Thursday, August 14, 2008

Midsummer Garlic


This season I've been particularly enjoying the different phases of garlic's life cycle, from the early shoots that look like green onions, to the slippery cloves with supple peels available early in the summer.

The garlic that's been available the past few weeks is young adult. The cloves are the size of the ones we use all through the winter, and the skin has begun to grow papery. But the garlic itself is moist enough to leave your fingers sticky when you cut it.

Unlike winter garlic, which has been dried, these bulbs are eaten fresh. They tend to be different varieties than the ones that last through most of the winter. The farmers' who grow them specifically plan on having this fresh garlic available during the summer months, and then they plant other varieties that dry well, to sell later in the season.

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