FABULOUS FOODS COOKING SCHOOL

Garlic

An essential ingredient in so many types of cuisine, a kitchen should never be without it. You can get garlic in jars, but it doesn't have the same flavor as fresh garlic. There is a new garlic juice product -- made by Garlic Valley Farms and available in gourmet shops and well stocked grocery stores-- that is very convenient and quite good.

When buying fresh garlic, press the outer edges to make sure they are firm and solid, if not the garlic may be old and beginning to deteriorate. Garlic has a very intense flavor and odor (it's even reported to keep vampires away!), but it gets milder when cooked. Roasted garlic, in fact, becomes quite mild and can be used straight as a topping for bread. Elephant garlic has a much milder flavor than the regular garlic most commonly sold in markets. Garlic burns easily when being cooked in oil. Cook at most until golden brown, for after that it develops a very bitter flavor.