Single Guy CookJeff Soyer on 14 Nov 2009 07:36 pm
Quick question about powdered garlic: Does the powdered garlic have any of the good (as in healthy) properties of fresh garlic or those little bottles of crushed garlic cloves?
Thanks.
And yes, I’m totally lame in the kitchen and also clueless about food knowledge.
15 Responses to “Powdered Garlic”
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on 14 Nov 2009 at 7:42 pm # David, Chandler, AZ
My wife says garlic is garlic. Although she prefers the granulated garlic as opposed to the powder.
on 14 Nov 2009 at 8:03 pm # Boyd
Hmm…I never thought about that. I use garlic to flavor my food. Sometimes powder is the way to go (garlic toast) and other times garlic cloves are what’s needed (leg of lamb). But I never thought the health benefits of such small amounts of garlic mattered enough for me to worry about it.
on 14 Nov 2009 at 8:26 pm # Roger
Jeff, Garlic is garlic. However, it has been said that garlic is an excellent birth control medicine. That could certainly be construed as a medicinal affect. OK you might not have to worry about that part of it’s effect.
Roger
on 14 Nov 2009 at 8:27 pm # Dr. T
The beneficial effects of garlic have been greatly exaggerated. A man who eats lots of garlic doesn’t live longer, though his family members and close friends say that it seems like he’s lived too long!
The claims are that allicin and diallyl sulphide, which don’t exist until garlic is chopped or crushed (damaged cells release enzymes that convert precursor chemicals into the “active” chemicals). Allicin breaks down rapidly and isn’t present in garlic powder or in cooked foods containing garlic. It supposedly can be used to treat fungal or bacterial infections of the skin, but that hasn’t been proven in double-blind clinical trials. Diallyl sulphide is a bit more stable, but probably is not present in significant quantities in garlic powder. This chemical is claimed to have anti-coagulant and cholesterol-lowering properties. Neither claim has been proven in double-blind clinical trials.
My recommendation is to consider garlic a seasoning and not get concerned about its health effects. I don’t often cook with garlic, so I just keep garlic powder and garlic salt in my spice cabinet.
I won’t go into my full rant, but the “food is a medicine” or “food can be toxic” themes annoy me. We’re wasting lots of time arguing about part per trillion levels of flavenoids and phytoestrogens and alleged carcinogens. We just need to eat.
on 14 Nov 2009 at 9:08 pm # Seth from Massachusetts
I haven’t the foggiest idea about whether Garlic is good or bad for you, but I use a lot of Garlic Powder.
on 14 Nov 2009 at 11:25 pm # Jay
No idea. I love actual garlic, it’s cheap (a bulb of it is light, so don’t be put off by the price per pound) and keeps a ridiculous time, but I use a ton of garlic salt or powder because it’s convenient, and obviously blends better in some things. I’d just go with the whole “treat it as a seasoning” thing and if you like it use plenty. What I didn’t know is there are a lot of varieties, and if you grow your own garlic, you can get a big improvement on the stuff you’d buy in the store, and variations in flavor. Haven’t tried it myself, but am intrigued. Mike Gunderloy grows his own garlic and recommended me a book once on growing garlic.
on 15 Nov 2009 at 3:54 am # asm826
Does the powdered garlic have any of the good properties of fresh garlic ?
Yes, powdered garlic has the essential ingredient. And as a bonus, powdered garlic can be mixed with your favorite lube when casting silver bullets for both werewolves and vampires.
on 15 Nov 2009 at 4:34 am # Dogboy49
ASM826 naively thinks that body armor hasn’t been invented yet. How nineteenth century.
Jeff, garlic is a foul and disgusting stuff. I recommend that you avoid both the powdered and fresh version. A person’s blood should not be tainted with such a vile substance.
on 15 Nov 2009 at 10:09 am # Lazarus Long
Dr. T: Great Rant. The “you’ve gotta eat this and don’t eat that” folks are a real pain. They are always obsessing over something, plus they are usually flaming progressives. At least in my neighborhood - YMMV.
on 15 Nov 2009 at 11:52 am # comatus
Use of fresh whole garlic requires ownership of a garlic press–not good for much else and a bitch to clean–and basic skill in saute, a good thing but a skill to be mastered nonetheless.
Place cleaned and peeled whole cloves in a closed jar of olive oil, and they will keep for months unrefrigerated. Then open the jar, pour off and save the olive oil, and throw away the garlic. (Ask me about my smoked carp recipe!)
The strong smell of fresh garlic cooking does not transfer to the food. Garlic powder probably was invented by someone who wanted the flavor yet could not abide the atmospherics.
The big advantage to growing your own is that, if planted as a border around other vegetables, it wards off small game.
on 15 Nov 2009 at 8:25 pm # Donna B.
Ah comatus, don’t go all chef-like on us! I use fresh garlic quite often and have never owned a garlic press. It can be chopped or crushed with a knife. I’ve never found peeling the cloves to be difficult either.
And you don’t have to saute fresh garlic to use it. I’ve added some to soups and sauces to adjust flavor while they are still simmering.
One of my favorite techniques is to stud a roast with fresh garlic cloves. Sometimes I’ll stick a sliver of onion in with them. Or pepper, or whatever else I’ve got.
But I use garlic (and onion) powder often also. Ya cooks with whats ya gots.
So, how about that smoked carp recipe?
on 16 Nov 2009 at 9:34 am # dustydog
If the garlic has its flavor, it has the antimicrobial poisons that we value.
If the garlic has lost its flavor, no. When I can buy whole cloves cheap from the farmers’ market, I like to throw whole cloves into the stew. Boil garlic long enough and it has the taste and texture of a delicious potato.
on 16 Nov 2009 at 12:52 pm # comatus
Donna, using raw garlic like that is prolly just as “good for you,” but without sauteeing it first you’re not getting that expensive whole-clove ‘flavour.’ In my defense, I inherited my (cheap) press from me sainted mithher, and had to have its use & care explained to me. Contrariwise, you “stud a roast”(!) and then accuse li’l ol *me* of getting all cheffy? Why, you, I oughtta…
Lake Erie fishermen’s recipe for smoked carp:
Clean the carp well, scale it, and lay it open with a long filet cut.
Pin the spread carp to a pine board, 4″ larger than the fish.
Smoke over hickory chips 2 days in a brick chimney smoker.
Check smoke volume every 6 hours; keep the fire smoldering.
After two days, remove from smoker. Remove pins.
Throw away the carp.
Eat the board.
(No garlic was harmed in production of this feature).
on 16 Nov 2009 at 5:13 pm # Donna B.
Darned good recipe there. I’ll have to try it as soon as I get my brick chimney smoker built.
on 04 Dec 2009 at 5:54 am # nihaty
Many of the necessary vitamins are found in garlic as a natural antibiotic and food should be consumed in more than gives great flavor