“There are five elements: earth, air, fire, water and garlic.”    Louis Diat

Did you know. . .

……… that garlic, also known as “stinking rose” has some great health benefits, if you prepare it correctly?  If you don’t, you have tasty food, but most of the health benefits are lost.  If you are going to cook the garlic, just a minor adjustment is required to preserve the benefits.  You’ve probably heard of letting meat “rest” before you cut it.  It’s the same thing for garlic, except the garlic rests before you cook it.  Prep the garlic for your dish, and then let it hang out away from heat for at least 10 minutes.  While it is resting, amazing things happen, and that is what makes garlic so good for you.

For inquiring minds who want to know, here is the science behind garlic’s health benefits.  Raw garlic contains the 2 ingredients that are required to make allicin, which is the compound that makes garlic so healthy.  These 2 components, alliinase and alliin, comingle when you crush, chew or mince the garlic, and then make allicin.  If you heat the garlic immediately after cutting it, the heat-sensitive enzyme alliinase is destroyed, and thus no allicin will be created.  Health benefits go up in smoke!

What are some of the health benefits of garlic?  I could write pages on this, but will just refer you to a few resources instead.  Here’s a list of some things that are good about garlic:

• helps neutralize bacteria and viruses
• inhibits growth of cancerous tumors and reduces the risk of certain cancers, particularly stomach cancers
• reduces risk of blood clots
• fights free radicals, inflammation and inflammatory conditions such as allergies
• lowers blood pressure

Sources of information:

A favorite recipe of mine that uses garlic comes from The Garlic Lovers’ Cookbook {1980 The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association, Inc.}.  The recipe was a recipe contest entry by Julie and Gary Crites.  If you like Boursin Cheese, you will love this!

Creamy Garlic Herb Cheese

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1 pint sour cream
½ cup butter
3 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ cup snipped fresh chives

Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor.  Chill in refrigerator for several hours.  Warm to room temperature before serving with crackers or as a dip for fresh vegetables.