SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #102

[L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt]

>
>Lasairina at aol.com wrote:
>
>> Actually, preserving garlic cloves in oil is okay, and the oil is wonderful
>> for cooking after the cloves are used up.  Graham Kerr uses it frequently in
>> recipes.  I, too, would be a little leary if it fizzed, though.  Can oil
>> ferment?
>
>Not as such. Garlic can, though. One of the things you need to watch out
>for is the fact that garlic can apparently harbor botulism, which is why
>the commercial processed garlic in refrigerated jars is packed with
>either citric or ascorbic acid. I was interested in the fact that a
>comment was made about garlic reacting with vinegar: I know some
>interesting colors are sometimes produced this way, but it hadn't
>occurred to me this might be dangerous. 
>
>I have had good results with cooking peeled garlic cloves VERY gently in
>olive oil, without browning, until soft. While still hot I pour it into
>a sterile canning jar and seal it up. This will keep for a reasonably
>long time; I would guess six months or so, or longer if refrigerated.
>The oil is good for just about anything that might use olive oil or
>garlic, and the garlic is exceptional spread on home-made croutons (not
>that silly bread kibble McDonald's put on Caesar salad).
>
>Adamantius   
>> 
>> Garlic in vinegar is the bad one, so I've heard.  For some reason, the acid
>> in the vinegar reacts badly with the garlic, which then reacts very badly
>> with you....
>> 
>> Lassar Fhina

Actually, I believe that garlic should be blanched in boiling water first,
then used in these preparations. It then loses relatively little of the
flavor or texture, doesn't change color, and still does it's wonderful job.
The brief boil (and then plunge into very cold water) takes care of the
worry of bitterness due to excessive cooking AND any nasty bugs lurking
therein, which may cause it to ferment or expose you to unbeneficial
organisms. Garlic is then perfectly safe to preserve and use as a flavoring
agent just like raw herbs in vinegar or oil. That's the method I prefer.

Another way to make garlic vinegar or oil safely is to heat the oil or
vinegar with the garlic in it, then allow it to cool. This produces a
harsher but faster flavor meld than when simply allowed to mellow together,
but if heated high enough, the germs would die.

I'm not claiming any period sources here, but of all the recipes I've read
for herbed oils and vinegars, Garlic is singled out as the ingredient to
take extra care of. I have successfully made both garlic oil and garlic
vinegar without any problem by blanching first.

Really, any process that heats the garlic enough to kill lurking organisms
would be a safe treatment for longterm storage of garlic. However: in case
anyone is inclined to get hysterical, raw garlic is perfectly safe when kept
in the usual proscribed methed: loose or loosley covered, not airtight, and
either chilled or room temperature so long as the buds are firm and creamy
white or greenish white. It is the storage in a mostly airless environment
(say, when covered with oil or vinegar or whole/chopped and cold packed raw
without preservatives) that spells trouble. You'd get a bacteria cocktail.

And now that I've done my job and selfishly murdered your appetites, I can
now rest in the knowledge that we can all eat garlic safely. Well, except
for those of us with extraordinarily long canines.

Aoife