Knowing Garlic

Eat leeks in March and garlic in May, then the rest of the year your doctor can play. That's an ancient Welsh rhyme that says a lot about the therapeutic properties of garlic - botanical name allium sativum and sometimes called the stinking rose owing to its strong and pungent smell. A native of central Asia and an integral feature of the Mediterranean region it's closely related to the onion, shallot, chive, rakkyo and leek.

Known in many cultures for over 6,000 years as a key culinary component in a variety of dishes and as a medicinal remedy, garlic is a bulb that can grow to a height of two feet and produces hermaphrodite flowers. An easily grown plant it's capable of being produced all the year round in mild climatic conditions. China leads the world in the cultivation of garlic - indeed it harvests the sticky juice within the cloves as an adhesive to mend porcelain and glass - followed closely by India and South Korea with Egypt, Russia and the USA snapping at their heels.
Next time you're revolted by the garlicky bad breath or the garlicky smell clinging to your fellow passenger in a bus blame the sulfur compounds in the plump cloves of garlic that, when crushed, sliced or chewed, release a chemical, allicin. This can't be processed by the digestive system but passes into the bloodstream where it races to the lungs, mouth and skin. Drinking milk when consuming garlic significantly counteracts the odor whilst chewing fresh parsley, once thought to be an effective antidote, provides only short-term salvation.

Enjoying enormous cult and celebrity status in the vegetable kingdom, garlic revels in the weird and wonderful medicinal and magical properties attributed to it. High in vitamins and minerals and low in saturated fat, it's credited with an ability to lower cholesterol, fight heart disease and the common cold, to treat impotence and AIDS, protect against parasites, strokes, high blood pressure and beriberi and to enhance energy levels in humans and testosterone levels in rats. It's used to combat infection due to its antiseptic nature and was chosen as an antibiotic to prevent the formation of gangrene during both World Wars. On the other hand, however, the application of raw garlic to the skin and body cavities is reported to have caused serious burns. It also thins the blood and is best avoided before an operation or childbirth because it may increase the risk of bleeding and interfere with blood clotting.