subject: Terrific Cooking And Acquiring All Set For Dinner [print this page] Garlic's thraputic qualities hve been with us for thousands f yars, and it was until fairly rcntly in human histor that t was th antibiotic that popl turned t. Before the discovry in 1928 of enicillin garli was one of th principl ntibiotics of hoie. Today prhaps too often we rely n the pharmacy, but fds like garlic are known t rvnt many illnesses before they beome major problem n need of pharmaceuticals.
What t n garli that maks it o vtal fr ur helth? It is th sulphur-baring compound allicin that scinc has found to giv garlic its therapeutic ualities. Traditinally it has been known t rduc cholesterol and blood prur, which in turn ffrs protection from heart disease and stroks. But mr reently it has been thought to fight bod infections f used regularly. Whch bring u to some of the latest finding which uggt that it uld ubtantially rduc the risk of th common cold, and if ou do pick one up our recovery will be qucker.
But thn f coure there is the infamous garlic mell to contend with, and mny ppl find the taste too overpowerng. So when w dd t t our cooking we will have to take this nto ccunt. The first tip to allow th allcn n the garlic to fully develop before adding to the cooking. Crush or cut th garli vr fn, leave fr ten minutes, then add it to wht ou're cooking about five minutes before th end. Th will be jut enough ht t cnvert th allicin in th dih into active compounds.
Here are a few thr tps to consder whn cooking wth garlc:
1. Sauting grlc. Nvr burn it, as t will become virtuall unuable beause of its intenely bitter taste.
2. Garlc presses. If ou plan n doing a lot f cooking with garl, plan to get ne. Pressed garli will give a strngr flvr thn chopped, nd if kept in a tightly sealed glass container t n be strd n th rfrigrator for months. Jut place an unpeeled clve that h th green shts removed into th cvity, press th handles tgthr firmly while holdng t ovr a ontainer.
3. Garlic potency. The mre finely you cut or chop th grli, the strnger will be th flavor. Not unlike grndng coffee, th mor expoure it has t th ar surfce, th mr flvor that wll be mttd.
4. Purchasing garli. When buying grlic avoid thos clves that re ft or shriveled.
5. Storge. Never refrigerate garlc cloves, but kp t cool and dry nd out of the sun. Store it out in the open, it needs air circulation.
6. To remove the grlic odor from your hands, rinse them with fresh lemn juie, scrub thm with a lttl salt and rine in ool wtr. After eating garlc, make yur breth fresh b chewing a sprig of fresh parsly.
