 Garlic is a universal seasoning agent and home remedy. And it's been a favorite from the dawning of Egyptian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations. In fact, it's been cultivated for so long that garlic is no longer found as a wild plant and its seeds are no longer fertile. It's propagated by clove: Plant one clove in the fall or spring and it yields one bulb. Ninety percent of our domestic garlic supply comes from California.
Health Benefits: Garlic has a pungent and sweet flavor, it stimulates metabolism and is used for both chronic and acute diseases. It's antibacterial, anticarcinogenic, and antifungal. It reduces ear troubles, sinusitis, influenza, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Garlic helps stabilize blood sugar levels. Garlic lowers fever by increasing perspiration. It is antiparasitical, and it promotes the growth of healthy intestinal flora. It eliminates toxins from the body ranging from snake venom to poisonous metals, such as lead and cadmium. It increases body heat and thus may act as an aphrodisiac.
Use: To quickly remove the papery scales that enclose each garlic clove, place a clove on a hard surface and-using the flat side of a knife blade-crunch it. If you use a wooden cutting board and don't want everything else to taste like garlic, then you have two options. Reserve a board for garlic and its kin. Or wet the board before cutting strong smelling foods; the water acts as a buffer and protects the board from absorbing flavors. Garlic may be mashed, pounded, pressed, diced, sliced, minced, or left whole. A whole clove cooked slowly has a mild and nutty flavor because the heat has destroyed the enzyme responsible for the odoriferous sulfur compound. When sautéing with garlic, take care not to brown the garlic, or it will become bitter. Garlic has probably been featured in every known savory dish-some people even add it to fruit chutneys and ice cream. There are numerous garlic varieties ranging in color from a pure white to lavender or pink bulbs.
Garlic and ginger are effective folk remedies for jet lag. Eat generous amounts (or take in capsule form as the bottle recommends) several days before the trip, the day of the trip, and one day after a trip. The day of travel drink adequate liquid but avoid coffee, carbonated beverages, and alcohol. Favor easy-to-digest, grounding foods, including potatoes and other root vegetables. That night, a hot bath and oil massage, especially of the feet, help ease jet lag.
from Rebecca Wood's The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia |
