A robust aroma and an intensely bold taste are the best way to characterize garlic. It is a vegetable which is also assumed to be a distant relative of the onion.
China is the largest producer of garlic. It is easy to grow and is widely used as a herb and spice both.
Just like onions, Garlic also belongs to the Allium class of vegetables which are bulb shaped veggies. It has a pungent odor due to the presence of Allicin.
This garlic is not only used as decorations in kitchens but, chefs all over the world use this herb to add the perfect astringency and aroma to their delicacies. The member of the bulb like veggies is known to have healing properties too.
Types of Garlic
It is available in various varieties, which can be broadly classified under two heads:
(A) Softneck Garlic
It is the most readily available variety of garlic. It has a multilayered parchment which covers the entire bulb and finally forms a soft stalk. Its sheath is of a creamy white color.
(B) Hardneck Garlics
This type of garlic has a stiff stalk unlike the soft neck garlic, followed by the neck is a thin green extension of the stalk which curls and forms a bulb-like structure which many people consider a bloom but are just scapes.
These two categories are further subdivided into various other varieties. They have also been characterized below:
1) Silverskin Garlic
Growing this variety of garlic is easy. It has bold flavors and has rose tinted parchment. For example:-
- Baja Morado
- Greek
- Bolivian
- Idaho Silver
- Rose du Var
- Silver Rose
- Silver White
2) Artichoke Garlic
It has a mild flavor but large cloves. It might have purple spots on its skin but, should not be confused with other types. The various artichoke garlic are
- Aglio Blanco
- Transylvanian
- Ail de Pays Parne
- Burque
- Godfather’s Italian
- Chopaka Mountain
- California Early
- Early Red Italian
- California Late
- Applegate
- Beekeepers’ Sicilian
- Chamiskuri
- Rogue River Red
- Oregon Blue
- Chet’s Italian Red
- Lorz Italian
- Lukak
- Madrid
- Novo Troitzk
- Red Toch
- Siciliano
- New York White
- Italian Purple
- Polish White
3) Jolimont
It is a French soft Neck variety. It has white-skinned bulbs which store well for long.
4) Rocambole
It can be preserved for up to 6 months and can be peeled easily. It has a rich and full-bodied taste. The various types of Rocambole garlic are
- Bavarian
- German Mountain
- Caretaker
- Celeste
- Easy Peel
- German Red
- Italian Purple
- Carpathian
- Youghiogheny Purple
- Killarney Red
- Paw Paw
- Korean Red
- Yugoslavian
- Russian Red
- Slovenian
- Spanish Roja
- Ukraine
- German Giant
- Brown Saxon
5) Porcelain
This garlic typically contains four large cloves. It is often mistaken for elephant garlic due to the size of its cloves. These cloves garlic in a very smooth sheath. Some of its commonly heard examples are:
- Armenian
- Floha
- Georgian Fire
- Whiskey Fire
- German Stiffneck
- Stull
- Hadrut
- Kyjev
- Leah 99
- Wild Bluff
- Montana Zemo
- Polish Hardneck
- German Extra Hardy
- Rosewood
- Polish Jenn
- Susan D
- Vostani
- Zemo
- Krasnodar White
- Northern White
- Leningrad
6) Purple Stripe
As the name suggests, this type of garlic has a purple stripe and can be stored for around six months. It is majorly used for baking. Its various examples are:
- Brown Rose
- Brown Vesper
- Bzenc
- Celeste
- Chesnok Red
- Choparsky
- Persian Star
- Duganskij
- Lithuanian Purple
- Brown Tempest
- Bogatyr
- Gourmet Red
- Khabar
- Metechi
- Northe
- Ferganskij
- Purple Glazer
- Pskem
- Red Grain
- Red Rezan
- Russian Giant
- Samarkand
- Shatili
- Blanak
- Belarus
- Shevlisi
- Siberian
- Vekak
7) Marble Purple Stripe
The marble purple stripe garlic has a darker color and fewer cloves in comparison to the other varieties.
8) Glazed Purple Stripe
A purple stripped variety of garlic with a glazed sheath so much so that it almost looks glossy in its appearance.
9) Jarred Garlic
Softneck garlic is typically minced and stored with water in jars and is called the jarred garlic.
10) Albigensian Wight
It is a large bulbed Hardneck variety of garlic.
11) Bianco Veneto
This type of garlic is also called Venetian White and has a rather strong taste.
12) Chesnok White
Chesnok white is a type of Hardneck garlic which is a native of Ukraine. It is assumed to be the best variety used for garlic bread.
13) Iberian White
It is another Softneck variety which has plump covers over its large cloves.
14) Creole Garlic
This beautiful looking garlic have unique properties. They are a mix breed of a Softneck and Hardneck garlic and have a strong flavor which is not pungent though. The best part about them is their sweet aftertaste. For example:
- Aglio Rosso
- Native Creole
- Rose de Lautrec
- Spanish Benitee
- Germinador
- Labera Purple
- Morado Giant
- Moroccan
- Pescadero Red
- Cuban Purple
- Donostia Ref
- Burgundy
- Guatemalan
15) Black Garlic
A common in the Korean grocery stores, this garlic is almost unrecognizable at first. It has a rich, plum-like taste with a mild hint of vinegar.
16) Solent Wight
The Solent Wight is a Softneck garlic with small bulbs.
17) Elephant Buffalo Garlic
This is a giant bulb with huge cloves. In the taste, it is much milder than all the other types and is similar to onion in taste.
18) Asiatic
Asiatic variety of garlic matures the earliest and are more similar to onions than garlic in their peel and color. Examples of the Asiatic type are:
- Asian Rose
- Asian Tempest
- Laos
- Japanese
- Aomori
- Takayama
- Sonoran
- Korean Mountain
- Korean Red
- Russian Redstreak
- Sakura
- Singing Falls
19) Turban
It is similar to the Asiatic garlic but, have large and few cloves. This type of garlic matures the earliest. Example of a turban variety will be:
- Basque
- Blossom
- Xian
- China Stripe
- Tzan
- Lotus
- Red Janice
- China Dawn
- Shandong
- Shilla
- Tashkent
- Thai Fire
- Uzbek
- Thai Purple
- Topal Chengdu
- Maiskij
- Bangkok
- Chinese Purple
20) Chileno Garlic
This is reddish-white garlic which is a native of Mexico. It has a sharp taste to it.
21) Wight Cristo
This is a Softneck variety of garlic and is often known for its large bulb size.
22) Middle Easter Garlic
This variety of garlic is usually grown in middle eastern countries, and common examples are Jomah and Syria.
Health Benefits of Garlic
Garlic is one of the healthiest vegetables. Some of its benefits on our overall health have been enlisted here:
1) Garlic helps in reducing the levels of bad Cholesterol and does not affect the good cholesterol or triglycerides.
2) Garlic helps in boosting immunity due to the presence of allicin.
3) Garlic is known to help lower our blood pressure levels.
4) Scientists also agree to the fact that garlic can help us evade all forms of cardiovascular diseases.
5) Garlic helps in lowering the glucose levels in the blood.
6) Regular consumption of garlic can prevent yeast infections.
7) Asthma and common cold both can be cured using garlic.
8) Garlic initiates weight loss by acting on the cause of the same. It lowers cholesterol inhibits the functioning of the adipogenic tissue.
9) It is both anti-fungal and anti-microbial and thus helps in prevention of ear infections.
10) Garlic is known to reduce acne and provide us with clear skin.
11) Garlic is known to be helpful in the prevention of hair loss.
Conclusion
Garlic comes in innumerable types and has a varied but astringent aroma to it. Its benefits make sure to tell us that garlic will help us live longer.
We may enjoy it because of its bold flavor, or we may just accustom ourselves to enjoy its flavors to be able to maintain a healthy body.
One of its numerous benefits is also the fact that it delays the process of aging, so women what are you waiting for, grab this superfood and enjoy its healthy benefits lifelong.