I do not like garlic! Yep, I said – but hear me out. The typical reaction I get from people when I make this statement is a large GASP followed by a long, drawn out “Are. You. Kidding. Me?” It seems everyone in the world LOVES garlic and can’t get enough of it. The next thing people say is, “but it’s so good for you!” Well, I hate to break it to you but it’s not and I’ll tell you why.
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t give garlic much thought in my earlier years as my palette and culinary abilities developed. After all, there isn’t much garlic in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Raman, and frozen pizzas! I just don’t remember so many recipes and restaurant entrees being so garlic forward years ago. I wouldn’t necessarily avoid dishes with garlic or ask if it can be left out of the dish like I do now. I know, crazy talk right? However, with the popularity of cooking shows I started to notice this obsession with Allium sativum (aka garlic). Garlic is actually a flowering perennial plant and has pretty pink or purple flowers and is pollinated by insects, bees and butterflies when in bloom so what’s not to like, right?
Why I don’t like garlic
I’ll tell you why I don’t like garlic and let me know if we agree, or can agree to disagree? I have several reasons but let’s start with the biggest one of all – odor! The high concentration of a sulfur compound in garlic can’t be digested so it is passed into the blood stream which allows garlic to be excreted for days from the body orally and via pores and sweat! “Garlic breath” and “garlic sweat” are so offensive to my sense of smell I will move away from someone I am talking to or working out next too. For some reason, garlic is only odiferous to the innocent bystander, the offender cannot smell it themselves!!
Garlic and the healthcare provider
Occasionally, I’ll have a patient that reeks of garlic so bad I will double mask just for olfactory protection. On the flip side, most nurses and other healthcare providers can attest that in nursing school or new job orientation we are lectured about the use of perfumes, colognes, or the use of anything producing a heavy scent or odor that could be deemed unpleasant or offensive to our patients. Our patients are already not feeling well so I can’t image inundating them with the odor of garlic. Have you ever been in an elevator with someone wearing a strong scent you don’t care for? That’s garlic for me!
Garlic as a seasoning and for flavor
Secondly, it’s the flavor. The taste of cooked or sautéed garlic in a recipe is not necessarily the bad part, it is the quantity of garlic used in Americanized recipes. Somehow, more is better to most amateur chefs. If you have been lucky enough to venture outside of the states or have seen food or cooking shows that do, you’ll notice that garlic is used sparingly in most foreign cuisine. Trust me when I say that if you experiment with one of your favorite recipes and use a fraction of the garlic called for or leave it out completely, you won’t even know the difference and you might even discover the dish to be more flavorful that you realized because the dish is not overpowered by this one seasoning. When trying new recipes and it calls for garlic, I always leave it out or substitute it for garlic’s close cousins’ onion, shallot or chive. I’m sure you are wondering why then, if I don’t mind the taste of a small amount of garlic why not just add it? Circle back to rant number one – odor!
What is roasted garlic?
Now, I will sheepishly admit to once liking, and even enjoying the occasional roasted garlic smeared over a slice of crusty bread. GASP, I know! Roasting a head of garlic softens and sweetens the meat of the garlic and cooks off some of the pungent properties. Roasted garlic has a very mild, buttery taste and creamy consistency. However, it still emits bodily odors and is only eaten by me if I wanted to torture my husband, lol which is rare thankfully.
Is garlic good for you?
Lastly, as a healthcare provider and health blogger, I can’t write about garlic without dispelling some un-truths about this little flower bulb that everyone thinks betters their health the more they eat. Garlic has no nutritional value with a typical serving size of 1-3 cloves. You would have to eat about 33 gloves in one sitting for garlic to provide some nutritional value! Garlic has been touted for heart health by improving hypertension, fighting cancer, and improving immunity but there just is no large body of research to support these claims. Garlic was said to be used in ancient times for medicinal purposes, but modern-day research cannot find evidence that garlic is the naturopathy wonder drug people want to believe it is. Making better food choices in general is the best way to improve your health.
Garlic sensitivity, side effects and adverse reactions
While I’m at it, I might as well add that besides bad breath and body odor (isn’t that enough??) there are some side effects and adverse reactions to garlic. Garlic sensitivity can cause diarrhea, irritable bowel, ulcers in the mouth and throat among other things. The use of garlic supplements and eating garlic while breast feeding can cause problems are well.
Ditch the garlic!
So, what say ye? Did I convince you to ditch the garlic? Maybe go a little easier on this potent little bulb? I know there are die-hard garlic fans out there and I’m not going to change your mind. Besides, I give you credit if you read this far! But maybe, just maybe, you’ll give some of my suggestions a try. If I can prevent just one person from emitting the garlic vibes my job is (almost) done here. Oh yeah, one more thing, if you can please not freak out on me or the small minority of friends who also don’t eat the stuff that would be great!
Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic