Garlic: The Original Superfood?
How much do you really know about garlic?
Did you know, for instance, that the original Greek Olympians ate garlic before competing, believing it to be a source of strength? Or that Roman soldiers chomped down on the pungent stuff before before heading into battle, and the builders of the Egyptian pyramids survived on a diet of bread and garlic? Even in the 20th century, medics applied garlic paste—which has natural antibacterial qualities—to the wounds of World War II soliders when penicillin was in short supply.
Garlic is “basically a superfood,” stimulating the immune system and helping ward off illness, explains Nicole Cotroneo Jolly in this How Does It Grow video. In this episode, Jolly brings us to a vast field in Gilroy, Calif.—America’s garlic capital—where the Christopher family has grown the spicy cloves since the 1950s. The field bristles with the leafy tops of garlic plants as far as the eye can see. But the real treasure is actually underground.
"What we call the garlic head is really the bulb of the garlic plant,” Jolly says. “It grows below the earth and it’s like an underground storage container for nutrients. So if there’s a drought or cold temperatures, the garlic plant can still survive on these reserves.”
Very impressive, garlic. Apparently, it’s possible to love you even more than we already do.
Spicy garlic recipes to enjoy:
A verdant chimichurri to beat any barbecue sauce
One zesty take on the Philly cheesesteak
What’s your favorite way to eat garlic?
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