Ingredientbeginnerdraft
Garlic
Also searched as: garlic clove, garlic
In short: Garlic only develops its pungency when it is cut. The finer, the stronger, and the faster it burns.
Picture it
A seasoning with a volume knob: a whole clove is quiet, crushed is loud.
What Garlic does
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What happens
Only when the cells are destroyed do two separate substances react to form the typical pungent aromas. Heat makes it milder and sweetish; too much heat makes it bitter.
What the ingredient does
pungency forms when choppedMore flavour
burns quickly and turns bitterBurning (pyrolysis)
Rules of thumb
- Whole cloves for a mild flavour, crushed for a strong one.
- Add it to the pan late.
Related entries
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Gemüse, Eier