Our Essential Guide to Garlic

Choose loose garlic heads, not those sold in cellophane-wrapped boxes, so you can examine them closely. Pick heads without spots, mold, or sprouting. Squeeze them to make sure they're not rubbery and that there aren't any soft spots or missing cloves. The garlic shouldn't smell like garlic at all; if it does, that means its cells have been damaged, which increases the risk of spoilage.

Softneck Garlic

The majority of the garlic you’ll find at the supermarket year-round is a variety of softneck, since it stores well and is heat tolerant. Softneck garlics feature a circle of large cloves surrounding a small cluster at the center.

Hardneck Garlic

Distinguished by a stiff center staff surrounded by one layer of large, uniform cloves, hardneck garlic varieties have a more intense, complex flavor. But since hardneck garlics easily damaged and doesn't store as well, wait to buy it at the farmers' market when in season (usually late June through August).

Elephant Garlic

Despite the name, elephant garlic is not actually garlic. Both aromatics are part of the allium genus, but elephant garlic belongs to the species ampeloprasum (the same species as leeks) while garlic is from the species sativum. Conventional garlic heads can boast as many as 20 cloves, but elephant garlic never has more than about six, and its cloves have a yellowish cast. Elephant garlic is not a substitute for true garlic. If you want milder garlic flavor, use less of the real stuff.

Black Garlic

Aged “black” garlic is fermented in a temperature- and humidity-controlled machine for 30 days, followed by 10 days of air-drying. The resulting bulbs have loose-fitting, gray-purple skin and opaque black cloves. Straight out of the skins, the cloves have a sticky, chewy texture and a concentrated, notably sweet flavor reminiscent of molasses or reduced balsamic vinegar, with a mild garlic aftertaste. The one-of-a-kind taste of black garlic disappears when the allium is minced and added to a dish. Slice or roughly chop instead. Still, while black garlic might be worth trying, it’s no substitute for the potent taste of ordinary garlic.

With proper storage, whole heads of garlic should last at least a few weeks.

DO store heads in a cool, dark place with plenty of air circulation to prevent spoiling and sprouting.

DON’T store cut garlic in oil for more than 24 hours. This may seem like an easy way to preserve leftovers, but since the bacteria that cause botulism grow in exactly this kind of oxygen-free environment, it's actually a health hazard.

METHOD 1: CRUSH
Press against the garlic firmly with the flat side of a chef's knife to loosen the skin.

METHOD 2: ROLL
The E-Z-Rol Garlic Peeler relies on hand friction to quickly and efficiently remove the skin from cloves placed inside it.

METHOD 3: MICROWAVE
Place the garlic on a microwave-safe plate and cook on high power 10 to 20 seconds; cool and peel.

METHOD 4: SHAKE

Remove the outer papery skin of a garlic head, place the head in a 2-cup wide‑mouth Mason jar, screw on the lid, and shake the jar for 30 seconds. Pour out the cloves and inspect them. If any still have skins, put them back in the jar and repeat. 

We've long recommended removing any green sprouts from garlic cloves before cooking with them, since we've found that sprouted garlic can make food taste more sharp or even slightly harsh. But when we recently revisited the topic, we discovered that it's not the sprouts that taste bitter, it's the cloves.

Sampled on their own, raw sprouts tasted herbal and grassy, while the cloves they came from tasted fiery and sharp compared to raw cloves that hadn't sprouted. If your garlic has sprouts, don't bother taking them out. And for more mellow, well-rounded garlic flavor in dishes that are garlic-forward, try to use cloves that haven't yet sprouted.

Garlic's pungency emerges only after its cell walls are ruptured, triggering the creation of a compound called allicin. The more a clove is broken down, the more allicin—and the more flavor (and aroma)—are produced. Thus you can control the amount of bite garlic contributes to a recipe by how fine (or coarse) you cut it.

Cooking also affects flavor intensity. Garlic is sharpest when raw. When it's heated above 140 degrees, its enzymes are destroyed and no new flavor is produced; only flavor created up to the inactivation temperature remains. This is why toasted or roasted garlic has a mellow, slightly sweet flavor. Alternatively, garlic browned (or overbrowned) at very high temperatures (300 to 350 degrees) results in a bitter flavor. (Garlic chips are the exception, since they are mellowed first, then crisped, which creates a sweet flavor with only hints of bitterness.)

Using a two‐handed chopping motion, run a knife over the garlic repeatedly to mince it. Keep one hand on the top of the blade and make sure to rock the blade back and forth as you move it across pile of garlic.

DO pay attention to how fine you chop garlic. The finer the mince, the stronger the flavor.

DON’T chop garlic in advance. In tests, we've found that since garlic flavor comes from the compound allicin—which is released and starts to build only when the cloves are ruptured—the longer cut garlic sits, the harsher its flavor.

In sauces such as garlic aïoli and pesto, a garlic paste adds the most robust flavor and keeps the garlic's texture unobtrusive. Here are two ways to make it.

METHOD 1: SALT AND DRAG
Sprinkle a mound of minced garlic with a coarse salt such as kosher. Repeatedly drag the side of a chef's knife over the mixture until it turns into a smooth puree.

METHOD 2: GRATE

Rub cloves against the sharp, fine holes of a rasp-style grater to reduce garlic to a paste.

DO wait to add garlic to the pan until other aromatics or ingredients have softened (push these to the perimeter) to avoid browning and the creation of bitter compounds.

DON’T cook garlic over high heat for much longer than 30 seconds; you want to cook it until it turns fragrant. And make sure to stir constantly.

DO add garlic to a cold pan when it is the only flavoring and cook it over low to medium heat to give it time to release its flavors and keep it from burning.