Garlic, Onion, and Shallot
Garlic
History of Garlic
Garlic
is one of the oldest known food flavoring and seasoning plant that managed to
infuse itself into culinary tradition of many civilizations across the world.
It started its journey in central Asia, domesticated during Neolithic times,
spread to the Middle East and northern Africa in 3000 BC, which quickly enabled
it to reach Europe. By offering its unique nutritional value and wide array of
medicinal benefits, this plant was quickly identified as one of the most
precious gifts of our nature, which was expanded with selective breeding into
wide array of popular garlic types that are currently used all over the world.
The
incredible journey of garlic through our history touched every major
civilization of the ancient world, but its true origins lie in West and Central
Asia. There, wild plant called Allium longicuspis evolved for millennia,
eventually shaping itself into the form of the modern Allium sativum, or
garlic. This plant was identified by the ancient Indians who managed to
domesticate it around 6 thousand years ago, incorporating its taste and
medicinal properties (especially belief in its aphrodisiac powers) in their
famous culture. Around 3000 BC, trading parties from India reached Middle East,
where they introduced garlic to the mighty Babylonian and Assyrian empires, who
embraced this plant and spread it across neighboring civilizations. The most
notable records from those ancient times come from Egypt, where garlic was used
regularly by both nobles, common people and slaves as food seasoning, medicinal
ingredient, religious ingredient (they believed it can prolong life),
antiseptic for curing wounds and preventing gangrene, and even as a direct
source of strength. Judging by the records found by archeologist and
historians, Egyptian royals fed garlic to slaves who build famous pyramids in
an attempt to give them more strength. Inside of the tomb of the famous pharaoh
Tutankhamen, garlic was not only placed in various clay pots, but also, several
of them were modeled in the shape of garlic bulbs.
Arrival
of garlic into ancient Greece and Rome gave another big boost to its
popularity. By that time garlic was used for almost everything - from food
medicine to religious and superstition rituals. They claimed garlic can repel
scorpions, treat dog bites, cure asthma, protect against leprosy, and if hanged
above entrance door of the house it could stop the spread of smallpox!
In
Asia garlic was viewed more as medical ingredient than a food seasoning plant.
One of the cultures who viewed it that way were Buddhists, who between 1st and
10th century AD avoided consummation of garlic. Today, garlic represents one of
the most popular flavorings in South Asia, together with ginger and onion.
One
of the most influential moments in the history garlic happened during the
expansion of the Muslim rule across Middle East and Eastern Europe. This
enabled spreading of garlic into central and Western Europe where it was
greeted as excellent medical remedy. Medical books from 1660s described it as
an excellent cure for plague and small pox. On the more serious note, famous
chemist and microbiologist proved in 1858 that garlic could kill germs, greatly
reducing the possibility of wound infections. Because of these findings, garlic
was used extensively as an antiseptic and dysentery cure during both World Wars.
In
2010, worldwide production of garlic reached 17.6 million tons with china as an
absolute leader of production and export with 13.6 million tons.
How to Eat Garlic
Garlic is a common seasoning in everything
from vinaigrettes to meatloaf to soup, but true garlic-lovers are always on the
hunt for dishes that showcase the garlic itself. If you haven’t already, try
one of these:
- Sardine and roasted garlic spread: smear it on vegetables, eggs, or meat.
- Lemon and garlic scallops: the mild flavor of scallops lets the garlic take center stage.
- Garlic and parsley deviled eggs: add even more garlic for a stronger taste.
- Roasted garlic: mix it with butter or use it in another recipe, if you can stop yourself from gobbling it all down straight out of the oven!
Garlic is also the perfect seasoning for
green beans and other pan-fried vegetables, like this quick and simple slaw. Just keep the rest of the seasonings
simple, and the garlic itself will shine.
4 Tips for How to Cook with Garlic
1. Use Fresh Garlic, Not Bottled Garlic for the Most Health Benefits of
Garlic
Allicin, a
healthy compound in garlic, is most potent in fresh cloves. Japanese
researchers found that crushed garlic stored in water lost about half its
allicin in six days; stored in vegetable oil it lost that much in under three
hours.
2. For Maximum Health Benefits of Garlic, Cut and Wait
Cutting a
garlic clove breaks its cells and releases stored enzymes that react with
oxygen. That triggers healthy sulfide compounds, such as allicin, to form.
Letting the chopped garlic stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking allows the
compounds to fully develop before heat inactivates the enzymes.
3. What’s the Best Way to Use Garlic: Crush, Mince or Mash?
The more you
damage garlic’s cell walls the more sulfide-transforming enzymes you
release—and with them, more pungent garlic flavor. Since crushing breaks the
most cells, crushed garlic cloves taste harsher, sliced or coarsely chopped
garlic cloves milder. Intact garlic cloves are mildest of all. (Cook’s tip:
Mashing minced garlic with a pinch of coarse salt helps tame the harsh flavor.)
4. How to Get Rid of Garlic Breath and Garlic Smell from Hands
To get rid of
garlic breath, brush, floss, nibble parsley—and drink milk: its fats and water
help deodorize volatile compounds.
To get rid of
garlic smell from your hands, rub garlicky-smelling hands with a lemon wedge,
salt, baking soda or maybe even a piece of stainless steel, like your kitchen
faucet (molecules in steel are thought to block odor-producing reactions).
Rinse hands well with water.
Reference :
http://www.eatingwell.com/article/275955/4-tips-for-how-to-cook-with-garlic/
http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/history-of-garlic/
Onions are one of the oldest cultivated vegetables in
our history, originating in central Asia from where it spread across entire
world. Modern archeologist, botanist and historians are unable to determine
exact time and place of their first cultivations (because this vegetable is
perishable and its cultivation leaves little to no trace), however some written
records enables us to paint a very interesting picture about its origins.
There are two schools of thoughts regarding the home
of onion cultivation, and both look at the period 5,500 years ago in Asia. Some
scientists believe that onion was first domesticated in central Asia and others
in Middle East by Babylonian culture in Iran and West Pakistan. Those are of
course based on ancient remnants of food cultivation that survived the tooth of
time, but many believe that organized cultivation started much earlier,
thousands of years before writing and sophisticated tools were created. Onions
were grown in Ancient Egypt 5,500 years ago, in India and China 5,000 years
ago, in Sumeria 4,500 years ago.
With organized onion cultivation starting around 3,500
BC, ancient civilizations that used them soon became really dependent on this
great vegetable. Onions were easy to grow on any kind of soil, any type of
weather ecosystem, and were easy to store, dry, and preserve during winters.
The basic abilities of onion also proved to be very useful to Egyptians,
Babylonians, Hindu and ancient Chinese civilizations who had problems to create
large sources of food – onions prevented thirst, were great source of energy,
had very useful medicinal properties, and could be easily dried and preserved
for times when other perishable sources of food were scarce.
Because of all those benefits of onions, it was not
strange to see that this vegetable quickly entered into religious ceremonies of
several ancient civilizations. This was most apparent in Egypt, where onions
were symbols of eternity, endless life and were part of burial ceremonies
(especially during funerals of Pharaohs). Egyptians pained onions on the walls
of their structures, pyramids, tombs, and were present in both ordinary meals,
celebratory feasts and offerings to the gods. Onions were also important part
of the famous Egyptian mummification process.
With all that popularity, Onion became more and more
present in the written records of human history in 1st millennia BC and early
centuries of AD. It was described several times by the Israelites in the Bible,
celebrated by the Indian medical treatise Charaka Sanhita as one of the most
important remedies for various heart, joint, digestion illnesses, and used
heavily in Ancient Greece not only by physicians, but also by soldiers and
athletes who believed onions gave them strength from gods (they consumed it
raw, cooked, as juice and as rubbing oil). Romans also consumed large
quantities of onion, taking it wherever they went, from Italy to Spain,
Balkans, majority of Central Europe, and England. Excavations of destroyed city
of Pompey which was overflowed by lava from Vesuvius revealed to modern
scientist complex network of onion production that was described beforehand in
the writing of many Roman historians.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe entered
into Dark and Middle ages where main sources of food for entire population were
bens, cabbage, and onions. During that time, onion was heavily used as both
food and medicinal remedy, and was often more valuable than money. With the
arrival or Renaissance and the new trade routes of the Golden Age of Sail,
onions were carried to all four corners of the world, enabling European
colonist and native people from newfound continents to grow this incredible
vegetable on countless soil types. According to some records, onions were the
first vegetable that was ever planted by the first colonists who landed in
North America.
What Are Onions Good For?
Whether white, yellow, or red, onions are one
of the world’s most popular and versatile vegetables, delivering an
unmistakable, pungent heat – some more than others. They’re in demand for cold
salads and hot soups, sliced in rings or solid disks on burgers, and chopped in
relish. The delicious caramelization that takes place when onions are sautéed
is due to their high sugar content. (Try them sautéed with bell peppers for a
tasty fajita ingredient.) Spanish red onions are generally milder than white or
yellow. The Vidalia variety is one of the sweetest.
The sharp fragrance and flavor emitted by
onions is due to the sulfur compound allyl propyl disulphide; it’s allyl
sulphide that brings you to tears when peeling one, serving the good purpose of
washing the thin epithelial layer of the eyes. Holding peeled onions under cold
water for several seconds before slicing minimizes this effect.
http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/history-of-onions/
http://foodfacts.mercola.com/onion.html
Shallot
Shallots are vegetables closely
resembling that of onions. But as far as taste goes, have a much richer, subtle
and flavorful than the onions. The French mostly prefer shallots to onions. The
Chefs use shallots in salads and roasts as shallots lend a deeper flavor
to the dishes. Shallots are
called by different names in South-east Asia such as bawang merah kecil in
Malay, hom in Thai and katem kror hom in Cambodian. In Australia, Shallots are known as eschallots.
Shallots are elongated but smaller than onions. They have a milder,
sweeter taste than onions. In many parts of the world, people prefer to
eat pickled Shallots. In some
parts of Asia, deep fried Shallots are treated as delicacy. Physiologically,
Shallots resemble garlic.They are covered with a golden brown
or rose red papery outer skin. Shallots have a distinct flavor
combination of both onion and garlic. In some countries, green onions are
confused with Shallots. Usually, Shallots
are more expensive than onions. Shallots are cool season perennials, grown
annually. Shallot plant reaches maximum 50 cm in height. Similar to
garlic, Shallots grow in cluster. Each separate bulbs are attached at the base.
Shallots hardly yield seed. They are usually grown from cloves. Shallots are rich in flavonoids and phenols.
Shallots are native to Mediterranean
region and Israel. They are not found in wild so it has been concluded that
these must have been cultivated. The shallots
we eat today are the same variety that have been used thousands of years back.
They seemed to have originated from, the village of Ashkelon in Palestine
though there have been recent changes to this and their birth place is
considered to be Asia. , Around the 12th century, the Crusaders
brought shallots with them to Europe.
Scientifically known as Allium cepa or Allium
ascalonicum, Shallots belong to
the Amaryllidaceae family and are related to the Lily family and onions. There
are the French Grey Shallots(Ascium ascalonicum) which are considered to be the
true shallots. They are the yellow shallots such as the Griselle and yellow
shallot. But it is the French shallot
that is the most sought after. The american red shallot does not have the same
flavor as a french shallot. There are also the banana shallots which are copper
colored and longer in size than a regular shallot.
- Raw Shallots are used to make pickles.
- In Indonesia, deep fried Shallots called bawang goreng are readily available in the groceries and supermarkets.
- Many people prefer to eat roasted Shallots.
- Shallots' puree can be used in gravies, soups or curries.
- They are used in cream or butter sauces to enhance flavor.
- Indonesian and Thai cuisines use condiments made from Shallots.
- Some people like to add chopped Shallots to their green vegetable salad seasoned with chervil, thyme, and tarragon.
- In Iran, Shallots are crushed and eaten in yogurt.
- Shallots are packed with different minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium and zinc) & vitamins (folates, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A and vitamin C). Regular intake prevents stomach infections, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, osteoporosis, lung cancer, oral cavity cancer, and premature aging.
- Shallots are a rich source of kemferfol and quercetin (flavonoids), which have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-allergenic, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer properties. These compounds prevent stroke, peripheral vascular diseases (PVD), and coronary artery disease (CAD).
- They contain diallyl trisulfide, diallyl disulfide, and allyl propyl disulfide. These sulphur anti-oxidants are converted to allicin through enzymatic reaction. Allicin lowers LDL cholesterol level in the liver cells, releases vasodialator chemicals to decrease blood pressure, and inhibits platelet clot formation in the blood vessels. Regular intake of Shallots lower blood sugar levels in diabetic patients.
- Being rich in pyridoxine (B-6), Shallots help to increase GABA chemical levels in the brain and reduce nervous irritability.
- Raw Shallots release allyl sulphide gas which can irritate the eyes, skin, and mucus membranes.
- Some people may develop allergic reaction to Shallots. Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, irritable bowels, breathing troubles and mouth or throat ulcer.
References :
http://www.innovateus.net/food/what-history-shallots
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