What's going on with garlic these days?

[WalkAndWine]

Is it just me or does nothing garlic flavoured actually taste of garlic anymore?

I'm talking about garlic bread, garlic dip, garlic sausage and even bloody garlic cloves themselves.

I've bought cheap versions of these things, expensive versions, organic versions, big versions, small versions, fresh versions, frozen versions.

But they're all incredibly underwhelming. Is this just me? What's going on? If you've found actual garlic tasting garlic stuff, tell me everything...

I should add that Chovi Alioli is very much the exception - food of the gods.

I dunno about garlic specifically, but I think generally agriculture is favouring varieties that look nice, grow well or quickly and are pest resistant and the flavour takes a back seat.

I've experienced this with plums, apricots, nectarines/peaches, it's a massive shame imo, flavour is king for me. I spend a lot of money on tomatoes to get the ones that are actually tasty and not hard balls of sourness :(

I use a lot of fresh garlic but find there is none of the strength to it that there was years ago.

I don’t think I’ve noticed this with garlic bulbs - but I do usually put more in than whatever recipe I’m using suggests.

Try Isle of Wight garlic farm branded stuff - mayo etc - if you’re looking for good garlic condiments?

I haven’t had this experience and my taste buds are significantly dulled to to cancer treatment. Garlic still tastes of garlic though.

Most is grown in China.
We're currently in Spain. The garlic here is great

I always triple (if not quadruple) the recommended quantities of garlic, and still struggle to bloody taste it.

Are you a big garlic eater OP? Is it possible that your tastebuds are just less sensitive to garlic than before? Like what happens when one gets used to spicy food and no longer feels the burn

@Mydogisagentleman I've heard that about Spanish garlic. So, maybe the answer to my garlic woes is to just bloody emigrate 🤣

I got some wild garlic in my Riverford box last week and it may as well have been green leaves. Didn’t smell or taste of anything.

The issue with fresh garlic these days is that the majority of it comes from China and is tasteless. Try and buy Spanish or French garlic - much better.

I get most of my garlic stuff from here https://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/ it's always spot on! I also find Lazy Garlic better than fresh garlic these days

I really don't think it's that.

I love garlic but I don't eat it enough to have desensitised. And stuff like garlic bread doesn't just lack garlic taste, it tastes bloody weird. Like chemicals.

Even DH has commented and he has very bland tastes in food 🤣

Thank you for the garlic farm recommendation- I want everything on there!

The Garlic horse radish and garlic puree are 2 of my faves!

There are three determinants of flavour.

The variety of garlic grown. That Spanish garlic you enjoyed is likely to be a different variety to the Chinese garlic in the supermarket.

The quality of the soil it is grown in (or lack of). Soil is NOT just dirt, it’s a complex ecosystem. Organic / regenerative will taste better because the medium it’s growing in is more complex and minerals are more bioavailable for the plant to take up. I can’t comment on wild garlic as it is foraged and not cultivated.

How old it is. If it’s sat on a shelf for many months, it won’t be as pungent / flavoursome as when it comes out of the ground. Most supermarket garlic is from the other side of the world.

The IOW garlic is the best I have found in the UK. It is pricey though. I often buy the wonky bulbs which I peel and freeze.
Other than that I have found Asda garlic pretty good before. Other supermarkets are terrible!

Sorry if this is a dumb question but do you just peel and freeze? So don't mince before you freeze?

I don't care about the price. At this point I would pay £20 for a bulb that tastes remotely of garlic.

I shop at Morrisons- garlic there is absolutely shit.

Order from The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight.

I find supermarket garlic goes off very quickly nowadays.
Sometimes I get given home grown garlic which lasts for months and is very full of flavour.
I suspect it is to do with the variety of the plant and how it has been grown.
OP, there are these French markets or stalls at summer events selling olives, cheese, dry sausages and French food stuff. They often sell garlic which is very strong and keeps well. No idea if these people actually bring these things from France but if they are pretending they’re doing a good job of it. Stock up if you come according them.

Our local organic small holding eccentrics used to grow and sell the most powerful garlic I have ever eaten. It was amazing. I suspect they chose to grow for taste rather than yield.

M&S sell Spanish garlic. Perhaps a Brexit benefit that those foreigners are sitting on their garlic mountain and laughing at us

I read this about Chinese garlic too. Apparently the large plump bulbs used to come from Ukraine, but they aren't able to produce very much for export (obvs) these days.

I have found the same too, so I buy about 10 bulbs from my local Indian supermarket , I think the buy in smaller batches and sell it faster than supermarkets so it's fresher.
I peel all the papery stuff of and trim the root and put it ( raw ) into bog standard veg oil for cooking with and olive oil for dressings.

Both keep almost indefinitely as long as the garlic is submerged.
You can use just the oil , just the garlic or both

garlic has become weaker. ironically because the air contains less sulphur pollution (acid rain).

fresh is stronger
pressing/crushing stronger than chopping
leave for a few minutes between crushing and adding to food

It's really late for wild garlic - I forage it and pretty much gave up a few weeks ago.