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What’s
that lovely aroma in your house? I was asked this recently by a friend
who was funning with me about my fragrant kitchen as I was baking pizzas
for dinner. The key ingredient that is always on my pizzas is
garlic. Even on pizzas with pesto as the base sauce, I will add fresh
garlic as a topping.
Garlic
(Allium sativum) is an herb that has been widely used for its
culinary and medicinal properties since at least 2570 BC. I write,
"since at least" because information regarding the approximate
establishment of cultivated garlic isn’t recorded. However, we do know
workers on the Great Pyramid of Giza used garlic and that structure was
completed in 2570 BC.
I
have grown garlic for more than 30 years and I must say it is one of the
easiest herbs to grow. It is hardy in all of the United States except
Alaska.
Culinary
uses include sauces, spreads, rubs or just eat it whole! I made a garlic
roaster from a three-inch terra cotta flowerpot and saucer. I use this
apparatus to roast garlic for making spreads and butters.
How
to roast garlic: cut the top from a whole bulb of garlic to expose all
of the cloves. Drizzle olive oil on top. Salt and pepper to taste. (Some
folks leave off the salt because garlic has a naturally salty flavor.)
Place top on your garlic roaster and then microwave for one minute on
high.
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