harvested to force the energy of the plant into the development of larger bulbs. Hardnecks do not lend themselves to mechanized planting as the basal plate (the brown cavity at the bottom of the clove where the roots emerge) must be planted facing down for the scape to properly develop. No machine can accomplish this. Hardnecks are considered the best culinary garlic. They produce large, easily peeled cloves with a dazzling array of robust, subtle, intriguing and delicious flavours.
Softneck garlics produce smaller scapes and sometimes no scapes at all. Softnecks have a soft central stem surrounded by several rows of cloves. They are non-bolting, which means they don’t produce scapes or flowers. They are the most widely grown garlics in the world because they are amenable to mass production and do well in warm climates. The garlic found in most North American supermarkets is softneck. Unfortunately, most supermarket garlics come from China where mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic are habitually present in the soil as well as the garlic.
There are 10 generally accepted varieties or groups of garlic. Five hardnecks: Porcelain; Rocambole; Purple Stripe; Glazed Purple Stripe and Marbled Purple Stripe. Three weakly bolting garlics (considered hardnecks): Creole, Asiatic and Turban. Two softnecks: Artichoke and Silverskin. The 1100 sub-varieties or cultivars of garlic grown throughout the world originally came from these ten basic groups or varieties. The hardnecks evolved in the Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas. Their individual characteristics have been altered over time by careful (or accidental) selection and changing growing conditions, such as soil fertility, rainfall, temperature, altitude, length and severity of winter, etc. as they spread across Asia and Europe. Asiatics and Turbans developed in the East, while the Creoles developed in Spain and southern France. Artichokes and Silverskins developed in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.