Garlic

Garlic has a long and storied history with some of the earliest accounts coming from both the Bible as well as in ancient Chinese writings. The first records of it being harvested date back to 3,000 BC in southern Mesopotamia . In literary works garlic has been referenced by the likes of Dante, Shakespeare and Sir Francis Bacon. Its fabled history included the believe by many that it provided both increased speed and strength so as one of the first performance enhancers the Greeks consumed garlic before their athletic events, in Rome their legendary soldiers ate it before going into battle, and it was consumed daily by the great pyramid builders of ancient Egypt. Clay models of garlic were even placed in tombs, and in King Tut’s tomb they discovered dried garlic bulbs. Garlic has a medicinal legacy as well and has been used to treat everything from the plague to being used for wound dressings and infection prevention in both World Wars.

Garlic also has a lighter side as every year there is the annual garlic festival held in Gilroy , California and at the most recent three day event it drew over 100,000 attendees. A trip to the Gilroy Garlic Festival is not complete unless you have strolled down Gourmet Alley and sampled a wild array of garlic filled delicacies that include calamari, Italian sausage sandwiches, pasta con pesto, peppersteak sandwiches, scampi, stuffed mushrooms and of course garlic bread and garlic fries.

Some folks refer to Garlic as Herb Garlic and it was one of the earliest cultivated herbs. Grown in bulbs, the best garlic is produced with heavy doses of sunshine which helps explain why more than ninety percent of this country's commercial garlic comes from California . However, worldwide China actually produces almost sixty-six percent of all the garlic grown in the world. Over the last 20 years garlic consumption in this country is up over 1,000% with an average per capita use of over 3.5 lbs. And of all the garlic consumed in the US more than 75% of it is in the dehydrated form.

We stock a variety of top grade garlic powders, granules, flakes, salt and seasoning blends including certified organic garlic granules, powder and salt from California. This is a super convenient way to add mouthwatering flavor to any dish without the hassle of pealing and chopping fresh garlic.