Tasty Garlic

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Colin2016
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Looking for garlic that tastes & smell like garlic.

Tried most of those that the suppliers are selling now but none of them stand out for taste or even smell.

Any suggestions?
sally wright
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Dear Colin,
I have just put in my order to Kings Seeds for mine. They had the best range for the best price I have found so far. They deliver from mid September which is better as it is about a fortnight earlier than the others. IMHO garlic should be planted in September if it is to do any good.
Regards Sally Wright.
Monika
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Mersley Wight and Provence Wight (both softneck type) have been good for me, but I understand that some hardneck types like Caulk Wight and Czechmate (both hardneck) tend to have a stronger garlic taste .I prefer the softneck ones because they keep longer.
Colin2016
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Update a year latter.

Have had good size bulbs from raised bed and small bulb from those grown in pot.

Cant say I am impressed with the taste or smell though.

Put all garlic in shed to dry off and looked forward to being hit with strong smell when opening door next day, didn't happen.

Been cooking a few but still disappointed with taste, last meal used 4 large cloves and only got a slight taste.

I have noticed that even the garlic sold in local two farm shops do no smell or taste like they used to.

7/8 years ago when I brought and used garlic from local Asian shop I stunk the house out from cooking it and still have the after taste the next morning.

Perhaps it is an age thing on my part but then again even the wife has noticed lack of smell from kitchen.

I noticed that one seller says "Please note that we do not sell any Chinese garlic." Never crossed my mind where they may have came from.
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retropants
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Hi Colin,
The Chinese garlic issue is one I have come across. The taste is quite unpleasant to those who can tell the difference, kind of metallic and just not nice. I once complained at a restaurant because they had used chinese garlic to make their aioli. It was revolting, I couldn't eat it. My OH couldn't tell the difference!
Monika
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Colin, don't take this the wrong way, but could I suggest that your sense of smell and taste may no longer be as acute as years ago? I suffer from the same but then, I am ancient.
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snooky
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There is a Food Festival held in Cardiff Bay every year(covid excepted) and the best garlic which I have bought and used was from a stall selling French produce.Big fat cloves and very juicy and half the price of British produced garlic being sold on other stalls.It was a hardneck variety and I managed to keep one bulb to plant up in the Autumn(the other three bulbs went in the cookpot) and I did quite well with it.So Colin,if you can source some French grown garlic then certainly try it.
Regards snooky

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Colin2016
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I was thinking on same lines as you Monika even Er indoors commented last night " Oh look you have a old persons bruise."

Using double quantity did not work either.

Going to try Italian supplier this year.

Thanks Snooky I will keep smelling any Garlick I come across locally.
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Primrose
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It,s interesting the comment about sense of taste and smell diminishing with age because I too seem to be noticing that the garlic we're currently using doesn,t seem to be as pungently "garlic" as previously. I haven,t grown any this year so am relying on commercially bought , although confess to cheating and occasionally use garlic granules which serve in an emergency and are a useful standby. It's one of those flavourings we would sadly miss if it weren't available.

I wonder if growing conditions contribute to the strength of flavour or whether different varieties generally have different properties.
Westi
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I suspect Primrose our climate is not generally beneficial for growing great garlic, just average garlic. Our poor things get nearly drowned as cloves, then have to endure pretty big fluctuations in temperature during spring & summer while their continental cousins bask in almost perfect conditions (for them).

I had a patient that ate a whole garlic clove every day while in. (Sometimes the whole bulb)! You could smell him just coming down the corridor & he earned a side room due to the complaints. He was Spanish, not French but told me he had his family bring over a plait as it was rubbish what was available to buy & 'it grew wrong'! Might not have made many friends but defied the odds with what he was admitted with & was in his late 90's & totally independent. Give's some credence to it's properties, but I doubt supplements will provide the same as processed, but at least you will still have friends!
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Colin2016
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I seems to show how our food is being changed by the supermarkets. When I see the farmers markets on tv I think oh how I would love to buy their produce instead of what we have on offer here. Even the local farm shop is lacking.

At least I can get somewhere close to tasty veg by growing, had first lot of spuds pulled up yesterday lovely with the tomatoes.

Westi "but at least you will still have friends" Could this be a natural way of enforcing social distancing?
Westi
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Funny Colin! Definitely worked for him - I could have done with a mask!

I agree totally that even the ' farmer's market' produce does not have the flavour it seemed to have. I put it down to ageing taste buds but maybe they have taken their eye off the ball with trying to match demand? Maybe GYO is just the fact it is the fruits of our labour & the reward overcomes the taste - except for Toms & Spuds they are so better & even fresh young growers taste buds experience that! Our fruit & berry harvests can not be matched. I take it back not the taste buds at all! Ours is best by far!
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I’ve just dug some up that was left over by accident the year before last although not very large they have filled the house with the Aromatic smell garlic gives off ,my sense of smell is not great it’s only lately since the ent specialist got her hands on me I’ve been able to smell at all , I put it down to playing rugby and getting smacked in the face a few times
Colin2016
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I selected large cloves and put them in a sealed jar ready for planting, when I opened the jar was hit with the pleasant smell of garlic so perhaps all is not lost.

Been cooking with them and find it is hit & miss, red ones seem to be the best.

Had delivery of & planted the Italian ones so lets hope they perform ok.
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Johnboy
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IMHO the best tasting garlic is from the Albi area in France.We grow Rose Garlic produced in Trebas Du Tarn and we buy direct from the producer because I worked for them for several months during my gap year spent in France I will admit that this is a personal favour to me so I am not at liberty to divulge the producer but certainly French Rose Garlic is available and grows exceedingly well in Uk.
JB.
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