Question about garlic

[cbayer]

A lot of recipes call for garlic by the number of cloves. Cloves range so dramatically in size. Is their a standard that you use?

[Warpy]

1. Number of cloves is just a suggestion, IMO

for the reason you cited. The one exception is the chicken with 40 cloves of garlic recipe.

I just add it to taste. I figure one large clove equals two small ones and decide just how garlicky I want it to be.

[cbayer]

2. This is my problem with cooking.

I am a scientist without an iota of artistry that I have been able to discover. I cook like a scientist. I need to start being more creative.

A friend who is a chef recently asked me if I taste things while I am cooking them. I don't. I just follow the recipe and hope it turns out ok. I need to start tasting things, then decide how much more garlic I may or may not need.


:rofl:

[Warpy]

3. Tasting is the key

although no one expects you to taste a marinade that already has raw meat sitting in it. Taste that before the meat goes in, please.

You can tell even when something is going to be part of a finished product whether or not it will add to the final outcome instead of subtract from it if you taste it. An impeccably clean pinkie is the perfect way to taste cool things. Wooden spoons are best for hot things since they'll cool them off a bit in transit.

I learned to taste things in progress the hard way, too. I was also the scientific type, raised by a scientific type who hated cooking.

[Retrograde]

4. The garlic I get in California seems to be stronger than European garlics

At least going by recipes I've tried - I tried a British recipe for Cordovan gazpacho which called for 3 cloves of raw garlic, used 2, and haven't had a problem with vampires since!

In general, raw garlic is stronger than cooked, the fresher bulbs are stronger than older ones, finer slices are stronger than chunks - when in doubt, use less then the recipe calls for, taste, and add more if you think it's needed. But beware: the taste of raw garlic develops as it sits, so what may taste good initially can be overpoweringly garlicky after a few hours.

[cbayer]

8. I am starting to do it more, but then I get confuzzled about what to do next.

I am trying, though.

:hi:

[Retrograde]

5. There's a lot of science in cooking, but also a lot of art

When you're working with natural ingredients they're going to vary. Taste, taste, and taste somemore.

If you're interested in the science of cooking, I recommend McGee or Brown for why things work the way they do. Then you can try making bread and see how doughs behave differently depending on temperature and humidity!

[cbayer]

9. I heard one of these guys interviewed recently and they were fascinating to me.

I will take a look at the books, but I think they would really appeal to me.

Thanks!

:hi:

[Tesha]

7. I have a suggestion...

Read your recipe several times, make a few notes if you need to, then go to the kitchen and cook.
Don't refer back to the recipe.

You will begin to learn how to cook to your taste instead to someone else's.

I made Julia's Lobster Bisque last night - it was wonderful, and it was also the most complicated recipe I've done in years.
As I struggled through her 4 page recipe I re-wrote it in my head. later I'll write it down in my journal to remember it.

I'll leave out the tarragon and add savory instead - get help with mashing the shells - and use less cream...
just like I did with her recipe from "reading it" to "doing it".

[cbayer]

10. You are soooo brave! Julia's lobster bisque with improvisation? I can only dream.

I think your idea is a good one. I rely on recipes, but I think I will do what you suggest. I need to get better at using what I have on hand or that needs to be used next. So, reviewing a recipe, then going to the fridge and picking out what sounds right for that is a great idea.

I do some of that. For example, I don't like shrimp, but I like a lot of recipes that include shrimp. I love chicken and can store it more easily than most meats. So I am doing some experiments with substituting chicken for shrimp.

:hi:

[Tesha]

12. Experiment! Like a scientist!

You're going to find you have a whole lot more fun too, trusting yourself.:applause:

[cbayer]

13. I am very lucky to be married to a man who will eat anything.

And he never complains - so I have the leeway to be more adventuresome. He will eat his portion, then eat mine if I don't like it.

I am the complete opposite, choosing not to eat over eating anything that does not appeal to me. It all works out!

:toast:

[morningglory]

22. You can never have too much garlic, IMOP. I toastes slices of bread for

lunch a couple of hours ago, and put an entire clove on each slice. It was very good.

[lukasahero]

26. Have you ever seen this website:

Cooking for Engineers

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/

I love that site!

[cbayer]

27. Excellent and really speaks to me!

I can't wait to look at it more closely. thanks so much!

:hi:

[Phentex]

6. My standard is to double it!...

Ok, not really. But I do like a lot of garlic! So if a recipe calls for three cloves, I look for the largest ones in the bulb. It's not exact but it does depend on your taste.

[cbayer]

11. That's kind of what I do. I love garlic and always have a lot on hand, so when a recipe

calls for cloves, I tend to go for the biggest ones. But I have been known to overdo it, particularly when the call is for raw garlic.

Practice, practice, practice.

:hi:

[hobbit709]

14. There is no such thing as too much garlic.

[Tesha]

15. oh... wait... coff... coff...

I used to take walks with a woman who, on certain mornings, would have a cloud around her - and aura of {gasp} garlic.

Now SHE had too much garlic.

[hobbit709]

16. But I bet no vampires or mosquitos bothered her.

[BabbaTam]

17. garlic

Hi fellow beginning cook! I too am learning and found that garlic can be used much more liberally than you would believe. My girlfriend likes so much of it that I believe it makes the food a little bitter, but still, it's tasty. Here's some stuff I learned about it so far. According to a grower that was lecturing on it, the small heads are stronger than the large ones. I'm talking here about the standard bins of it at the grocery, not the really big 'elephant' stuff. To use it, cut off the hard end and crush it with a knife, making the 'paper' pull off easily. Then chop it. If you are sauteing onions and garlic, put the onions in first and cook them a bit before adding the garlic. (it burns easily) Don't put it into hot sauce or salsa raw. It changes flavor quickly just like raw onions (goes off). Use garlic powder instead. Garlic salt is a fun thing also. Also taste your final product (Emeril Legasse recommends this strongly),I used to never do that. Duh! Why didn't I ever think of that. Salt is the thing. It's hard to tell how much since some people are accustomed to low salt diets. What may taste good to you will taste different to a person not used to eating much salt and it can make or break a flavor. A little bit at a time. Add a pinch, stir, taste, add a pinch, stir, taste. Err on the less side since you can always add a bit more to your own plate, but usually a bit of it is essential. Without it the flavor is just plain flat. As Jacques Pepin says,"appy kooking"! :9

[cbayer]

19. Great info and advice. Thanks, BabbaTam!

:hi:

[MajorChode]

18. It doesn't matter what size you use

Smaller garlic cloves are stronger in flavor, and bigger ones are milder in flavor. So the theory holds that regardless of big or small, there is the same amount of garlic flavor in each. When in doubt, quadruple the amount of garlic cloves called for.

[cbayer]

20. OMG!! An actual quantitative answer to my conundrum!

That makes me feel so much better, and I am not kidding.

:toast:

[Inchworm]

21. I have no concept of the question

:rofl:

But I am certain my kitchen is a laboratory.

The things I've created... *sigh*

:)

:hi:

[pinto]

23. I buy crushed garlic in a jar, use 1/2 teaspoon in everything except oatmeal.

:hide:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

24. i always double garlic in recipes

:)

[daleanime]

25. That works for me!!!

:yourock: