Power of Garlic

Today, April 19th is National Garlic Day. Take a whiff. This is the day we celebrate the stinking rose (actually lily). Have you ever had raw garlic? Coming from an Italian background this vegetable has always been a large part of my life. But it wasn't until I came to Korea that I tasted raw garlic.

It is common for the restaurants to serve raw garlic with the barbeque. I saw the other Koreans just took the raw garlic and wrapped it in their lettuce and ate it. When I did the same thing I experienced a burning sensation in my whole body. This was some magical food. Later I learned that not everyone eats raw garlic. It is fine to cook it with the barbeque and eat the garlic roasted. I learned the hard way. Here is a picture of our Korean barbecue.

The origins of garlic is not the Mediterranean or the Middle East although garlic is used in thousands of dishes there. Garlic has its origins in the far East. Garlic is one of the superfoods used as an herbal remedy for colds. Garlic may also be good for the heart lowering high blood pressure and decreasing bad cholesterol. Garlic also has antibiotic properties.

The power of garlic is seen in Myths and legends. How do you keep a vampire away? Try some cloves of garlic. The smell of garlic seems to work well in keeping most people away. Greek midwives would use it to keep evil spirits away and Roman soldiers would be filled with courage when they ate the garlic bulb.

Although China produces the most garlic in the world, the city most famous for garlic is Gilroy, CA. They have a great garlic crop and garlic festival each year. What of the interesting things about this festival is the garlic ice cream. I haven't tried it myself but I would love to.

If you want to celebrate National garlic day then eat some foods with garlic in it. My favorite is pickled garlic that is fermented. Also you can post about it and use the tag #NationalGarlicDay.

I think the song to start this holiday of Garlic is Weird Al Yankovic's "Just Eat it"!