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Video: “How To Mince Garlic” by America's Test Kitchen on YouTube. 
Garlic
Garlic sweetens and mellows as it cooks and turns sharp and pungent when raw. Here it runs from Cantonese steamed ribs with black bean and salt and pepper tofu to Italian meatball soup and Sicilian roast potatoes. Slice it for gentle cooking and mince it for punch, and take it off the heat the moment it turns golden, since browned garlic goes bitter.
58 recipes use this ingredient
Garlic
| Nutrient | Per 100 g |
|---|---|
| Vitamin C | 31 mg |
| Manganese | 1.7 mg |
| Fibre | 2.1 g |
Not a common allergen. It is not on the UK list of 14 foods that must be declared on labels.
How to serve Garlic to babies
6–8 months
Mashed
Cooked and crushed into food. Flavour is fine from the start — it is salt that babies should not have.
9–11 months
Mashed
Cooked through, in family dishes.
12–24 months
Mashed
As part of the family meal.
Per 100 g from CoFID (13-250); USDA FDC (169230). Weaning guidance from NHS. Not medical advice.
TCM benefits of Garlic
大蒜 · dà suàn
How garlic is seen in traditional Chinese food therapy. Traditional context, not medical advice.
- The Bencao Gangmu entry for garlic classes it as pungent and warm, and adds a note of toxicity, which is why the old texts regard it as a strong ingredient.
- Li Shizhen records garlic as going to the five organs and as helping the digestion of grain and the 'transforming' of meat, so it has long sat beside rich meat dishes.
- The same entry warns that eating garlic over a long period harms the eyes, and that line is the root of the traditional advice to keep it moderate.
- Cooked garlic is milder than raw in Chinese kitchens, so cooks who want its warmth without the sharpness add it whole to braises and slow stews.
Cooking with Garlic
Pairs well with
The ingredients that most often share a recipe with garlic on Nourishible.
How to prepare garlic
Garlic loses its harshness the way you cut it, and a firm head with dry, papery skin does most of the work before you start.
- Choose: Pick heads that feel heavy and tight, with dry skins and no soft or sprouting cloves.
- Store: Keep whole heads in a cool, dry spot with air moving round them, not in the fridge.
- Prep: Lay the clove flat and give it a sharp rap with the heel of your hand on the flat of the knife, and the skin slips off. If there is a green shoot in the middle, prise it out with the tip of a small knife.
- Prep: To mince by hand, slice the clove into thin parallel cuts with the root end left on, turn it 90 degrees, cut again, then rock the knife over the pile until it is fine.
- Cook: Garlic catches in seconds, so add it after the onion has softened and take it off the heat when it turns pale gold.
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Garlic: common questions
Answers are drawn from the sources named on this page. Not medical or veterinary advice.
When can babies eat garlic?
The earliest stage on this page is 6–8 months: Cooked and crushed into food. Flavour is fine from the start — it is salt that babies should not have.
How do I cut and serve garlic for my baby?
6–8 months (Mashed): Cooked and crushed into food. Flavour is fine from the start — it is salt that babies should not have.
9–11 months (Mashed): Cooked through, in family dishes.
12–24 months (Mashed): As part of the family meal.
Guides about garlic
- 4 Mediterranean-style dinners for a busy weekFour Mediterranean-style weeknight dinners built on olive oil, lentils, chickpeas and eggs, with what they share and one combined shopping list.
- 4 protein-rich lunches to take to workFour protein-rich lunches to pack for work, compared by time, reheating, batch size and each creator's own protein figure, plus how long they keep.
- Firm or silken tofu: which should you use?Firm or silken tofu: how each behaves when you pan-fry, steam, simmer or blend it, which to buy for everyday recipes, and when a swap works.
- Meal prep without eating the same dinner all weekPrep the mains for five dinners for two with chili and lentil soup, fresh sides, shared ingredients and clear fridge and freezer steps.
- 3 one-pan dinners for a busy weeknightThree weeknight dinners built around one pan: a spiced chicken curry, a sardine pasta and a spicy sausage and chickpea stew.
- How to finish pasta in its sauceLearn when to move pasta into its sauce, how much cooking water to save, and how to build a glossy coating instead of a puddle on the plate.