I'm talking about Garlic Again..

 

So today's letter is G and since I have a real love for Garlic, I thought I would give you some reasons to love Garlic too.

During last years A to Z I used Garlic for my G then too, check out that link for details about kinds of garlic and where to plant then check out my fall post on harvesting Garlic. Lots of great information in those two posts, but now I'll give you some information on how Garlic can be beneficial for your health!

Garlic is in the Allium family which also includes onions and leeks, it contains Allicin which creates the distinctive smell. This is a sulfur compound that is released when the cloves are crushed or chewed. It is very rich is vitamins B, C , selenium and Manganese for very little calories and carbs.

Health benefits attributed to eating garlic include lower cases of colds, lower blood pressure and lowers cholesterol levels. It is also been proven to be anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, by applying the juice of a crushed clove to an area that is infected, then wash with room temperature water. This is an easy home made ring worm or athletes foot remedy.

When preparing garlic is best to go ahead and crush or chop the cloves and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes. By breaking down the cell walls it allows a chemical transaction to take place. If they aren't crushed or are heated immediately you still get the great flavor but not the antioxidants and cancer fighting properties.

Garlic is easy to grow, doesn't take up lots of room and it's easy to harvest. What's not to love about it.

If your looking for a way to extend your garlic harvest, lacto fermenting is the way to go by adding probiotics to all of the other positive attributes garlic has.

Here's an easy recipe for fermenting:
We generally use a small jar like a 1/2 pint or pint, it takes a lot of cloves to fill a jar.

• Peel your cloves and add them to the jar up to an inch and a half from the top
• Create a Brine by by adding a 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt to a cup of water
• Pour the Brine into the jar up 1 inch from the top
• Either use a weight to hold down the cloves and cover with a cloth  or use a regular canning lid but this will need to be removed every other day to release the built up gas
• Leave the jar on the counter covered with a towel to keep the light out for a week.
• Then move the jar to the fridge for another couple of weeks, this will help the flavor.

Your fermented garlic can be used in any recipe that calls for raw garlic, heating the garlic will kill any probiotics produced by the fermenting.

Fall is the best time to plant your garlic so if you are in the US mark your calendar to remind you to plant or if you're just now heading into cooler weather it's time to get those cloves into the ground.

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to check out the other blogs working with the A to Z Challenge .

I'll see you in the garden!