Garlic Cloves

CraigC

CraigC

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I've always wondered when a recipe calls for a specific number of cloves, what do they mean? In one head of garlic there are several different size cloves, which do you pick? Personally, I always go for the largest ones and combine the smaller ones to match the size of the larger ones. Do you have a "standard" size clove you would choose?
 
Is this thread in the right place ?

CraigC said:
Do you have a "standard" size clove you would choose?
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I'd decide on the amount of garlic depending on how many I was cooking for, and whether they liked garlic.

Same applies to a recipe that calls for, for instance, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin. If the dish needed ground cumin, I'd ignore the proposed quantity and use what I thought suitable.

I don't slavishly follow recipes (evidently) …. perhaps those more concerned with accuracy could answer your question with more precision.

….and I think you should move this thread somewhere more appropriate @morning glory
 
I always go for large - but that's because I like garlic! With most recipes it doesn't really matter if you use more. But if the garlic is being used raw then it might. If there was too much raw garlic in a salad dressing for example...
 
I know that the number of cloves is an indeterminate quantity, since there's huge variation in sizes of the cloves. But, my approach is the same as @Wandering Bob and @morning glory: I love garlic, but I'm also aware of my target audience. If the recipe doesn't say anything else, I assume medium-sized cloves (which, again, is imprecise). I assume 10 cloves per bulb for that purpose.
 
I try and get the big heads of garlic as its easier to peel. I've often added more than it says in a recipe but we both love lots of garlic here.
 
A few things I've discovered about garlic, a friend of mine grows lots of it. He gives me garlic plaits like the French do them. I break them down to cloves and freeze in ice cream containers. When garlic is frozen it then keeps for ages when I make garlic butter. Keeps for a few months in the fridge but fresh garlic would go off real quick. Also when you crush it from frozen and find the green wee shoot in the middle, I remove that. I'm told it's what gives you indigestion. That's my experience anyway. I always have garlic butter in the fridge. I serve the butter on the bread grilled. Then a dash of sweet chilly sauce on top, then a few grated cheese on top and grilled again. My grandkids love it.

Russ
 
I was raised with, and largely learned how to cook from Italian American friends and neighbors. That means if a little garlic is good, more is better.

So, while I try to describe amounts of garlic in teaspoons or tablespoons of minced garlic rather than cloves, I'll go with the bigger cloves as a unit measure, and combine the smaller ones to equal the larger.
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
No, but I'd love to see a recipe. This sounds like I'd have to finally buy one of those bags of garlic bulbs, rather than buying one or two bulbs at a time like I usually do.
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I've made it long ago - it really doesn't taste ridiculously garlicky because the cooking mellows the taste.
 
morning glory said:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/oct/04/weekend.richardehrlich

An article from the Guardian 2003 - which gives a good idea of what we are talking about here.
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Thanks! Here's a picture:

40-clove-garlic-chicken2.jpg


Now, I'm going to have to make it!
 
It's very good,, and so easy to make. I think I'll be making it soon as well.

I promised my family a healthy version of Kyottkaker (Norwegian meatballs) this week.

No garlic, though
 
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