Garlic
 

I love garlic, but I find that most (all?) restaurants that use it don't know the simple trick of removing the germ first. With the germ, the aftermath is just not pleasant. Without it, there's no problem.

Anyone else notice this?

My garlic has fast turnover. Usually there is no developing germ to remove.

I would think this would also be the case at a restaurant?

Good point. I'd think so, but I always get sick when I have garlic at a restaurant, and never at home, when I know the germ is removed.

Garlic
 

Germ?

I had to look it up too. :o

It turns out what I refer to as "sprout" is germ for garlic:

http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/ui...terGarlic2.jpg

You learn something new everyday on FT. :D

There are restaurants that don't remove germ? :eek: I thought that's Cooking 101.

Wow, I love garlic and never knew about this. :) What exactly is wrong with this "germ?"

Well, congratulations on having the garlic gene anyway! I understand it's like licorice - you either love it or you hate it with no chance of it growing on you. I can't handle even a little bit. Had some black garlic recently that looked great. Couldn't stomach it.

all garlics are not the same. i presume the typical restaurant uses a powdered substance that comes from china. (heads from china are also at H-mart). a significant percentage of the stuff which are of different varities started in europe, and are now grown in truck farms all over the usa. i do not think most restaurants shuck and mince their own garlic. it is very time consuming project.

i planted garlic in my garden two years ago. planted two pounds, yield, maybe half a pound.

I always wondered what that was...and now I know. Never have removed it, nor noticed a bad taste, but I will go forward. Thanks Flyertalk!

I'm curious, one doesn't plant the entire bulb correct?

It's nothing to do with taste...just horrible gas. My dad showed me the trick of removing the germ. When I do, no problems. When I don't, problems. :)

The germ appears in older garlic. If the bulb is very fresh, there won't be a germ. If the bulb has been sitting somewhere for a week, the germ appears. Germ doesn't develop in that pre-peeled garlic in a jar...maybe it's because it's packed in liquid?

I buy bulbs instead of pre-peeled stuff in a jar since I'm one of those stodgy types who agrees with Anthony Bourdain that if you don't have time to peel and chop your own garlic, you don't deserve garlic. :)

I had no idea it was a genetic thing. I hate black licorice. Guess I don't have that gene. :)

one buys large bulbs, and plants individual cloves about a foot apart(i don't know why so far apart). i bought $30 of fancy seed garlic heads(2 lbs). took about a 4' by 16' space to plant them, got about a pound of garlic in return. one plants shallots the same way. i have great success with them.

If you store garlic cloves in the cold, like the refrigerator, the germ will develop faster than if you don't.

Some people remove it and say it matters
Some leave it in and say it doesn't
Some believe it's the most flavorful part of the garlic and would never remove it

It affects different people in totally different ways.

I have a huge bag of garlic that's been in the fridge for a while. I just took out a piece and dissected it but couldn't find the "germ." It's already been peeled though.

Our restaurants by garlic that is already pre-peeled. They are whole cloves and they come in gallon jars. Most restaurants use that. It's easy and it is real garlic.