The Stinking Rose

I use garlic in just about everything. If a recipe doesn’t call for garlic, I add it. Today this bulbous food, also known as the stinking rose, is well loved by just about every culture around the world. But that wasn’t always the case. Garlic isn’t just good to eat, but it is loaded with all kinds of health benefits too. Plus it keeps the vampires away.

Garlic is one of the oldest crops grown, dating back at least about 5000 years. It grows all over the world, but is believed to have originated in Central Asia, and then spread from there. There is evidence that garlic was used for both food and health reasons in the Ancient Egyptian tombs. For over 5,000 years garlic has been used as food, medicine, an aphrodisiac, money, and magic potions.  Garlic warded off the evil eye, was hung over doors to protect medieval occupants from evil, gave strength and courage to Greek athletes and warriors, protected maidens and pregnant ladies from evil nymphs, and was rubbed on door frames to keep out blood thirsty vampires. Garlic clove pendants hung around the neck protected you from the sharp horns of a bull, warded off local witches, kept away the black plague, and even prevented others from passing you (or your horse) in a race.

For a long time, garlic was considered food for the “lower class” of people. It was food for the working man. The wealthy, upper class did not want anything to do with garlic, unless they had to for medicinal reasons, because of its pungent odor. The Roman poet, Horace called it” the essence of vulgarity”, claiming it would drive one’s lover to the other side of the bed. It was also banned in many religious buildings in Ancient Islamic beliefs, stating that “anyone should not approach [the] mosque until its odor dies”. (p. 60 – The Story of Food, An illustrated History of Everything We Eat). Greeks wishing to enter the temple of Cybele had to pass a garlic breath test. In England, garlic breath was also deemed entirely unsuitable for refined young ladies and the gentlemen who wished to court them. I believe it is still forbidden for royalty to consume garlic even today.

Garlic has been used in the foods of the common man for millenia, but it wasn’t until around the 19th century when it starting becoming popular to everyone, when the French chefs starting using garlic for many of their dishes. Garlic was brought over to the United States in the 1700’s, with the Polish, German and Italian settlers. But even then, it wasn’t really popular in American foods until the late 20th century. Today, Americans consume roughly 2 lbs of garlic each year, and in some households, like mine, it is considerably more than that. 🙂

Not only does garlic enhance the flavors of food, but it also contains numerous health benefits, such as including immune system support, reductions in high blood pressure, fewer blood clots, aid in cognitive function and works as a natural anti-biotic, among other health benefits as well. It is believed it can also help prevent cancer. According to the Iowa Women’s Health Study, women who ate garlic regularly with other vegetables and fruits had a 35% lower chance of getting colon cancer. I am very healthy, and I attribute a lot of my good health to all the garlic we eat. The Ancient Greeks also believed it enhanced athletic performances as well, and fed it to their ancient Olympians.

Here are some fun facts about garlic you may not have known.

1. The heaviest head (bulb) of garlic was 2 lbs 10 oz. It was grown by Robert Kirkpatrick of Eureka, CA USA in 1985.
2. Olive Farmer took home first place and  £100 (about $173) by eating 49 prepeeled garlic cloves in five minutes. Twenty six really tough tongued people took place in the September 2013 competition which was run by a garlic farm in Dorset, England. The competition raised money for charity with all entrance fee profits donated to Weldmar Hospicecare Trust and Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. I LOVE garlic, but even I can’t eat 49 heads of garlic, especially in 5 minutes. 🙂
3. Because I eat so much garlic, and love it, I can’t believe there are actually people who are allergic to it, but there are. Fear of garlic is called alliumphobia: people with this disorder get a fearful and/or anxious reaction when they see or smell garlic. People with alliumphobia may also fear other pungent alliums such as onions, leeks or chives. Symptoms include sweating, feelings of doom or dread, dizziness, anxiety attack, rapid and irregular heartbeat, or feelings of irrational anger.
4. Garlic and warts: some people believe that garlic can cure warts. The garlic wart cure involves rubbing a fresh garlic clove all over the wart(s) and covering it with a bandage. Warts are commonly caused by the human papilloma virus. Although scientific data on this is limited, since garlic kills many viruses it may also kill warts. One small study found that garlic oil applied 2x day removed warts within 1-2 weeks (Dehghsani et al. 2005).
5. Garlic is both a vegetable and a herb. Good to know. Now I know I am eating yet another vegetable on a daily basis. 🙂
6. During WWII garlic was given to wounded soldiers to treat gangrene. It was known as ‘Russian Penicillin’. See garlic and medicine for more on garlic’s use in ancient medicine.
7. The Russian term for garlic is chesnok. So Chesnok Red means ‘garlic red’, or so it is bas been told. Dolly, my dear friend from http://koolkosherkitchen.wordpress.com/, who is also my Russian expert, I am counting on you to verify this. 🙂
8. Garlic consumption in the United States has tripled since the 1990’s, with more people discovering the delightful properties of this bulb.  Worldwide there are over 2.5 million acres in garlic cultivation! That’s a lot of garlic! 
9. The name garlic comes from garleac, an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning “spear leek.” Garlic is believed to be descended from Allium longicuspis, a wild strain of Asian garlic but its origins are still in question. It is from the lily (Liliaceae) family and related to onions, leeks, chives, and shallots.

Today, garlic is used for everything, and there are endless possibilities to its uses. Can you imagine a world without garlic? I would be so lost without garlic. It is truly a favorite in my house. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well, especially if you eat your garlic. ‘Til next time.