h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You pretty much believe that there is no such thing as too much garlic.

Of course there isn't, never heard of it

In fact, we even have a restaurant here in Stockholm where garlic is used in everything, including shots and - ahem - ice cream. I've not been there yet, but I should definitely pay them a visit. And if a dish does not have enough garlic in it, they'll happily provide you with some garlic on the side, so I've heard...

I can take garlic or leave it, but my mother would certainly make a bee-line for any restaurant called "Absolutely no garlic".

Don't you find that too much garlic makes you thirsty, though?

Garlic - yes, never can be too much. Did you ever make the roast chicken with all those heads of garlic? I can't remember the exact number, but it is worth it.


Now I understand the need for garlic, (it's sold here in bundles - no one ever buys just the one) and now I have moved onto chili peppers.

This is the latest, everything now has garlic AND chili.

Next time we do dinner, I must remember to make you chicken with garlic and cider. The whole point is the VAST quantities of garlic.

Garlic. It's one of the essentials of life.

Garlic makes everything taste better. I don't use it as often a I would if I didn't have to work with the public all the time. I'm alwys worried about offending with my breath. Same with raw onions, which I love.

Mind you, I did test this theory the other day. There's this Russian salad which is raw grated carrot and raw grated garlic and mayo. MiL left me in charge of putting the garlic in.

It was almost (almost) too much. I thought I had permanently burnt out my taste buds.

But I did walk around for hours later with an astonishingly pleasant aftertaste.

There are compensations to being off work.

I've always fancied a trip to the Garlic Festival on the Isle of Wight where many garlicky delights can be tasted including the aforementioned garlic ice cream and even garlic beer so I'm led to believe. That may be taking things a bit too far.

MC

I have one of those clay garlic roasters. I love to roast a whole head and then use it as a spread.

Sol, the garlic you used for the salad, did you press it, or finely chop it?

There's a difference in taste, see - and I wouldn't have known hadn't I come across our food and beverage manager yet again having a heated discussion with our head chef (this was years ago, when I was still working in one of our hotels).

F&B manager was a vegetarian, and he and the head chef had quite often different views on the menu, but this time, to my surprise I heard them agree profoundly on one thing: garlic should always be finely chopped but never pressed.

I later read something about it - an oil (I think it was) that tastes bitter. Anyway, I tried it at home, and thought it might quite a difference, so ever since then, I'm firmly in the chopping camp.

This journal has reminded me that I need a mortar and pestle to squash up the raw garlic needed for alioli. It's very interesting to read about the oil being released by pressing Titania, and I remember being told a similar thing by chef who told me to squash the cloves firmly with the flat of my knife before removing the skin in one go and then chopping.

Looking up the recipe for alioli also made me practice some Spanish reading, so this post is brought to you courtesy of the word for clove of garlic - which is diente, or tooth - very descriptive.

I'm a chopper, usually, Ti, but in this case I grated it.

Alioli, mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I was at the garlic farm on the Isle of Widget quite recently actually MC, and they do indeed sell garlic beer and garlic ice cream, amongst other delightfully garlicy treats. You name it, they probably do a garlic version of it.

The garlic farm also happened to be on TV at the time, with Clarissa Dickson-Wright (is that right?), and the buzz is that the finer you chop your garlic, the stronger the taste. So big whole cloves of slow-roasted garlic can be quite sweet and tasty in themselves.

Hmm, I want to eat something deliciously garlicy now. Ciabatta is a particular favourite. to shops...