GARLIC FACTS

Garlic history
History shows that garlic dates back to 4000 BC and is native to Central Asia. The word garlic comes from Old English garleac, meaning "spear leek" and is part of the lily family. This pungent bulbous herb has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region and used generously as a seasoning in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Egyptians worshipped garlic and placed clay models of garlic bulbs in the tomb of King Tut. Garlic was so highly regarded that it was even used as currency. Last but not least, garlic is also known for its aphrodisiacal properties, which have been extolled through the ages in literature, cooking recipes, and medical journals.
Garlic has not always enjoyed the popularity and widespread acceptance found today. It was socially frowned upon in the United States until the first quarter of the twentieth century. Up until that time, garlic was found almost exclusively in ethnic dishes in working-class neighborhoods. Quaint diner slang of the 1920's referred to garlic as Bronx vanilla, halitosis, and Italian perfume. But, by 1940, America had finally recognized its value and embraced garlic. Americans consume more than 250 million pounds of garlic annually.
#2 Garlic Varieties and Forms
Marked by its paper-like skin, there are over 300 varieties of garlic grown worldwide. One of the most common varieties is American garlic, with white, papery skin and strong flavor. Italian and Mexican garlic have a pinkish-purple skin and slightly milder-flavored varieties.
#3 What's that smell?
Garlic is known universally as the ãstinking rose.ä Garlic cloves themselves have a neutral smell, but when the cells are ruptured by cutting or pressing, they release an enzyme called allinaise, chemically changing the inherent alliin into allicin, a sulfur-containing molecule. That results in the familiar heady, pungent garlic smell that is a mainstay in kitchens around the world. These sulphur molecules are absorbed into the bloodstream and lungs, escaping through exhaled air and perspiration, ultimately producing garlic breath.
#4 Garlic and health
Garlic has long been considered an herbal wonder drug, used to protect against plague by monks of the Middle Ages to treating the cold and common flu today. Hippocrates used garlic vapors to treat cervical cancer, and garlic poultices were placed on wounds during World War II as an inexpensive, and apparently quite effective replacement for antibiotics, which were scarce during wartime.
Modern science is beginning to substantiate the medicinal properties of garlic. Studies have shown garlic can control acne, suppress the growth of tumors, and is a potent antioxidant good for cardiovascular health. Other studies show garlic can reduce LDL or "bad" cholesterol and is a good blood-thinning agent to avoid blood clots that could lead to heart attack or stroke.
It is generally agreed that the stronger the taste of a clove of garlic, the higher the sulphur content the greater the medicinal value. Some people have suggested that organically grown garlic has higher sulphur content, and a greater benefit to health.

To celebrate garlic, here are 10 interesting facts and uses.

Garlic contains 17 amino acids. Amino acids are essential to nearly every bodily function, and make up 75% of the human body. Every chemical reaction that takes place in your body depends on amino acids and the proteins that they build. The reason it is important to ingest the essential amino acids daily, is because they are not stored for later use in the body like fats and starches.
Garlic, along with onions and chives, is a member of the lily family.
Storage methods for garlic include; juicing, pureeing, and dehydrating marinated in vegetable oil or vinegar. To avoid the growth of potentially deadly bacterial growth, garlic in oil should be kept refrigerated. Although juicing garlic can be beneficial for health it is recommended to use in small quantities to begin with, as it can cause stomach pains when used in a high concentration.
Garlic was used with Opium as a common healer for infections and as a painkiller during primitive surgical amputations by Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine.
In medieval times, garlic was regarded as an antidote to drunkenness and overeating.
For the prevention of sunburn, field workers in the Mediterranean regions would rub slices of garlic on their lips and noses.
Taken internally, crushed garlic will give relief to colds, coughs and whooping cough.
Painful corns can be soothed by rubbing garlic on them.
There are over 300 varieties of garlic grown all over the world
Pliny the Elder, c.23-79 AD, historian, scientist and pharmacologist, claimed that taking garlic with coriander and neat wine was a powerful Roman aphrodisiac.


Read more at Suite101: Garlic – Interesting Facts and Uses | Suite101.com http://zara-m.suite101.com/garlic-interesting-facts-and-uses-a231193#ixzz1nzqJuauU