Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Garlic: Garden Grown


Those photos, top and bottom?  They are why I grow garlic.  That, and . . .    I can.  I didn't know that before last year.  That I can grow garlic.  That it would be so easy and so satisfying.

How can I explain what it's like to walk out to the garden, dig up a huge head of garlic, wash it, peel it, roast, saute, grate raw, do whatever with it,  fresh from the earth?

The cloves are pure, pure white.  Moist.  Mild yet unmistakably garlicky.  No bitter germ here.

As they dry and cure their pungent odor wafts about the kitchen; not overbearing, but a gentle reminder that cloves are at hand when you need them and that you will need fewer in each dish with the ageing.

If you're a garlic lover, as in more is always better, - better yet, if you grow your own - you know of what I speak.

I've just pulled the last of this year's crop. The braid you see below is a small example of my hoard and I hope  I will have enough to last through the winter.

Already I'm turning and feeding the garden beds for an early spring planting when I plan to double the crop.



I also plan to document the process and will bring it to these pages as the months progress.  I'm even going to experiment with planting a few in pots, just to see how they do.  I'll let you know.






Copyright 2005-2012, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

8 comments:

  1. So awesome that you can grow your own garlic and other produce. Your garlic looks gorgeous!

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  2. Absolutely beautiful, Christine.

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  3. So lovely, such a gentle rose color! I love garlic and the way my hands smell when I work with it.

    I tried green onions this year, but not garlic. Next year!

    Just stunning, Christine!

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  4. Well done, I am trying to remember what a Frenchman selling garlic told me about the best way to keep garlic. I am having a senior moment!! I thought he said to take a a section from each glove in turn?? Does that sound right to you?
    Anne

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  5. I'm not sure what that means, Anne, to take a clove from each. What I do is this: to use the garlic in its fresh, moist stage I peel back the skin so each clove shows but is still covered. I then wrap the heads loosely in waxed paper and put them in the crisper drawer of the fridge. They will keep fresh this way for several weeks. To dry them I place the whole garlic plant - head and stalk - on a screen table in a dry, dark place and let them dry, turning them once a week until the stalks are completely dry. Then I braid them. Hope this helps.

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  6. A job well-done, I say!
    Your home grown garlic looks just so beautiful & must have tons of garlic flavour! :)


    Yum too! :) xxx

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  7. I grew garlic when we lived in our last house.... never enough to keep over the winter though... LOL
    I haven't tried it here... Mental note - plant garlic next year!!!

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  8. Really pretty, Christine! Mine is drying in the garage. I need to set aside some to plant the new crop.

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