How To Chop & Peel Garlic

Allium sativum, or as it is more commonly referred to, Garlic, is one of my absolute favorite types of onion. That's right, garlic is a type of onion. And yes, it even trumps the sweet vidalia onions I love to saute so much.

There are numerous health and even medicinal benefits to garlic that go beyond warding off your friendly neighborhood vampire. Garlic has been around forever. Did you know that garlic was actually mentioned over 2000 years ago in the Bible, and has even been found in records dating as far back as ancient Egypt! Garlic is pretty potent (and delicious) stuff, and it is used to flavor cuisine the world over.

In ancient times, garlic was found not only to add sumptuous flavourings to many dishes, but people back then also used garlic to treat certain parasites, poor digestion, lethargy, and even respiratory problems.

Today's modern medicine has shown us that garlic has additional healthy benefits that have to do with reducing that ugly cholesterol number you never want to hear about when you visit your doctor. It has also been shown to reduce the build up of heart disease causing plaque in your arteries.

With a simplistic, white little bulb packing such a punch, why not use more garlic in your recipes? To use it, you must prep it; and to prep it, you must know the make up of garlic.

First you have the garlic bulb:


A bulb of garlic typically holds about a dozen or so cloves, which is the part that we're after. So you'll need to use your hands to peel back the outer skin and break out the individual cloves.



Once you have the cloves pulled apart from the bulb, you'll notice that these are also covered in a thin membrane or skin. We'll need to remove that, but unlike the outer skin on the bulb, peeling these cloves individually is time consuming and even frustrating. So, on to the main point of this Cravings tutorial! How to chop and peel a clove of garlic so that we can use the bits and pieces of garlic in our recipes!

Here's a quick video:



Instructions:
1) Place individual clove on cutting board.
2) Take your chef's knife, and turn it as if it were laying flat on your counter top.
3) With the flat side over your clove, litely tap the flat part of your blade, thereby litely crushing the clove. Be careful not to hit it to hard, thereby mashing your clove.
4) This will crack your outer skin, and your clove will slip right out!