Introduction
Garlic is a versatile ingredient in authentic Italian cooking which is found as an underground bulb. Each bulb will consist of up to 20 individual cloves. When the bulb is split open the individual cloves often have a reddish hue but the cloves inside are smooth and pearly-white in colour. Using your fingers, divide the whole bulb into individual cloves (if you don't want to use the whole bulb, just pull away the number of cloves you need and leave the rest of the bulb intact, as it will last longer that way). Once separated, peel and then used whole, chopped or crushed. Roast whole bulbs (25 minutes) or individual cloves (20 minutes) to serve with roast meat; fry (slowly, for just a couple of minutes) to use as the base for sauces, casseroles, soups. Western recipes that I have seen only use garlic bulbs but Eastern cuisine uses garlic leaves too.

Slivers of garlic can be inserted into lamb before roasting or the puree from roasted garlic can be squeezed from the cloves and stirred into mashed potato with some olive oil. For just a hint of garlic, rub the salad bowl or cooking pot with a cut clove.

Smoked garlic is dried garlic that has been smoked to give it a golden colour and mellow smoky flavour.

Garlic is essential in the robust cookery of the Mediterranean region but it is also indispensable to Indian cookery and is widely used in China and South East Asia. Many Mediterranean recipes seem to take the presence of garlic as a given, but this is not always the case in Authentic Italian cooking for the simple reason that its distinctive taste can sometimes detract from more delicate ingredients.

At all costs, avoid overcooking because as the garlic browns it begins to exude a bitter aroma that makes its contribution to the final flavour of the dish.

Health Benefits

Garlic is not only an essential kitchen ingredient in authentic Italian cooking; it also has significant health benefits.

Garlic is a source of characteristic sulphur containing substances (e.g.allicin, which is responsible for the odour of garlic) that have potentially beneficial effects within the body. Some of these compounds are present in garlic in a latent form, which are activated when garlic cloves are crushed or digested.

What does Garlic do?

Garlic is is one of nature's greatest antivirals and an antibiotic.

When garlic is crushed, or digested in the gut, the alliin is converted by the enzyme allinase (also present in garlic) into allicin, which is the most important of the active substances present in garlic. Sadly, the activity of the enzyme allinase is destroyed by heat, so the potential benefits of garlic are reduced by cooking.

It is worth noting that garlic is therefore best added right at the end of cooking so that you can get the benefit. Or even added after cooking if you can tolerate its strength.

Garlic is the only antibiotic that can actually kill infecting bacteria and at the same time protect the body from the poisons that are causing the infection. It also has the following effects -

• It dilates blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure,
• The active compounds in garlic reduce the stickiness of blood platelets and so reduce the tendency of blood to clot.
• It has immune system enhancing effects,
• It can help regulate blood sugar levels and is thus helpful for diabetics
• It has anti-microbial action against certain types of pathogenic bacteria.

Clinical studies have shown supplementation with garlic to have the following benefits:

• It inhibits the development of atherosclerosis (thickening of the blood vessels)
• It reduces blood cholesterol levels
• It reduces high blood pressure
• It inhibits the development of certain types of cancers

So it is that we see that there is more than the flavour that should encourage us to eat garlic