FUN FACTS ABOUT GARLIC

FUN FACTS ABOUT GARLIC

Garlic (Allium sativum) is commonly used as a flavoring for food, as a condiment, and for medicinal purposes.  The milder-flavored elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) is actually a leek that produces large cloves.

Garlic is a bulb and a type of herb. It is made up of a number of segments called cloves. It has a very distinct strong smell and is used a lot in cooking. Garlic is a member of the ‘onion family’ (known as Alliums), which includes onions, leeks, chives, spring onions and shallots. The English word garlic originates from the Middle Ages, gar= spear, leac = pot herb.

Its Latin name is Allium sativum.
Allium = Latin for garlic,
Sativum = cultivated / farmed.

The potency of garlic has been acknowledged for more than 500 years. In the ancient times, garlic was used as a remedy for intestinal disorders, flatulence, worms, respiratory   infections, skin diseases, wounds, symptoms of aging, and many other ailments. Through the middle ages into World War II, the use of garlic to treat wounds surfaced repeatedly. It was ground up or sliced and was applied directly to wounds to inhibit the spread of infections.

Throughout history, people worldwide the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, Koreans, Romans, Babylonians, and Vikings have used allium vegetables to enhance health:

The Codex Ebers, an ancient Egyptian medical papyrus, lists 22 therapeutic formulas in which garlic was used to treat heart problems, headache, bites, worms, and tumors.

In Greece, Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, recommended garlic for its medicinal effects, and athletes ingested garlic as a stimulant during the first Olympic games.

In India, garlic was used as both an Ayurvedic heart remedy and an antiseptic lotion.

The French fed garlic and onions to horses suffering from painful blood clots in the legs. In the Middle Ages it was thought that garlic helped to prevent the plague. In France, thieves in Marseille invented a potion containing garlic called ‘Vinegar of the Four Thieves’. It was said to be so effective that they could rob the houses of those suffering with the plague with no risk of getting the disease themselves!

Eastern and Western cultures alike have used garlic and onion to free the respiratory tract of phlegm, rid the bowels of parasites, and aid digestion.

Several North American Indian tribes used garlic and onions to relieve the pain of insect stings and prevent or cure scurvy.

1. Reduction of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer A stimulation of immune function.
2. Enhanced foreign compound detoxification.
3. Radioprotection .
4. Restoration of physical strength.

If you split a garlic bulb then you will reveal the individual cloves inside. If you peel one of these you’ll instantly get the unique smell of garlic.

Garlic’s strong flavour means that it is used a lot in cooking, particularly in European and Asian dishes.

Garlic can be eaten raw, where it has a very strong flavour, but most often it is cooked to make it less strong and more appetizing. It can make your breath smell after eating it, but chewing parsley or a clove is said to get rid of the odour. It is a good source of vitamin C and can help to ward off colds.