Garlic
Garlic, in French is called "Ail" coming from the Celtic all (hot, burning). It is linked to legend, religion and history in many countries. An Arab legend says that it grew in the prints left by one of the devil's feet when he left the Garden of Eden, and onion grew in the other footprints. The French word "alliacé" appeared in 1802 taken from the Latin allium. Its name in Sanskrit, bhûtagna, means: monster killer! Since the dawn of time, garlic has had a good reputation and vampires are not the only ones to fear it. Garlic is indispensable in Mediterranean cuisine (like aïoli) but also in much of Asian cooking.
History
The origin of garlic is lost in the maze of history. It is believed to be originally from Central Asia or Northern India. The Sumerians grew it for more than 5,000 years. It has been known in China and India for more than three thousand years for its universal medicinal virtues.
In Ancient Egypt, it was an integral part of the diet of workers who built the Gizeh pyramid, eaten as a fortifier. It was found in the tomb of Tutankhamon: garlic was almost worshipped by Ancient Egyptians. But it was also used for less noble reasons: it was used to mask the smell of mistresses (Chaminade).
In Persia, garlic consumption was about 25 kg per day at the court of Suze in the thirteenth century BC. The odorous rose: garlic was permanently used by the Greeks and Romans. It gave its smell to the people. But to enter the temple of Cybele, the mother of the Gods, it was forbidden to have garlic breath which disturbed refined noses...
"Everyone knows the smell of garlic, except the person who has eaten some"
A.Dumas - Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine
It is also the "poor man's tonic (Galeni), Pliny wrote of its many virtues: "it neutralises all venom, cures leprosy, asthma, coughs, it is a wormer, an odontalgic, diuretic, it protects against the plague and cholera"...
Avicenna (980-1037) recommended for coughs, eye ecchymosis and viligo
It also appeared in Greco-Roman mythology:
- Medea coats Jason with garlic to tame wild bulls and fight the dragon (Legend of the Golden Fleece). In Central America, the Mayas used it against intestinal parasites, by applying cataplasms on the stomach
- The favourite plant of Mars, the god of war (it makes the person invincible and combative).
- Ulysses used wild garlic, moly, on the recommendations of Hermes, to prevent Circe from transforming his men into pigs.
"Take this herb, which is one of great virtue, and keep it about you when you go to Circe's house, it will be a talisman to you against every kind of mischief". As he spoke he [Hermes] pulled the herb out of the ground and showed me what it was like. The root was black, while the flower was as white as milk. The gods call it Moly [Golden Garlic]. Thus protected, Ulysses left to see Circe. "
L'Odyssée, chant X.
It is mentioned in the Bible as a condiment to season fish (Numbers 11:5).
It was frequently used in Ancient Rome, the Roman legions took it with them across Europe and part of Africa.
Beliefs
- In Chinese mythology, it is said to keep the devil away.
- Dedicated to Mars by the Romans, it was supposed to bring strength and courage, protecting against evil...
- In India: a garland of garlic protects against snakes, insects and demons.
- In Laos, it would be cooked with wild mushrooms to protect against poisoning: if the mushrooms cooked with a clove of crushed garlic become black, the mushrooms are poisonous. If the cooking juices remain clear, the mushrooms are safe to eat...
- In Europe: garlic cloves fend off vampires.
- In the Middle Ages, it was known for curing deafness, it was also used as an antiseptic
- To fight whooping cough: a clove of garlic would be put in the patient's shoe.
Virtues
- bactericide, antiseptic, anti-fungal, bacteriostatic, disinfectant: during the First World War, dressings of sphagnum soaked in garlic juice were used to heal wounds. Its antibacterial activity was demonstrated by Pasteur in 1858. In particular it targets gram + bacteria, salmonellae, escherichia coli, etc. This is mainly due to allicin and its hypotensive derivatives
- and dilates the blood vessels.
- Diuretic thanks to fructosanes and the high K/Na content.
- Prevents certain cardiovascular illnesses.
- Hypotensive: thanks to prostaglandin PGA 1 - eat one or two raw cloves every morning ... - garlic tincture
- Reduces the cholesterol rate: certain studies have shown that eating 3g of raw garlic every day can reduce the rate by 20% in particular, bad LDL)
- anti-atheromatic, anti-platelet aggregation: thanks to methyl trisulfide, allyle trisulfide, ajoene E
- fibriolytic
- wormer, anti-helminthic action - sweet teas
- anti-spasmodic
- cholagogue and choleric
- helps to fight diabetes
- favours sleep
- beneficial against digestive disorders
- garlic juice is good against coughs and asthma
- anti-allergenic
- against rheumatism - fresh garlic cataplasm - tincture
Tips and tricks
- Should be planted at the foot of rosebushes to protect them against aphids and disease
- Be careful, it becomes bitter if burnt!
- Classic combination with ginger and onion (Asia and Middle East)
- To make it easier to digest, remove the germ.
- For a delicate and less aggressive flavour, cook it in its skin (frequent in French cuisine).
- Choice and storage: fresh and firm head without mould, stored in a cold, dry and dark place. Pink garlic lasts longer than white...
- Put a few cloves of peeled garlic cloves in your olive oil. Make sure the garlic is not in contact with the air. This gives an excellent flavour to salad dressings
- Garlic can be used as a base for very good glue.
Composition
- 64%-65% water
- 10 to 27.5% de sugar (fructosanes, fructose, glucose and saccharose)
- 3% fibres (pectins, mucilages, celluloses, hemicelluloses)
- 6% proteins (rich in sulphated amino acids: cystein, methionin)
- Energy:1.35 kcalories/g
- Miscellaneous: prostaglandins, phenol acids, phytosteroids, polyphenols, flavonoids
- Vitamins (mg per 100g)
- A
- B1 (thiamin): 0.2, B2 (riboflavin): 0.08, B3 or PP (nicotinamid): 0.65, B5 (pantothenic acid): 0.6, B6 (pyridoxin): 1.2
- C (ascorbic acid): 30.0
- E (tocopherols): 0.1
- Minerals (mg per 100g)
- Potassium (K: 446), Sulphur (S:200), Phosphorus (P: 144), Calcium (Ca: 38), Magnesium (Mg: 21), Sodium (Na: 10), Chlorine (Cl: 30)
- o Trace elements: Iron(Fe: 1.4), zinc (Zn: 1.0), manganese (Mn: 0.46), boron (B: 0.4), copper (Cu: 0.15), nickel (Ni: 0.01), molybdenum (Mb: 0.07), iodine (I: 0.003), Selenium (Se: 7 to 20 ppm)...
- Essential Oil 0.6 to 0.7% of dry matter:
- 60% diallyl disulfide anddiallyl disulfide oxide (Allicin)
- 20% various trisulfides: diallyltrisulfide, methyl allyl trisulfide (anticoagulant properties discovered in 1981 justifying traditional use against vascular risks)
- E, Z - Ajoene, and minor polysulphide (methyl allyl disulfide)
Allicin (diallyl disulphide oxide) is produced, in the case of cellular break-up, by the enzymatic deterioration of allicin, a molecule without a specific smell (s-2-propényl-L-cystéine sulfoxide) . Allicin is spontaneously broken down into diallyl disulphide which eventually forms a garlic smell. These sulphated compounds are used by the plant to protect itself against herbivores. They are why some people do not tolerate garlic.
During cooking, allicin is modified to produce a mixture of sulphated molecules (including ajoene E), characteristic of cooked garlic. In contact with the air, allicin is rapidly broken down, it is therefore necessary to chop garlic at the last minute...
The plant
Allium Sativum
Liliaceae family
A hardy shrub growing (10) 40 to 60 cm high, spontaneously in the Mediterranean region. Leave: 2 to 4, linear and sheathing
White or pink bell-shaped flowers, grouped into umbels at the tips of the leaves. Grouped into a husk of 3 to 4 lobes before flowering
Bulb (or head) of 12 to 20 cloves. They are harvested 4 to 6 months after planting of the cloves when the leaves wither and become yellow. The main producers are: Spain, France, Egypt, Bulgaria, Hungary, USA, Brazil.
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