Dig it up too early, and you'll end up with bulbs so measly that they'd make an Italian chef weep with misery. But leave the plants in the ground for too long, and the bulbs of some varieties, though large, will start to split open and shoot from the cloves, ruining their storage potential.
Since the bulb is what we eat, we recommend cutting the scape. Plus, scapes are delicious and can be used just like garlic, but they are ready a month or two before the garlic bulb. Win, win! To cut your scape, wait until the center stalk completely forms and grows above the rest of the plant.
When the lower two or three leaves turn yellow or brown, bulbs are ready to harvest. If you wait too long beyond this point, your bulbs won't have as many protective layers around cloves, which means they won't store well. At the same time, the remaining leaves will probably be showing yellow or brown tips.
Don't leave harvesting until the leaves die back completely as with onions, because by this time the bulbs will have started to split. Once the bulbs have split, they are still fine to eat, but won't store for long. So eat these ones first.
In dry regions, the garlic should be fully dried and cured after three to four weeks. Locations that are humid can take up to five weeks or longer.
Crush, chop or mince garlic and keep it away from heat for 10 minutes. During this time the maximum allicin is created and stays intact during cooking. You can then fry, saute, bake to your heart's content and still get all its medicine. THAT'S IT!
The key to proper curing is providing good air circulation between the bulbs. Don't spread them out in the sun. Garlic is susceptible to sunburn and can literally cook under the sun, which deteriorates flavor. So you want to minimize the amount of direct sunlight it gets during the curing process.
Baby garlic is immature garlic before it develops into bulbs. It has a much milder and somewhat sweeter flavor than mature garlic, and yet the flavor is rich and complex. Baby garlic is so mild it can be enjoyed raw.
The bulb and tender stalks of green garlic can be used in the place of typical garlic, onions, leeks, scallions, or shallots in any recipe! This includes enjoying them sautéed with other vegetables, added to soups, fresh on top of frittata (or baked inside), in pesto, or minced and added to homemade salad dressing!
You can eat your fresh-pulled garlic whenever you want — even as soon as you're home from the farmer's market — but be sure to keep the garlic plant intact until you're ready to eat the cloves.
Because garlic can make blood less likely to clot, you should stop eating it 7 to 10 days before any surgery you have planned. Avoid garlic if you're already taking an anticoagulant, such as Coumadin (warfarin) or Heparin, because the blood-thinning action of the medication may be increased.
Garlic has been reproduced clonally- by the separation of cloves- for hundreds if not thousands of years. Scapes, the leafless flowering stem rising directly from a bulb seen in hardneck garlic, was removed to deter the plant from sinking energy into the bulbils and instead divert the energy into the cloves.
You don't have to remove the green sprout in the center of the garlic clove, but you may want to. It is not poisonous or toxic, but that green sprout supposedly imparts a bitter flavor. It certainly indicates your garlic has been around a while, and the clove itself will most likely have a milder flavor.
Rapid curing can be achieved by placing bulbs roots up on 1” wire mesh in a hoophouse covered with a shade cloth, and with the sides and ends open. A well-ventilated barn will also work, but be sure that bulbs are hung with adequate air circulation or on open racks up off the floor. Curing takes 10-14 days.
If left in the ground too long, the over-mature bulbs can split open, leaving them susceptible to molds and dehydration. Perhaps somewhere there are soils loose and loamy enough to enable garlic to be pulled out of the ground by the tops without tearing or breaking any stems.
Green garlic is simply immature garlic. It looks like a slightly overgrown scallion or green onion and has a bulb that is usually white with a slight pink tint. It is pulled by growers when thinning crops and is increasingly grown as a crop in its own right.
Yes, really! Fresh heads are hard and tight, while older bulbs will be soft and pliable. Yellowed cloves are also a sign that your garlic is less than fresh — though you can still use your garlic if it yellowed or beginning to sprout.
Blue garlic may look off-putting, but it's perfectly safe to consume and tastes just fine. The color change is caused by a reaction between enzymes and sulfur-containing amino acids in the garlic (the same enzymes are responsible for garlic's flavor).
Aged garlic has more potent antiglycation and antioxidant properties compared to fresh garlic extract in vitro - PMC.
Green garlic (also called spring garlic or baby garlic) is simply a young, immature garlic bulb that hasn't yet divided.
Garlic does best in consistently moist soil, however, if the soil stays too wet this can cause rotting and droopy leaves. Wet soils are prone to fungal diseases such as White Rot - which can also cause droopy leaves (see Common Pests & Diseases of Garlic).