Garlic has been a superfood for about 5000 years, says Gillian Vine.
Threr's a line in the Old Testament where the Israelites, fleeing from Egypt, moan to God about their diet being solely the manna sent from heaven.
"We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic,'' they whinge.
What their leader, Moses, said is not recorded but he, too, may have fancied some of the Egyptian food as a change from the honey-like sweetness of manna.
Leaving aside the fact that some people are never satisfied, it is not surprising that onions, leeks and garlic were missed as they were staple foods back in 1446BC, when the exodus is supposed to have begun.
The history of garlic (Allium sativum) goes back well before that, perhaps 5000 years, although the oldest examples were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, who died in 1500BC.
Ancient texts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India all mention garlic as a food and means of preventing or curing disease from colds to abdominal growths.
The earliest written accounts are of it being fed to Egyptian workmen and soldiers to maintain or increase their strength, and given to athletes at the early Olympic Games in Greece, perhaps the first performance-enhancing drug?
Garlic had other uses over the centuries, although it is doubtful that many lovers would now follow the suggestion in a Jewish religious text from AD200 that it should be eaten as a procreation aid.
Modern research supports some of the old practices and has added a few new ones, such as eating garlic to lower blood pressure or cholesterol.
Best of all, cooks are finding increasing ways of using this delicious member of the onion family.
For southern gardeners, it is an easy-to-grow vegetable that takes about six months to mature.
There are two main types, hard neck and soft neck.
Hard-neck garlic has a stiff stem and usually fewer cloves but they tend to be more even in size than soft-necked varieties.
The soft-necked types are the ones to grow for plaiting the pliable stems and they also tend to keep better.
Many gardeners save their own garlic to replant, garden centres sell named varieties, such as Printanor, and some folk simply use supermarket garlic.
The imported stuff from China is not recommended, as it may carry pathogens.
However, a good-quality New Zealand product will give satisfactory results.
Garden centres are the place to source elephant garlic (A. ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum), actually a form of leek, not a true garlic.
Don't delay getting garlic in, as cloves should be planted by the shortest day. They like rich, well-drained soil and sun is essential to ripen the bulbs.
Press cloves into the ground, leaving the tip exposed and allow about 20cm between each one.
Small garlic plants are available in spring, although are a more expensive option.
Whichever way you go, garlic will be ready to harvest from late December on.
Garlic tips
• Before peeling garlic, squash it with the blade of a heavy knife. The skin comes off much more easily than when peeling is attempted without squashing.
• To get rid of the smell on a chopping board, rub in salt or a cut lemon, then rinse with cold water before washing.
• Stinky garlic breath? The old wives solution was to eat more garlic, but we don't guarantee its effectiveness.
Unwanted guest
Wild garlic or onion weed (Allium triquetrum) is a pest that will grow in almost any soil and quickly multiplies into large patches. It's a nuisance in cow paddocks, too, as it may taint milk if eaten in quantity. In the garden, dig out plants carefully so as many bulbs as possible are removed. If that task has to be delayed, at least remove flower heads as soon as they appear to prevent seed production.
