How to cook Garlic

Try rubbing a raw clove onto crusty toast to serve with soups, or roast whole garlic bulbs with big joints of meat to give extra oomph to your Sunday lunch.

HOW TO PREPARE GARLIC

READ: Food for foragers – the wild garlic story

WHAT IS GARLIC?

Garlic is a flowering plant and belongs to the allium family. Alliums also include onions, chives, shallots and leeks. Garlic adds fantastic flavour to food, and often plays a supporting role in recipes rather than taking centre stage. We usually eat the bulb, although the leaves or ‘scapes’ are also delicious. New season or ‘wet’ garlic is milder in flavour. The gigantic Elephant garlic has cloves the size of large conkers but, despite its name, it’s actually more closely related to leeks.

WHEN IS GARLIC IN SEASON?

Garlic is in season from July to October, but it is available all year round as it’s dried and stored.

HOW TO STORE GARLIC

Garlic should be stored in a cool, dark place.

What are the health benefits?

Garlic is a great source of a mineral called potassium. Potassium helps to keep our muscles working properly so we can move around. 80g of garlic would count as a portion of veg, but that's a lot to eat in one go! So think of it as a healthy flavouring, rather than one of your 5-a-day.