garlic

Also known as: Garlic cloves

A pungent, aromatic bulb made up of individual papery-skinned cloves -- a foundational aromatic in cooking worldwide, used raw for a sharp bite, sauteed briefly for a mellower savory base, or roasted whole until soft, sweet, and spreadable. Flavor and heat change dramatically with how finely it's cut and how long and hot it's cooked.

Five piles of garlic in a row, cut progressively finer and labeled 1. Whole clove, 2. Sliced, 3. Minced, 4. Finely minced, 5. Grated. Smaller cuts release garlic flavor more quickly and intensely. — The finer the cut, the faster and sharper the flavor it gives up.

Buying guidance

Choose bulbs that feel firm and tight with dry, intact papery skin; avoid any with soft or shrunken cloves, a strong fermented smell, or visible green sprouts pushing through, all signs of age. Pre-peeled garlic in a tub is convenient but loses aroma fast and spoils sooner than whole bulbs -- fine for a big batch used the same day, not for keeping around.

Two bulbs compared side by side. Under Good, choose this: a plump bulb with tight skin -- firm and heavy, dry papery skin, tightly wrapped cloves. Under Avoid, skip this: a splitting bulb sending up green shoots and spotted with gray mold -- green sprouts, shriveled or dried-out cloves, mold or discoloration. — What to reach for, and what to put back.

Substitutions

Jarred minced garlic or garlic paste -- convenient and reasonably close in flavor; use about the same amount.
Garlic powder, at about a quarter the amount -- shelf-stable, lacks fresh garlic's texture and sharp bite; stir in early since it has no water content to sizzle off.
Roasted garlic -- much milder and sweeter, not a swap for raw garlic's bite, but good anywhere a mellow garlic flavor is wanted.

Tips & common mistakes

Minced garlic goes from fragrant to bitter within seconds over high heat, so add it after other aromatics like onion have already softened, and lower the heat if it starts browning too fast. A green sprout growing through the center of an older clove is safe to eat but tastes sharper and more bitter than the rest -- slice the clove in half lengthwise and pop it out if you want a milder flavor.

Two pans of minced garlic side by side. Properly cooked: pale golden, fragrant and aromatic, sweet and mellow. Burned: dark brown to black, with a bitter acrid smell and a harsh, unpleasant flavor. — Pale gold is done. A few seconds past it is bitter, and it cannot be rescued.

Storage

Store whole heads somewhere cool, dark, and airy -- a paper bag or open bowl, not a sealed drawer or the refrigerator, both of which encourage sprouting and mold. If making garlic-infused oil at home, refrigerate it and use it within about a week: oil blocks the oxygen that would otherwise keep the bacteria that can grow on garlic in check.

Garlic bulbs in a cloth-lined basket. Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place; keep away from moisture and direct sunlight; do not refrigerate, since cold and moisture can cause cloves to sprout or spoil. Stored properly, garlic keeps for several weeks or even months. — Cool, dry, and open to the air -- never the refrigerator.

More about garlic

Peeling a clove in two steps. Before: a whole unpeeled clove. The flat side of a chef's knife presses down gently on it. After: the clove is lightly crushed and the skin slips right off. — Crush the clove first and the skin comes away on its own.

A head of garlic roasted and cut across, its cloves gone golden and caramelized inside the skin, with soft cloves squeezed out alongside. Roasting mellows garlic into a sweet, nutty, spreadable paste. — Roasted whole, the raw bite turns sweet and spreadable.