\nAmerican cyclist Lance Armstrong managed to take illegal performance-enhancing drugs for well over a decade before an anti-doping investigation found him guilty and banned him from competition for life. Baseball player Mark Maguire admitted to taking anabolic steroids for over a decade, including when he set the record for most home runs in a single season. And even ballet dancers<\/a> have used banned muscle-builders to catapult their careers.<\/p>\n
These drugs are illegal partly because of the advantages they confer, but mostly because they\u2019re so harmful to health in the long run. A short list<\/a> of their dangerous side effects includes \u201cearly heart attacks, strokes, liver tumors, kidney failure, and psychiatric problems.\u201d<\/p>\n But one of the first performance-enhancing substances<\/a>, which dates back to the building of the pyramids in Egypt and the original Olympic Games in Greece, not only helped laborers<\/a> and athletes do better in their immediate tasks, but also may have improved their health long-term. I\u2019m talking, of course, about garlic. (Imagine how easy it would have been to catch athletes who used it \u2014 the world\u2019s first breathalyzer test.)<\/p>\n The health properties of garlic were at least as well known as its ability to fortify those engaged in heavy exertion. Garlic was in use<\/a> in Ancient Egypt and Greece. Medical texts from these times in Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and India prescribed<\/a> medical applications for garlic. And there are Biblical references to garlic, too.<\/p>\n So if you want to tap into the superpowers of this amazing edible bulb, where do you start? To help you out, we\u2019ve included tips to choose, store, prepare, and cook garlic, along with seven garlic recipes.<\/strong> That way, you can eat it to your heart\u2019s content and <\/i>keep all your gold medals!<\/p>\n Garlic is an allium species that belongs to the lily family, and is closely related to onions, shallots<\/a>, and chives. It grows underground in the form of a bulb composed of individual sections.<\/p>\n In the kitchen, the bulb is known as a \u201chead\u201d of garlic, while each section is known as a \u201cclove.\u201d<\/strong> Do not confuse this with the spice called \u201ccloves,\u201d or else you may become famous for your pumpkin pie and mulled wine \u2014 not in a good way.<\/p>\n Chefs and home cooks from many lands and cuisines use garlic for its aroma and taste. It\u2019s a flavor and aromatic powerhouse that brings life to dishes from soups to stir-fries to pasta to sauces.<\/p>\n And boy, is garlic good for you! Its prebiotic fiber<\/a> and bacteria-fighting phytonutrients<\/a> both add serious nutritional boosts to your diet.<\/p>\n There are actually a couple of main types of garlic: softneck and hardneck<\/a>.<\/p>\n The type of garlic you will usually encounter in the supermarket is the softneck variety, which gets its name from its soft, pliable stalk.<\/strong> It produces more cloves (which are enclosed in delicate, papery skin) than the hardneck variety, and has a more subtle flavor<\/a>. (But hey, it\u2019s still garlic, so \u201csubtle\u201d is relative. If you add some to breakfast muffins, it will be noticed.)<\/p>\n Hardneck garlic, named for its woody central stalk, has a bolder, spicier garlic flavor. You may find it more frequently at farmers markets. In the springtime, a variety known as garlic scapes may also make an appearance at these markets. Green with a curly stem, scapes taste similar to green onion varieties such as scallions and chives.<\/p>\n The flavor of garlic can morph depending on how it\u2019s prepared. When raw, it can be pungent and slightly spicy. It takes on a nuttier flavor when cooked. Dried and ground garlic<\/a> is mild, less pungent, and ideal for adding flavor<\/strong> to a variety of dishes (but again, I\u2019d keep it away from sweet baked goods).<\/p>\n Garlic is so full of beneficial nutrients that whenever you add it to a dish, you\u2019re adding a fully stocked natural pharmacy\u2019s worth of nutritional value<\/a>. In addition to prebiotic fiber that makes your microbiome jump for joy, garlic is also loaded with vitamins and minerals<\/a> such as vitamin C, B6, zinc, and manganese.<\/strong><\/p>\n But garlic\u2019s unique claim to fame may be its treasure trove of antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients. Two of the most potent and best-studied are allicin<\/a> and flavonoids<\/a>. (If you were into new wave music in the late 1970s and you\u2019re humming Elvis Costello\u2019s \u201cAlison\u201d at this moment, I totally get it.)<\/p>\n Of the great cultural advances of the last 50 years, perhaps the most exciting is the invention of an easy way to peel the sticky papery skin off a clove of garlic. When I was getting my early culinary education, there was an entire cottage industry of products that promised to separate the clove from the skin quickly without making your hands smell like, well, a garlic factory.<\/p>\n Now, thanks to social media and my own extensive testing, I can confidently present to you the most popular and efficient way to peel garlic:<\/strong><\/p>\n Some people prefer to preface this crushing technique by slicing off the tip of the clove (where it inserts into the head), as this can make the skin slide off even easier.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a video demo of three ways to peel garlic, starting with the method I just described:<\/p>\n\n What Is Garlic?<\/h2>\n
![\"Rooted](\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1371352582.jpg\")
Types of Garlic<\/h3>\n
Garlic Nutritional Value<\/h2>\n
![\"Fresh](\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1377083604.jpg\")
Three Ways to Easily Peel Garlic<\/h2>\n
\n