Is there such a thing as 'too much garlic'?

vernplum

vernplum

Guru
Joined
1 Jan 2021
Local time
3:30 AM
Messages
1,612
Location
Singapore
OK admit it: if a recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic, how much do you actually put in? For me, it's always more than is called for and in this instance it might be up to 8 lol...

And has there ever been a time when you thought 'I've put in too much garlic!'. (I have not).

Also, does garlic make you smell? I wonder how this afflicts different people differently. I don't feel that the smell of garlic seeps from my skin after whereas garlic seems to be infamous for manifesting as an odorous cloud some time after consumption (methi/fenugreek does that to me though and is very evident so I always leave that out of my Indian cooking.).
 
No, I've never added too much garlic IMO and I don't really follow recipes, but if I did and gave something a taste, I'd probably say, "it needs more garlic" lol. I think onion breath is a thing, although I love onions, but garlic smells heavenly to me. I have smelled onions on people and thought "whoa" but never thought anyone reeked of garlic.
 
I generally double all herbs and spices in a recipe (except salt, just mentioning it as it is not a spice/herb)
And quadrupple the garlic (and chili's, depending on recipe source).

The only time I think I used too much garlic, was when I used it raw. Still good, but I had to keep drinking and drinking (water in this case) ;)
 
vernplum said:
OK admit it: if a recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic, how much do you actually put in?
Click to expand...
It depends on how many the recipe serves and what garlic I'm using. Just like chillies, different varieties of garlic have different strengths to them.

If I'm on the tame aussie supermarket garlic that you can almost eat raw, then 2 cloves often becomes 2 heads of garlic. If I'm on the decent Spanish or French garlic that's got a good kick to it, then perhaps a little as 6 cloves if they're largish, 8 or more if they're smaller.
 
badjak said:
I generally double all herbs and spices in a recipe (except salt, just mentioning it as it is not a spice/herb)
And quadrupple the garlic (and chili's, depending on recipe source).
Click to expand...
Yep, that sounds about right, except I usually quarter the salt or omit it totally.
 
I don't even measure the amount of garlic I use: it just goes in! Can't say I've ever thought there was too much, although there are probably loads of recipes where the principal ingredient (s) might be overpowered if excessive garlic were used.. The only time I can think of garlic breath is when there's too much raw garlic in a dish; a tzatsiki, or hummus for example.
 
I usually double it.

I’ve never noticed eating garlic causing a lingering body odor, except in the case of someone taking garlic pills as a supplement. Those were very popular here in the ‘70’s and people I knew who took them did definitely reek of garlic.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
No, I've never added too much garlic IMO and I don't really follow recipes, but if I did and gave something a taste, I'd probably say, "it needs more garlic" lol. I think onion breath is a thing, although I love onions, but garlic smells heavenly to me. I have smelled onions on people and thought "whoa" but never thought anyone reeked of garlic.
Click to expand...
Guess you never tried our spinach-garlic pasta with a sweet onion-garlic sauce. Whew after!

I usually add more chopped garlic than a recipe calls for simply because I don't measure the vast majority of times. This goes for onions too.
 
Last edited:
Craig's brother (RIP Lee) made tzatziki once, decided it needed more garlic, added some, tasted and decided it needed more, so added a whole bunch, thinking the more garlic, the better, plus he didn't want to peel and chop more again. He ended up having to add half again all the other ingredients because all you could taste was garlic.

Lee was also infamous for his chocolate fudge. The  secret ingredient was garlic. The nieces finally learned the lesson that they should be wary of taking big bites of things Uncle Lee made.

Long ago when DD still lived at home, we went to Outback Steakhouse and i ordered shrimp scampi. OMG, I'm not sure what happened in the kitchen, but i think someone added 3 or 4 times the garlic normally used. It was inedible, and it wasn't just me. I had Craig and DD try it before I complained. Ordered something else at that point. This dinner became a running joke and gets brought up every time someone cooks or orders shrimp scampi.
 
had similar experience.
very nice resto - offering 'tonight special' - rack of lamb, prepared with garlic
now,,, I like garlic . . . . but this dish turned out completely inedible. how they managed to get that much garlic infused into the meat itself was a mystery . . .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom