Associated Press
Keith Stewart enforces a strict no hoarding policy when selling his garlic at New York's Union Square Greenmarket.
"We always run out," he says of his pungent product, a large-cloved variety known as rocambole. A neighbor brought back some from Italy 40 years ago, and for almost two decades, Stewart started has grown it organically in New York's Hudson Valley.
Like the chefs who hound Stewart for his harvest, Americans have developed an enormous appetite for garlic.
And that demand has spurred an industry offshoot - gourmet garlic such as Stewart's, special varieties that connoisseurs claim are to typical supermarket cloves as a great Gruyere is to processed cheese slices.
"It's a different product," says Peter Hoffman, a chef who uses Stewart's garlic at his Savoy restaurant in New York. "The sweetness of flavor, the creaminess of texture, not to mention the ease of use in terms of peeling."
Though most garlic sold in mainstream grocers is the common so-called softneck variety - most of which comes from China and California - more consumers are seeking out the more distinct flavor of hardneck garlics.
"With the supermarket stuff, you don't know how old it is, and it has a harshness you don't find in rocambole," says Kemp Minifie, executive food editor at Gourmet magazine. Hardnecks are "juicier, the flavor is better."
Just as consumer appreciation has allowed the artisanal cheese business to flourish, garlic is now having its day.
"When I used to sell garlic, it was just garlic," says Gene Frey, a coordinator at Fedco Seeds Cooperative in Waterville, Maine. "Now people want to know the specific characteristics" of each variety.
During the last 20 years, per capita consumption of garlic has gone from less than a pound to 21/2 pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which attributes the growth in part to the rising popularity of ethnic foods.
And between 1995 and 2005, garlic production in the U.S. grew 20 percent to about 537 million pounds. During the same period, imports of fresh garlic went from 62 million pounds to 126 million, the USDA says.
Sporting fewer, but larger, cloves than softneck garlics, hardneck varieties (the name refers to their stiff stems, something that has been bred out of softnecks) are grown throughout the country.
But to find it, you'll probably have to look at farmers markets or shop online.
Bob Anderson, a retired management consultant from Bangs, Texas, started his GourmetGarlicGardens.com Web site in 1997 to sell hardneck garlic for as much as $16 to $24 a pound.
During those first years, he sold a couple hundred pounds a year. Today, he sells about a ton, and says people are drawn to the "beautiful, rich garlicness and rich warmness and pungency" of the hardneck varieties.
A common myth about hardnecks is that there are hundreds of varieties. This is because genetically identical cloves will produce dramatically different flavors and textures depending on the climate, soil and other variables of where they are grown.
Few dispute that hardnecks offer better flavor than common garlic. But whether the nuances between hardneck varieties are meaningful is a matter of debate.
"I would probably flunk a blind taste-ID test, as would most people," says Naomi Scanlon, who along with her sister runs Two Sisters Garlic, a Canterbury, N.H., company that grows and sells seven to eight varieties of hardneck a season.
Which isn't to say there aren't differences.
"It is not the taste so much that is distinctive, but how they cook up, their texture and taste retention," Scanlon says. "Some burst with flavor immediately upon a bite while others sneak up on the mouth either with their true flavor and/or heat."
Garlic-potato Soup
Makes 6 main servings
• Ingredients
For the garlic chips
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 medium cloves garlic, sliced thin lengthwise
Salt
For the soup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium leek, ends trimmed, white and light green parts halved lengthwise and chopped (about 1 cup)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed with a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
2 heads garlic, rinsed, loose skins removed and top third of each head cut off and discarded
6 to 7 cups low-sodium chicken broth (start with 6 cups and use extra to thin soup, if needed)
2 bay leaves
Salt
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 41/2 cups)
1 pound red bliss potatoes (not peeled), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup heavy cream
11/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
To make the garlic chips, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the garlic in the oil, turning frequently, until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to plate lined with paper towels to drain. Sprinkle the garlic lightly with salt.
To make the soup, in a Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. When foaming subsides, add leeks and cook until soft, 5 to 8 minutes (do not brown).
Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garlic heads, broth, bay leaves and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Partially cover the pot, increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
Reduce heat and simmer until garlic heads are very tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 to 40 minutes. Add potatoes and continue to simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Discard the bay leaves. Remove the garlic heads and, using tongs or paper towels, squeeze garlic heads at the root end over a bowl until the cloves slip out of their skins. Using a fork, mash the cloves to a smooth paste.
Stir the cream, thyme and half of the mashed garlic into soup. Heat the soup until hot, about 2 minutes. Taste and, if desired, add remaining garlic paste.
Using immersion blender, process soup until creamy, with some potato chunks remaining. Alternately, transfer 11/2 cups of potatoes and 1 cup of broth to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return puree to the pot and stir to combine, adjusting consistency with more broth if necessary.
Season with salt and pepper and serve, sprinkling each portion with chives and garlic chips.
Asparagus with Roasted-garlic Aioli
Makes 8 appetizers
• Ingredients
2 medium heads garlic, whole
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 pounds medium asparagus, bottoms trimmed
Set oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut off and discard tops of the garlic heads to expose cloves. Brush each head with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Wrap the heads together in foil and bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Once cooked, set aside until cool enough to handle.
Squeeze each garlic head to pop the cooked cloves from the skins. Place the heads in a food processor, add the mayonnaise, vinegar, pepper and salt, then puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in chives.
With a vegetable peeler, peel lower two thirds of each asparagus stalk. In a wide 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling lightly salted water, cook the asparagus, uncovered, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain the asparagus well in a colander and rinse under cold water until the asparagus is cool. Pat dry with paper towels. Serve asparagus with roasted-garlic aioli.