What Is Allium Sativum?

Culinary Use

• Allium sativum is a pungent, compound bulb which consists of several sections called cloves. It plays a key role in many European, South American and Asian cuisines, forming the backbone of classic sauces such as pesto and aioli. One clove is enough to flavor a dish for most palates, although hardy diners clamor for dishes like chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.

Health Benefits

• The potential health benefits of garlic have long been a subject of study, although nothing conclusive has been determined. Historically, allium sativum has been used to ward off everything from a cold to the bubonic plague, and more effectively as an antibiotic in the days before penicillin. More recently, anecdotal evidence suggests garlic may be useful in controlling cholesterol and blood pressure, although the Mayo Clinic on its website warns that the evidence is preliminary and long-term effects remain unknown. Its antibiotic properties also continue to be studied. Nutritionally, garlic is a source of vitamins A and C, potassium and phosphorus.

Growing Garlic

• Garlic usually is grown from cloves. It is a fairly demanding garden crop and a heavy feeder. Plant garlic several weeks before the first frost in the fall, in soil that has been well-amended with garden compost or cured manure. The cooler temperatures of fall give the plant plenty of time to produce roots and leaves, and the subsequent warm temperatures and long days of summer cause bulbs to form. Provide plenty of fertilizer and mulch well, as the allium sativum plants do not complete well with weeds.

Types

• There are three basic types of garlic: hardneck, softneck and elephant. Hardneck garlic has a thick central stem, or "neck," around which the cloves are grouped. It has fewer but larger cloves more uniform in size than softneck, and the cloves are easier to peel. Softneck garlic has several overlapping layers and its thick skin makes the cloves more difficult to peel. The cloves of elephant garlic can grow to prodigious sizes--as big as an entire bulb of ordinary garlic--and it has the mildest and sweetest taste.

Garlic Festival

• No discussion of allium sativum would be complete without a mention of the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Held since 1979 the last weekend in July in Gilroy, California, the festival draws thousands of lovers of the "stinking rose" to the Great Garlic Cookoff. Recipes inspired by the festival range from Garlic Seafood Soup to Roasted Garlic Blueberry and Pear Cobbler with Garlic Pecan Brickle Cream.