History and Use of Garlic Around the World

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I was making a chicken parmesan the other day, when it hit me… why not add some garlic powder in the chicken breading? This may be something that everyone does. However, I invent my recipes as I go along, so I wouldn’t know.

While I reaching for the garlic, I wondered about the history of garlic. I didn’t know if came from a tree or plant (sometimes I’m not knowledgeable). For those curious it comes from a plant from central Asia dating back to 4000 B.C. It was even a form of Egyptian currency and they made sure that pharaohs had clay garlic in there tombs. While garlic may have been popular with the Egyptian dead, legend has it that it’s not the friend of undead vampires. I never figured out why vampires don’t like garlic, it doesn’t seem it could kill them or hurt them. I’m getting off track…

The average American eats nearly a pound of garlic a year. In my area, San Francisco, there’s even a restaurant devoted to garlic, The Stinking Rose. I’m not sure I want to their garlic martini or garlic ice cream.

Some garlic facts from outside the US:

Mediterranean - Some people in the Mediterranean countries make aioli, a mixture of garlic, eggs, and olive oil. The Spanish tend to exclude the eggs. Another interesting form is ajoblanco, a mixture of garlic, almond, oil, and bread. It sounds delicious enough for me to make as an appetizer later this weekend.
China - The Chinese cuisine make extensive use garlic. It is a common ingredient along with ginger in stir-fry dishes.
Russia - The Russians enjoy pickled garlic shoots as an appetizer

How do you incorporate garlic into your meals? Share your favorite garlic dish in the comments below.

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Posted by Lazy Man on February 8, 2008 in Great Foods.

3 Responses to “History and Use of Garlic Around the World”

Sally Parrott Ashbrook Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I adore garlic. And my husband and I recently planted some in a pot! Fascinating. I need to post photos.
Irina Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Being a Russian myself, I confirm, Russians love garlic! But pickled??? Honestly, I never had a pickled garlic in my life… LOL… But I do put garlic in almost every dish: soups, salads, meat, fish, you name it I put garlic in it. And if that wouldn’t be enough, I take garlic nutritional supplement in capsules… just to make sure that I get some garlic in when I don’t have time to chop and prepare the real thing, the natural garlic.

In addition to garlic I use every other spice known to man in all my dishes and teas. When I lived in Russia I only had access to salt and pepper and garlic, so I am trying to catch up. It helps that my local BigLOTs and CVS sell spices for pennies… I don’t think I would go that wild if I had to pay $5 for each spice. LOL.
Brip Blap Says:
February 13th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
@Irina, well, having lived in Russia and having a Russian wife I have to say that we must have a different sphere of influence. I’ve had pickled garlic PLENTY of times. It’s a little weird, but I got used to it. Otherwise I agree with you 100% - my wife loves garlic in everything, too (not as much as onions, but close)!

I don’t want to be too cruel but I couldn’t stand Russian food for the most part - salt, pepper and garlic were 99.99% of the spices I encountered there. My wife’s Uzbek/Russian food seems a lot more to my taste. Solyanka was OK but otherwise bland city!