Thrifty Tuscany Forum

[min-kyung18]

They said it was milder and not as sharp as ours-is it a special kind? They were at first timid to try it, but being guests at a Villa, felt the need to, and found it good! (This was in Tuscany, by the way.) We all love garlic and would be interested to know what type this was.

[elwald]

It would be what we tend to call Sweet Garlic Cloves in oil. Some vesions will have some extra herbs or chilli in it. Fairly easy to source here in the UK in the nicer Deli's, but haven't a clue how to make it. The garlic used isn't that different to everyday garlic as has been speculated, nor does it taste or have the texture of roasted garlic... it is more the way it has been treated (preserved?) in Olive Oil that gives it the total eatability. Frequently been served it in Tuscany myself so it is the same stuff.
You can see it here
http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/shopgarlic.asp?catid=28&cat=Chilled+Products&pcatid=1
I have also seen it in jars in the supermarkets, but the fresh deli stuff is, as usual, way better.
There must be some place out in the States that carries it.
Rats, gonna have to go get some to nibble this evening now LOL

[saadya]

It would be what we tend to call Sweet Garlic Cloves in oil. Some vesions will have some extra herbs or chilli in it. Fairly easy to source here in the UK in the nicer Deli's, but haven't a clue how to make it. The garlic used isn't that different to everyday garlic as has been speculated, nor does it taste or have the texture of roasted garlic... it is more the way it has been treated (preserved?) in Olive Oil that gives it the total eatability. Frequently been served it in Tuscany myself so it is the same stuff.
You can see it here
http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/shopgarlic.asp?catid=28&cat=Chilled+Products&pcatid=1
I have also seen it in jars in the supermarkets, but the fresh deli stuff is, as usual, way better.
There must be some place out in the States that carries it.
Rats, gonna have to go get some to nibble this evening now LOL

Probably the purple kind. It is milder than the ordinary kind we get.

[saadya]

It might have been roasted garlic. When garlic's roasted, it loses some of it's sharp flavour and becomes a little sweeter.

[dillon]

It might have been baked garlic.

Take a whole head of garlic(I think it's called a head, the whole thing), wrap in tin foil, and bake it until soft.

Then cut off the bottom, squeeze out the garlic.

Very rarely have I heard of garlic eaten raw anywhere.

[gordan31]

Might have been pickled garlic or as already mentioned baked or roasted.

[fiynn24]

Elephant garlic is milder than the regular garlic most people use. It's quite a bit larger. Either kind is delicous roasted, too!

[euston]

all garlic has a 'hot' and pungent flavor when first picked and raw....it loses a lot of the heat upon cooking as well as it pungency....then it kind of becomes 'sweet' it is typically served this way in Tuscany...Elephant Bulb Garlic rubbed with olive oil and baked (roasted) in an oven...then it is squeezed out...it is then very sweet and mild.....

[per]

I eat roasted garlic plain. I love the mild yet sweet taste of it. You can buy a Terra cotta garlic roaster at the store. Give it a try you won't regret it.