The Garlic Store Late Summer 2004 Newsletter

A SPECIAL OFFER FOR GARLIC GAZETTE READERS...and Boston Red Sox Fans!
This year’s crop was so plentiful we still have some really fine garlic bulbs for sale. Perhaps you have eaten yours before they ever made it to the garden? Or would you like a great gift when you make your Thanksgiving visits? Or do you want to cook up a bowl of spicy garlic soup to celebrate a Wolrd Series Victory? If you place an order between now and 23 November 2004, we will deduct 20% from your total. BUT, in order to identify yourself as a subscriber (or Red Sox fan), you must type in the code ALLIUM SATIVUM in the “Comment to the Chief Clove” box on the ordering form. The discount will not show up on the order total, but we will deduct the amount before processing your payment. (The discount applies to the cost of the items only, not shipping and handling). If you want to tell a family member or friend about our special offer, that’s OK too. And here are some garlic varieties that are really excellent this year and that we can heartily recommend:

Softnecks:
Lorz Italian, Susanville, Silverwhite, Siciliano, Shantung Purple, Red (Sox) Toch

Hardnecks:
Persian Star, Siberian, German White (conventional), Asian Tempest, Vekak Czech, Chesnok Red (Sox)

We at TheGarlicStore.com greatly appreciate your patronage over the past eight years, and are pleased to provide this little bonus during this time of plenty for our many loyal customers...and to citizens of the Red Sox Nation!

And don’t forget your local food banks. It has been a tough time for many lately. TheGarlicStore.com will make sure that the Larimer County (Colorado) Food Bank has a good supply of garlic to spice up the holiday meals for many of our area residents.

HOW TO STORE
People often ask us how to store garlic. See the link on the middle right of the home page (For the garlic chef: prepping, cooking and storing for details. But here are a few basics: Softnecks and elephants will last the longest, well into next spring. Hardnecks have a tough time making it past the holidays (assuming they haven’t all been eaten by then.) Ideal storage conditions are 55-60°F and 55% relative humidity, but even regular room temperatures are OK for two months or more. After late October, it might be a good idea to keep your bulbs in a paper bag or a garlic cellar to slow down the drying process, which is what eventually does them in. Do NOT store in the refrigerator. That causes the garlic to break dormancy and begin growing its bitter green shoot. (You can long term cold-store garlic at 27°F, but that is pretty tricky in a home refrigerator, which is usually running in the mid to upper 30s.)

MAKING NEWS
We were happy to note the press continues its interest in the garlic craze. The Providence Journal ran a great article on garlic in September, including pictures from our web site, which was based in turn on a syndicated story from the San Francisco Chronicle. That great magazine, Organic Gardening, noted that “traditionalists insist on Columbus Day as the ideal time to get next summer’s crop in the ground. If you’re not bound by tradition, you can plant garlic during any dry spell in October.” Agreed, unless you live in the south or west, where you still have plenty of time for planting. Inland Northwest Homes & Lifestyles ran a story, again using our pictures, pointing out how well garlic grows in the Pacific Northwest. (Washington is No. 12 on our sales list). Some of the best garlics in the world come from Washington and Oregon (where several of our fine family garlic farms produce many of the varieties available through our web site).

WHO IS BUYING GARLIC?
Through the power of the Internet, TheGarlicStore.com has sent garlic to all 50 states and most Canadian provinces. Some bulbs have traveled much further. We have had shipments lately to South Korea, India, England, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. But in the U.S., there is a distinct “garlic belt” where garlic gardening is really serious business. In descending order, the top ten states for garlic orders for Fall, 2004 are:

New York
Pennsylvania
California
Ohio
Massachusetts
Illinois
New Jersey
Michigan
Virginia
Colorado

Excepting California (which is a world of its own), and Colorado, new to this list and just nosing out Connecticut, you can see that the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. is the heart of the American garlic belt. But we are happy to report that garlic growing is taking off just about everywhere. We even had a bunch of orders from Alaska again this season. We thank everyone!

NEW PRODUCTS
We have several new products in the store. First the Pikled Garlik Smoked Pickled Garlic is really tasty. And for pasta lovers, try the new Basil Pasta sauce. And we introduce three truly wonderful garlic infused oils from Sotto Voce of Seattle. We checked them out in person on our last trip to Starbuck’s City. They are great folks who produce a tasty, first class product.

CULTURAL NOTE
The Colorado Opera is offering a performance of “Dracula” this month. Naturally, their TV ads showed people stocking up on huge piles of garlic at the supermarket. Maybe that’s why we sold out of Transylvanian so early?

WATER AND GARLIC
When garlic is harvested, it is wet. Very wet. So much so that it must be carefully cured, i.e., dried out, for several weeks before it is ready for long term storage. But how much water does a properly cured garlic bulb actually contain? We posed this question to our friend, Dr Gayle Volk at the USDA National Center for Germplasm Preservation and she came up with the answer. About two thirds. We supplied her with samples of eight different varieties (Elephant, Shantung Purple, Music, etc.) and the answer averaged out to 62%. So there is a lot of water left in a bulb this time of year. Storing the bulb in a cooler room (55-60 degrees F) with a moderate relatively humidity (50-60%) slows down the further drying and preserves the bulb for both table use and planting. We run humidifiers in our garlic storage area. If you don’t have this option at home, from about this time of year on, keeping the bulbs in a garlic keeper or even a brown paper bag will decelerate the drying process and extend the bulb’s lifetime considerably.

The Garlic Grower’s Video/DVD
We call it “A Garlic Gardener’s Guide.” This 32 minute production shows you the tricks of the trade for growing your own top flight garlic, and also provides some historical facts about the history of garlic, along with fun scenes from the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Available now as either VHS tape ($19.95 plus S&H) or DVD ($19.95 plus S&H)

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
You can always email TheGarlicStore.com with your garlic questions (TheChiefClove@TheGarlicStore.com.) But if you would like your question answered in an upcoming issue of The Garlic Store Gazette, just let us know. We can publish your favorite garlic pictures too (just send them as an email attachment).

Published by: www.TheGarlicStore.com at Yucca Ridge Farm, 46050 Weld County Road 13, Fort Collins, CO 80524. A member of the Better Business Bureau Online. Email us at: TheChiefClove@TheGarlicStore.com or call us at 970-416-8695. (Mon-Fri, 10 AM - 6 PM Denver Time)
© The Garlic Store/FMA, Inc., 2004

Order online at www.TheGarlicStore.com

Fall 2004 Volume 3 Number 4
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF CLOVE You are receiving our quarterly complimentary email newsletters because you have either explicitly signed up for it, requested a catalog or purchased products from www.TheGarlicStore.com. If for any reason you do not wish to continue receiving our newsletter, simply click here, and follow the instructions to unsubscribe. Remember: We value your privacy. We do not supply any information about you, including email addresses, outside of our company. As we spend our 8th year on the Internet, we hope you will enjoy this issue of our “ezine” being sent our friends in the garlic gardening and gourmet cooking community.
A SPECIAL OFFER FOR GARLIC GAZETTE READERS...and Boston Red Sox Fans! This year’s crop was so plentiful we still have some really fine garlic bulbs for sale. Perhaps you have eaten yours before they ever made it to the garden? Or would you like a great gift when you make your Thanksgiving visits? Or do you want to cook up a bowl of spicy garlic soup to celebrate a Wolrd Series Victory? If you place an order between now and 23 November 2004, we will deduct 20% from your total. BUT, in order to identify yourself as a subscriber (or Red Sox fan), you must type in the code ALLIUM SATIVUM in the “Comment to the Chief Clove” box on the ordering form. The discount will not show up on the order total, but we will deduct the amount before processing your payment. (The discount applies to the cost of the items only, not shipping and handling). If you want to tell a family member or friend about our special offer, that’s OK too. And here are some garlic varieties that are really excellent this year and that we can heartily recommend: Softnecks: Lorz Italian, Susanville, Silverwhite, Siciliano, Shantung Purple, Red (Sox) Toch Hardnecks: Persian Star, Siberian, German White (conventional), Asian Tempest, Vekak Czech, Chesnok Red (Sox) We at TheGarlicStore.com greatly appreciate your patronage over the past eight years, and are pleased to provide this little bonus during this time of plenty for our many loyal customers...and to citizens of the Red Sox Nation! And don’t forget your local food banks. It has been a tough time for many lately. TheGarlicStore.com will make sure that the Larimer County (Colorado) Food Bank has a good supply of garlic to spice up the holiday meals for many of our area residents. HOW TO STORE People often ask us how to store garlic. See the link on the middle right of the home page (For the garlic chef: prepping, cooking and storing for details. But here are a few basics: Softnecks and elephants will last the longest, well into next spring. Hardnecks have a tough time making it past the holidays (assuming they haven’t all been eaten by then.) Ideal storage conditions are 55-60°F and 55% relative humidity, but even regular room temperatures are OK for two months or more. After late October, it might be a good idea to keep your bulbs in a paper bag or a garlic cellar to slow down the drying process, which is what eventually does them in. Do NOT store in the refrigerator. That causes the garlic to break dormancy and begin growing its bitter green shoot. (You can long term cold-store garlic at 27°F, but that is pretty tricky in a home refrigerator, which is usually running in the mid to upper 30s.) MAKING NEWS We were happy to note the press continues its interest in the garlic craze. The Providence Journal ran a great article on garlic in September, including pictures from our web site, which was based in turn on a syndicated story from the San Francisco Chronicle. That great magazine, Organic Gardening, noted that “traditionalists insist on Columbus Day as the ideal time to get next summer’s crop in the ground. If you’re not bound by tradition, you can plant garlic during any dry spell in October.” Agreed, unless you live in the south or west, where you still have plenty of time for planting. Inland Northwest Homes & Lifestyles ran a story, again using our pictures, pointing out how well garlic grows in the Pacific Northwest. (Washington is No. 12 on our sales list). Some of the best garlics in the world come from Washington and Oregon (where several of our fine family garlic farms produce many of the varieties available through our web site). WHO IS BUYING GARLIC? Through the power of the Internet, TheGarlicStore.com has sent garlic to all 50 states and most Canadian provinces. Some bulbs have traveled much further. We have had shipments lately to South Korea, India, England, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. But in the U.S., there is a distinct “garlic belt” where garlic gardening is really serious business. In descending order, the top ten states for garlic orders for Fall, 2004 are: New York Pennsylvania California Ohio Massachusetts Illinois New Jersey Michigan Virginia Colorado Excepting California (which is a world of its own), and Colorado, new to this list and just nosing out Connecticut, you can see that the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. is the heart of the American garlic belt. But we are happy to report that garlic growing is taking off just about everywhere. We even had a bunch of orders from Alaska again this season. We thank everyone! NEW PRODUCTS We have several new products in the store. First the Pikled Garlik Smoked Pickled Garlic is really tasty. And for pasta lovers, try the new Basil Pasta sauce. And we introduce three truly wonderful garlic infused oils from Sotto Voce of Seattle. We checked them out in person on our last trip to Starbuck’s City. They are great folks who produce a tasty, first class product. CULTURAL NOTE The Colorado Opera is offering a performance of “Dracula” this month. Naturally, their TV ads showed people stocking up on huge piles of garlic at the supermarket. Maybe that’s why we sold out of Transylvanian so early? WATER AND GARLIC When garlic is harvested, it is wet. Very wet. So much so that it must be carefully cured, i.e., dried out, for several weeks before it is ready for long term storage. But how much water does a properly cured garlic bulb actually contain? We posed this question to our friend, Dr Gayle Volk at the USDA National Center for Germplasm Preservation and she came up with the answer. About two thirds. We supplied her with samples of eight different varieties (Elephant, Shantung Purple, Music, etc.) and the answer averaged out to 62%. So there is a lot of water left in a bulb this time of year. Storing the bulb in a cooler room (55-60 degrees F) with a moderate relatively humidity (50-60%) slows down the further drying and preserves the bulb for both table use and planting. We run humidifiers in our garlic storage area. If you don’t have this option at home, from about this time of year on, keeping the bulbs in a garlic keeper or even a brown paper bag will decelerate the drying process and extend the bulb’s lifetime considerably. The Garlic Grower’s Video/DVD We call it “A Garlic Gardener’s Guide.” This 32 minute production shows you the tricks of the trade for growing your own top flight garlic, and also provides some historical facts about the history of garlic, along with fun scenes from the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Available now as either VHS tape ($19.95 plus S&H) or DVD ($19.95 plus S&H) QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS You can always email TheGarlicStore.com with your garlic questions (TheChiefClove@TheGarlicStore.com.) But if you would like your question answered in an upcoming issue of The Garlic Store Gazette, just let us know. We can publish your favorite garlic pictures too (just send them as an email attachment). Published by: www.TheGarlicStore.com at Yucca Ridge Farm, 46050 Weld County Road 13, Fort Collins, CO 80524. A member of the Better Business Bureau Online. Email us at: TheChiefClove@TheGarlicStore.com or call us at 970-416-8695. (Mon-Fri, 10 AM - 6 PM Denver Time) © The Garlic Store/FMA, Inc., 2004 Order online at www.TheGarlicStore.com	IT'S PLANTING TIME! One of the most common questions for The Chief Clove is, “When do I plant my garlic?” Right now, is the quick response. Especially if you live in the northern tier states, it is best to have the garlic in the ground by early November. The more precise answer, however, would be, get your bulbs in the ground several weeks before the ground is likely to freeze (if it even does in your locale). The reason is simply to allow for several weeks of good root growth before the plant metabolism slows down. Very slow growth actually continues through even the coldest months, one reason to be sure the soil doesn't dry out over the winter. Frost or freezing morning temperatures are not an issue for garlic. It is the soil temperature at planting depth (about 3 inches) that counts. As long as your bulbs have not dried out, you can actually plant garlic right through the late fall and winter months in the southernmost states and along the west coast. And if you have viable bulbs, early spring planting up north is an alternative for those who couldn’t make it into the garden in the fall. Our tests with the USDA research team at Colorado State University have shown that early spring planted garlic yields good quality, though maybe slightly smaller bulbs, that are ready for harvest within a week or two of their fall planted brethren. But all things considered, fall planting is preferred. Also, if you are growing garlic in a region that does not see frost or cold weather, try placing your bulbs in the refrigerator (NOT the freezer) for one or two weeks before planting. This allows the cloves to break dormancy and starts the sprouting and root growth process. (This is also why you do not routinely store garlic in you refrigerator, as that little green shoot is really bitter!). THE NOFGGA CROWNS A NEW GARLIC KING The Nottingham Forest Garlic Growers Association, NoFGGA (pronounced nof-ga-ga), (south of Pittsburgh, PA) crowned a new king for their second annual garlic growing contest. In an astonishing comeback, the flamboyant Founding Father, who finished dead last in our initial contest, roared back from worst to first to claim this year’s crown. King Garlic II’s entry included a massive 5.4 ounce (non-elephant garlic) bulb as well as a 4.7 ounce bulb, both of which were larger than all other entrants. There were five other bulbs at or greater than 4.0 ounces. Last season’s winner’s best effort was 3.8 ounces. All contest garlic was obtained from The Garlic Store.com. This contest is now marked by the annual passing of the King Garlic plaque which will contain the name of each year’s winner. This crown-capped plaque must be prominently displayed in the presiding winner’s home. Failure to do so will result in disqualification and the then current first runner-up (not King Garlic I) will become the presiding interim King. The plaque footnotes a quote from King Garlic I, “It is not the size, it is how you use it”! Interest grows in our annual event and all other finishers and new entrants are busy assessing and preparing their beds to dethrone the Founding Father. George Straka (left), last season’s King, passes the prestigious King Garlic plaque to the new reigning King Garlic, Len Petty. AND WHAT ARE THEY BUYING? As long as we are playing David Letterman and spewing top ten lists, here are the top ten sellers for this Fall, 2004 season: Chesnok Red (Sox) Spanish Roja (sold out) Elephant garlic cloves Siberian Italian Purple Hardneck Polish Hardneck Music Inchelium Red (Sox) Russian Giant Kettle River Giant A NEW GARLIC RECIPE FOR YOU… Chicken Thighs Baked With Garlic and Chiles Recipe by Carol Stevens, garlic lover and chef of Shaboom's Kitchen 1 head Russian Giant garlic(or the garlic of your preference) cloves separated, peeled and quartered 3/4-1 cup extra virgin olive oil 8-10 fresh chiles (Anaheim, Banana, Jalapeno) seeded, sliced 1/4" Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper Juice of 1 fresh lime -- divided 4 large chicken thighs with bone and skin Essence of Emeril or other spice combo of choice Fresh cilantro for garnish - optional Put pieces of garlic into a cold small saucepan and cover with oil. Turn heat to the lowest setting and allow the oil to come to a simmer, about 12-15 minutes. It may be necessary to put a heat diffuser under the pan to keep the garlic from burning. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to let the garlic steep. With a slotted spoon remove the garlic pieces to a small bowl and set aside. Pour the oil into a 9-inch non-stick skillet and add the chiles. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Retuirn the pan to the stove and bring the chiles and oil to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally (the oil should just barely bubble). Squeeze one-half of the lime juice over the chiles and mix well. Add the reserved garlic, mix well and heat through. Remove from the heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a medium-sized baking pan with cooking spray. Wash chicken pieces under cold running water, removing and discarding excess fat and skin. Place chicken pieces into the pan skin side down. Season with salt, pepper and Essence or other spice combo; drizzle with a little of the oil from the chile-garlic pan. Turn chicken pieces skin side up and season again with salt, pepper and spice combo. Drizzle with a little more oil from the chile-garlic pan. Squeeze the remaining half of the lime over the chicken. Place pan in the oven and bake 40 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, ladle the chiles and garlic over the chicken, return to the oven and bake another 12-15 minutes ior until chicken is cooked through. Do not allow the chiles to burn. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro leaves if desired. Serves 4. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Chicken thighs should be quite large, about the size of those of a roasting chicken. Use any kind of chiles you choose for as much "heat" as you like. Cut off the stem end and use a paring knife to remove the seed core - then slice chiles crosswise about 1/4" thick.