I was in Migros the other day picking up garlic for a pizza and was wondering how does one choose a good one? As they all cost the same price, so why not pick the biggest but then how do you know is any good coz you cant see the dammed cloves inside --hate it when theres green shoots or brown marks on my garlic.
thanks

Smell it

Biggest is not best when it comes to garlic.

Choose one
that is small
with no green shoots
has no brown soft musty bits
that is hard and fresh (possibly purple bits)
where the segments are not fallling apart

And as Sutter says, smell it.


If you get one that is bad, cut it in half and insert it into your chicken before roasting, leave the other half to roast with your potatos.

Oh, the fresh garlic isn't always available but grab it when you can. The base has a lovely strong scent.

Gooner is there anything you dont know and what do you mean by purple bits?

Sutter/Gooner what am I smelling for, as I dont smell anything with fresh garlic (or should I)??

Fresh garlic often has soft purple hues in it. Small, hard, purple-ish segments are the best garlicky ones to get.

Sadly garlic is not what it used to be. I remember when a sliver of clove of garlic would burn your mouth. Today you get big, tastless cloves. Look for local, seasonal garlic. It's difficult. Garlic is something I am most let down by these days.

You can smell when the garlic is not good it makes you feel sick not a nice smell yuck

What IT MUST NOT smell, is musty.

Thanks, was wondering what the purplish hues were on the garlic . By the way, Migors sold fresh garlic looked bit like a fresh spring onion which I've never seen before.

That is what we call wild garlic. It has a slightly different, wilder flavor and is absolutely lovely in soups. It looks a bit like spring onion, but it's more leafy.

Please look out for Jack's posts about what's fresh at the market. On the list you will find new season garlic coming toward the end of the month. No excuses, get your fresh garlic there!

http://www.englishforum.ch/other-gen...ket-march.html

Jack's your man for all food related question, grumpygrapefruit too, but more cheese.

The guy who runs www.garlic.ch (Ail d'Angelo) has some pretty dang spicy garlic. I used to see him at our local twice or so a year markets when I lived in Muttenz. Last time he gave me some garlic that was wickedly hot. He also has various marinated garlic. It ain't cheap, but it is good. Goes great with Pizza or Raclette.

His name's not really Ail. I mean, you just made that up, like some kind of strange Canadian humour!

Garlic can be difficult in Switzerland during the winter and very early spring... They can be rotting in the middle, sprouting (very aggressive flavor), or completely withered. This is a result of long storage... Fortunately, there is an excellent garlic season here, which has just begun with the fresh garlic mentioned earlier (Migros and Coop carry fresh garlic from Egypt, which is not even close to the fresh garlic from France or Italy available at the market). The purple hues are actually from a specific variety, and not all garlic has those nice hues...

more on garlic in Switzerland...

Jack

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Hey Gooner that is so true. In Asia garlic was TOO HOT to eat raw. Here it is very easy to eat raw.

I always try to avoid garlic from China. I read a very disturbing report that said it was bleached to appeal to the western market. Sometimes it is hard to get stuff other than Chinese though. Completely off topic, another reason to avoid Chinese veg and fruit is their use of nightsoil to fertilise

For anyone who has a garden, growing your own garlic is a great option. It is not difficult, but you need to plant them in autumn, not in spring. They will come above ground in January and should be ready in May/June.

They are difficult to grow in pots though, you would need deep containers with well drained soil. Anyway, if you are really after the freshest garlic, it might be the best option. and it is fun too, they grow fast!