History of Garlic

The word garlic has not changed a great deal over the course of history when it has been spelled over the years as garlec, garleek and garlek, among others. Garlic is a Germanic word composed of two parts - the first is "gar" which means "spear" and refers to the pointed leaves. The second is "lic" which means either leek or onion and is believed to derive from the word "lauka" which has several various spellings in other Germanic languages - "lök" (Swedish) "løg" (Danish) both meaning "onion" and "look" (Dutch) and "lauch" (German) meaning "leek".

Garlic is among the oldest known horticultural crops with ancient Egyptians and Indian cultures first references to garlic dating back to almost 3000 BC. Garlic is believed to be indigenous to Central Asia as this is the only location where it has flourished growing wild. Wild garlic, Allium longicuspis, has been bred for thousands of years and has been carefully bred into today's current hard-neck and soft-neck varieties.

The use of garlic as a food and as a medicinal agent in China dates back to at least 2000 BC, where it was part of the daily diet and often eaten with raw meat. Garlic has been used medicinally in India since the first written medical texts and garlic is mentioned extensively in Auryvedic, Tibbi and Unani.

The earliest known references of garlic being part of the daily diet can be traced back to the Egyptians who, it is believed, fed it to the heavy laborers who built the great pyramids. Garlic was thought to both maintain and increase their strength. It is not known if garlic was consumed by the more well to do of that time period. Perfectly preserved garlic cloves were found in the excavation of King Tutankhamen’s tomb (1341-1323 BC). Was garlic a favorite of the boy King or was it left behind by a laborer on break?

Excavations of ancient Greek temples dating back to 1400-1800 BC, have also uncovered garlic cloves. The Greek also believed that garlic preserved strength and increased work capacity and garlic was added to the Greek's military diet and given to soldiers on their way to battle. Hippocrates, considered by historians as the father of Medicine, used garlic to treat pulmonary issues, as a cleansing agent and for abdominal growths. Roman soldiers and sailors consumed garlic and it has been found on ancient ship manifests from that time period. Roman Medicine was heavily influenced by Pliny the Elder, a Greek physician who wrote the five-volume Historica Naturalis in which he listed more than 20 uses of garlic treating a variety of health issues.

Garlic made its way to North America with European settlers in the colonial period although it was more used as a medicinal than for culinary purposes. It wasn't until the mid-1800s that garlic began to make inroads into cooking. This culinary shift was probably due to the popularity of several French cookbooks. It's use in America was still limited and was more likely found in working class neighborhoods and in ethnic dishes. Garlic didn't really become a prominent seasoning in this country until around 1940.

Garlic Cultivation

Garlic thrives in well-drained soils with lots of sun. The ideal climate zones are 4-9. China is the world's largest producer of garlic and in 2013 (the last reporting year) accounted for just over 79% of the world's production. The United States comes is only the 10th largest producer (at only .7%).

In terms of ease, garlic is one of the best crops to grow. It has a large yield and doesn’t require a lot of specialized attention. It is frost tolerant- some varieties even prefer cooler weather. This plant likes well-drained, nutrient rich soils. The plant only needs 4 to 6 inches of space to grow to its full size and when planted in the fall, it will sprout in the fall. Since garlic is a natural pest repellent, it tends to keep pests away on its own and needs little human intervention.

Where is it from?

Our California Granulated Garlic is from California.

Types of Garlic

Garlic is classified by botanists under the species Allium sativum and there are two primary subspecies - hardneck garlic, Allium sativum variety Ophioscorodon, and softneck garlic Allium sativum variety Sativum. The hardnecked garlics were the original garlics and the softnecked ones were developed or cultivated over the centuries by growers from the original hardnecks through a process of selective breeding. The big difference between hardneck and softneck garlic is their appearance. Hardneck garlic features a long flowering stem called a scape that grows through the center of the bulb. The number of cloves varies depending on the hardneck cultivar, but generally is between 4-12. Softneck cultivars do not typically have a scape, have a larger bulb and typically produce between 8-20 cloves per bulb. Hardneck varieties tend to thrive in regions with more severe winters while softnecks prefer significantly milder winters.

Recent research has found 10 distinct sub-groups of garlic - 5 hardnecks, 2 softnecks and 3 weak bolting hardnecks that often produce softnecks. The 5 hardnecks are - Porcelain, Purple Stripe, Glazed Purple Stripe, Marbled Purple Stripe and Rocambole. The 2 softnecks are Artichoke and Silverskin. The 3 varieties of weak bolting hardnecks are Asiatic, Creole and Turban.

California vs Chinese Garlic

While it is widely believed that California is the garlic capital of the world, in actuality the majority of garlic consumed in the US now comes from China. This isn’t a big deal to everyone, but over the years we've heard from more than a few customers who prefer California grown garlic. We couldn't agree more - there have been several studies (scientific taste tests) that have continuously shown that California garlic tastes better than imported garlic.

The National Food Laboratory conducted brix tests in which they found that California garlic is about 42% solid compared to only about 37% for Chinese garlic. What does that mean exactly? This makes California garlic heavier and denser. The lab also measured the odiferous compound in garlic called allicin. Allicin is released when the bulb is crushed. The results for the California garlic showed over 4,400 ppm [parts per million] of allicin compared to just 3,500 ppm for the Chinese.

While Chinese garlic is certainly less expensive, we've made the decision to only offer California grown Garlic. If you want to see a bit more on our big California Garlic decision you'll see that we worked hard to replace all of our garlic products with US grown Garlic. So not only do you get better flavor, but you're supporting California farmers as well.

Cooking with California Granulated Garlic

Granulated garlic is the one that is called for in most recipes and it can be substituted for fresh garlic in recipes where the flavor of garlic is called for, but not necessarily the texture. If you are looking for more garlic flavor and more of a texture, then you will want to try our Roasted Garlic Flakes . If you have a recipe where garlic flavor is necessary, but not texture or bulk, try Garlic Powder. Granulated garlic is more easily dispersed than garlic flakes and provides more bulk and thickening than powdered garlic. We also carry a California grown Roasted Granulated Garlic that is sure to tweak your taste buds!

Granulated Garlic is especially good with just about anything savory. It’s wonderful on breads, cheese-based dishes, root vegetables, and even popcorn. Granulated Garlic works well in combination with most spices and herbs, but it is surprisingly delicious with cocoa powder and the two combined can be built on with some other spices like chile and onion powder to make a fantastic chicken rub. We especially like to use this California Garlic when making chili.

For some excellent recipe ideas using garlic take a look at these - Chicken Longganisa, Broccoli and Sundried Tomato Pasta, Spinach and Egg Shakshuka, Teriyaki Chicken with Homemade Garlic Sauce and Mushroom and Barley Soup.

What Does California Granulated Garlic Taste Like?

California Granulated Garlic tastes strong, pungent, and very garlicky.

Meeting Your Business Needs with Our Products

Our customers are always coming up with creative ways to use our California Granulated Garlic. Some use it in their small batch specialty sauce recipes, others use it for their gourmet nuts manufacturing processes! Food has this incredible ability to bring people together, and garlic is one of the most talked about ingredients we know of. It is either loved fiercely or hated feverishly, there are few in between people. We can private label jars of it for you, we can send it to you in bulk boxes to line your restaurant kitchen spice walls.

Buying in bulk is a great option if you have a huge amount of food to make, whether that be prepackaged goods or dozens of trays of freshly baked garlic bread for your restaurant. This is a great product to keep on hand because it packs a powerful punch of flavor and adds incredible aroma to any dish.

Substitutions and Conversions

For handy garlic conversions use: 1 fresh garlic clove = ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder or ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic or ½ teaspoon of garlic flakes.

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