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Garlic Core

post #1 of 8
12/23/11 at 9:49pm
Thread Starter 

There used to be a guy that had a TV show on cooking, Jeff

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post #2 of 8
12/23/11 at 9:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curious Mac View Post

There used to be a guy that had a TV show on cooking, Jeff Smith. 

 

He always insisted that you cut the garlic clove length wise and remove the little green core that is in the middle.  Said it was bitter and the garlic had a much better flavor when handled that way.

 

Anyone have any idea if that was a bunch of hooey?

 

Sorry for the double post, I hit some odd button on the keyboard and the thing went global.



 

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post #3 of 8
12/23/11 at 10:30pm

The part in the center of garlic is the germ. I take it out when it's fairly large and/or really green. Some people don't digest it really well. I never noticed it was bitter, but it doesn't really taste like garlic anyway. 

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post #4 of 8
12/24/11 at 2:24am

Technically, that "core" is actually the stem.

 

Most authorities do recommend that you remove it once it turns green, because that would make the garlic bitter. And, years ago, I dutifully did that. Turns out, it was one of those conventional wisdom things that everybody believed, but nobody reality tested.

 

What got me going was the uprise of green garlic as a commodity. Green garlic is merely scallions grown from garlic instead of onions. "Hold on," I reasoned. "If the growing plant is so good, how could the stem not be?" So, I started experimenting. Lo and behold, I have never noticed any bitterness from leaving the stem in place.

 

As FrenchFries notes, once it turns green it doesn't have the same garlicy flavor as the rest of the clove. And it can be tough. But, overall, leaving it in will not affect a dish pro or con.

 

Something else I've noticed is that none of the celebrity chefs trim away the root end of a garlic clove. That's one I don't understand, because that part is woody and tasteless, as well as being ugly. I always trim it away.

 

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post #5 of 8
12/24/11 at 5:21am

KYH, I guess you'll never be a celebrity chef then. crazy.gif

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post #6 of 8
12/24/11 at 10:45am

Except in my own kitchen. drinkbeer.gif

 

Y'all have a great Christmas!

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post #7 of 8
12/24/11 at 1:45pm
Thread Starter 

I keep telling my wife I are one, but she ain't buying it.

 

Many thanks for the replies.

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post #8 of 8
12/24/11 at 1:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by French Fries View Post

The part in the center of garlic is the germ.


By the way I realize I may have used an incorrect word there. "Germe" is the French word, I think "Sprout" would be a more accurate translation. 

 

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