The Garlic Store Winter 2004 Newsletter

GARLIC: HERB OF THE YEAR FOR 2004
And the award goes to…Allium Sativum.Yeah!
Garlic has been proclaimed the “2004 Herb of the Year” by the folks who do such things. Now, we are happy to see this honor heaped on the superb herb, but we also would like to think garlic is the herb of the year every year! Nothing against cumin, fennel and celery seed, mind you. But we can’t image another herb we would rather be stranded with on a desert island if we could only have one herb.

THOSE LITTLE GREEN SHOOTS
All fresh garlic lovers, come this time of year, are nursing along the fruits of the past summer’s harvest. The hardnecks are long gone, usually eaten before they have a chance lose to their culinary quality by the end of the year. The softnecks keep much longer. But as spring approaches, they remind us that they are live plants, and they want to keep on living. Little green shoots often start to emerge. That is the new garlic plant. Put it in the ground, and it will grow. But suppose you were eyeing that clove for dinner? Experienced chefs have learned that cutting out the central green shoot is a good idea. It has a bitter taste and does not help the overall flavor experience. Shoot removal takes a flick with a sharp knife, but it is worth it as the rest of the clove still tastes fine. Some Italian cooks say that they "cut the heart out of the garlic."

By the way, the image, courtesy of Dr. Gayle Volk at USDA, shows shoot elongation as a function of storage temperature. In a series of experiments conducted with TheGarlicStore.com, she demonstrated that shoot elongation almost stops when stored at about 27°F, or -3°C. The cloves do not freeze, because once cured, they have little pure water inside. At warmer temperatures, such as typical room readings, sprouting occurs much earlier. In some cases, storage at very warm temperatures (25°C or 77°F) causes the cloves simply to dry out. The shoot just shrivels up. The cloves offered by TheGarlicStore.com for spring planting have been cold stored, and while some shoot growth may occur after 9 months, they are much less mature than they would be otherwise.

Chester Aaron (left) and Prof. Joachim Keller (right)
GARLIC IS LIFE IN TULSA
The Garlic Is Life Symposium and Festival was held in Tulsa, OK, last October 30, 31 and November 1. Aside from a fun Saturday garlic market, two days of grower’s seminars and lectures allowed the exchange of a lot of practical as well as acadmeic knowledge on the horticulture of Allium Sativum. A special guest was Prof. Joachim Keller, Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Research, Gatersleben, Germany. This institution, once behind the Iron Curtain, was responsible for saving many of the heirloom garlic varities in eastern bloc nations that might otherwise have perished during the Soviet era. Organizer Darrell Merrell and the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa are to be commended for the efforts expended that resulted in this third such Symposium and Festival. An award of some of the legendary Red Tochliavri bulbs popularized by California garlic maven, author and raconteur Chester Aaron was one of the many highlights

WHAT’S IN THE GROUND FOR 2004

Everyone is getting impatient. This pretty picture of last year’s crop can hold us for just so long. When will we know what varieties will be available for this fall’s planting? Well, until harvest is complete, we really don’t know for sure. Since our goal is to offer only the highest quality garlic varieties from growers, who do not use artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, we have to be patient and wait to see just what comes out of the ground in July and August. After several weeks of curing, we will be ready to begin shipping around Labor Day. The following is a list of what we hope to be offering (with maybe a few surprises, too). We will open up the web site for advance ordering by the second week of August. The summer issue of the Garlic Store Gazette will give you a heads up for when we will begin accepting orders for most varieties. Remember, some varities sell out very early, and it’s first come, first serve.

Elephants
Giant Roasting Bulbs
Elephant Cloves Baby
Elephant Garlic
Elephant Rounds

Softnecks
Artichoke Varieties
Achatami
Acropolis Greek
Ail de Pays Ger
California Early
Chet's Italian Red
French Germinador
Inchelium Red
Kettle River Giant
Lors Italian
Red Italian
Red Toch
Siciliano
Simonetti
Susanville
Transylvanian

Silverskin Varieties
Nootka Rose
Silverwhite
Silverskin
Garlic Braids

Hardnecks
Purple Striped Varieties
Bogatyr
Brown Tempest
Chesnok Red
Korean Red
Mexican Red
Persian Star
Red Rezan
Russian Giant
Siberian
Zetak Czech

Porcelain Varieties
Armenian
Georgia Crystal
Georgia Fire
German Extra Hardy
German Porcelain
German White
Music
Romanian Red
Rosewood
Polish Hardneck
Romanian Red
Zemo

Rocambole Varieties
Bogatyr
Carpathian
Colorado Black
German Brown
German Red
German White
GSF #65
Hokaido Zaitai
Italian Purple
Killarney Red
Marino
Russian Red
Spanish Roja
Temptress
Yugo Red

Others (Turbans, Asiatics)
Asian Tempest
Beijing
Chinese Pink
Cuban Purple
Guatamalen Ikeda
Korean Red
Maitake
Morado Gigante
Portuguese
Shantung Purple
Sucora Japanese
Sonoran
Xian

GIANT ALLIUM FLOWERS
Gladiator
Purple Sensation
Allium Globemaster

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.
© The Garlic Store/FMA, Inc., 2004

Order online at www.TheGarlicStore.com

Winter 2004 Volume 3 Number 1
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 start 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.
GARLIC: HERB OF THE YEAR FOR 2004 And the award goes to…Allium Sativum.Yeah! Garlic has been proclaimed the “2004 Herb of the Year” by the folks who do such things. Now, we are happy to see this honor heaped on the superb herb, but we also would like to think garlic is the herb of the year every year! Nothing against cumin, fennel and celery seed, mind you. But we can’t image another herb we would rather be stranded with on a desert island if we could only have one herb. THOSE LITTLE GREEN SHOOTS All fresh garlic lovers, come this time of year, are nursing along the fruits of the past summer’s harvest. The hardnecks are long gone, usually eaten before they have a chance lose to their culinary quality by the end of the year. The softnecks keep much longer. But as spring approaches, they remind us that they are live plants, and they want to keep on living. Little green shoots often start to emerge. That is the new garlic plant. Put it in the ground, and it will grow. But suppose you were eyeing that clove for dinner? Experienced chefs have learned that cutting out the central green shoot is a good idea. It has a bitter taste and does not help the overall flavor experience. Shoot removal takes a flick with a sharp knife, but it is worth it as the rest of the clove still tastes fine. Some Italian cooks say that they "cut the heart out of the garlic." By the way, the image, courtesy of Dr. Gayle Volk at USDA, shows shoot elongation as a function of storage temperature. In a series of experiments conducted with TheGarlicStore.com, she demonstrated that shoot elongation almost stops when stored at about 27°F, or -3°C. The cloves do not freeze, because once cured, they have little pure water inside. At warmer temperatures, such as typical room readings, sprouting occurs much earlier. In some cases, storage at very warm temperatures (25°C or 77°F) causes the cloves simply to dry out. The shoot just shrivels up. The cloves offered by TheGarlicStore.com for spring planting have been cold stored, and while some shoot growth may occur after 9 months, they are much less mature than they would be otherwise. Chester Aaron (left) and Prof. Joachim Keller (right) GARLIC IS LIFE IN TULSA The Garlic Is Life Symposium and Festival was held in Tulsa, OK, last October 30, 31 and November 1. Aside from a fun Saturday garlic market, two days of grower’s seminars and lectures allowed the exchange of a lot of practical as well as acadmeic knowledge on the horticulture of Allium Sativum. A special guest was Prof. Joachim Keller, Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Research, Gatersleben, Germany. This institution, once behind the Iron Curtain, was responsible for saving many of the heirloom garlic varities in eastern bloc nations that might otherwise have perished during the Soviet era. Organizer Darrell Merrell and the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa are to be commended for the efforts expended that resulted in this third such Symposium and Festival. An award of some of the legendary Red Tochliavri bulbs popularized by California garlic maven, author and raconteur Chester Aaron was one of the many highlights WHAT’S IN THE GROUND FOR 2004 Everyone is getting impatient. This pretty picture of last year’s crop can hold us for just so long. When will we know what varieties will be available for this fall’s planting? Well, until harvest is complete, we really don’t know for sure. Since our goal is to offer only the highest quality garlic varieties from growers, who do not use artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, we have to be patient and wait to see just what comes out of the ground in July and August. After several weeks of curing, we will be ready to begin shipping around Labor Day. The following is a list of what we hope to be offering (with maybe a few surprises, too). We will open up the web site for advance ordering by the second week of August. The summer issue of the Garlic Store Gazette will give you a heads up for when we will begin accepting orders for most varieties. Remember, some varities sell out very early, and it’s first come, first serve. Elephants Giant Roasting Bulbs Elephant Cloves Baby Elephant Garlic Elephant Rounds Softnecks Artichoke Varieties Achatami Acropolis Greek Ail de Pays Ger California Early Chet's Italian Red French Germinador Inchelium Red Kettle River Giant Lors Italian Red Italian Red Toch Siciliano Simonetti Susanville Transylvanian Silverskin Varieties Nootka Rose Silverwhite Silverskin Garlic Braids Hardnecks Purple Striped Varieties Bogatyr Brown Tempest Chesnok Red Korean Red Mexican Red Persian Star Red Rezan Russian Giant Siberian Zetak Czech Porcelain Varieties Armenian Georgia Crystal Georgia Fire German Extra Hardy German Porcelain German White Music Romanian Red Rosewood Polish Hardneck Romanian Red Zemo Rocambole Varieties Bogatyr Carpathian Colorado Black German Brown German Red German White GSF #65 Hokaido Zaitai Italian Purple Killarney Red Marino Russian Red Spanish Roja Temptress Yugo Red Others (Turbans, Asiatics) Asian Tempest Beijing Chinese Pink Cuban Purple Guatamalen Ikeda Korean Red Maitake Morado Gigante Portuguese Shantung Purple Sucora Japanese Sonoran Xian GIANT ALLIUM FLOWERS Gladiator Purple Sensation Allium Globemaster 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. © The Garlic Store/FMA, Inc., 2004 Order online at www.TheGarlicStore.com	GARLIC: IT’S ONE TOUGH PLANT It was mild over much of the nation last fall (that changed!). But before real winter set in, many of our friends called in quite a panic about their garlic. It was growing! It was up several inches by Halloween, and they didn't know whether winter weather would bring them a trick or a treat. Have no fear. Garlic originated somewhat around southern Siberia. No, that is not the warm part. Siberia has no warm part. Cold is not garlic’s problem, which why we may be selling so much planting stock to Alaska in the last year. Our garlic at Yucca Ridge Farm burst forth after fall planting as well, and was up several inches when the first arctic blast struck. This mid-November image was taken after a dusting of snow and the temperature had slid to a “brisk” -8°F. Now there was a little leaf tip burn, but that doesn’t faze this plant. In the mild weather of the last week, these same plants started right back where they left off, adding an inch of green growth, slowing again when the latest winter blast struck. The plants are now basking in 45 mph winds and 20°F temperatures. No problema. Garlic is tough stuff. SPRING GARLIC PLANTING TIPS Most garlic in the U.S. is planted during October. Columbus Day is often the garlic planting day of choice. But the key is to get your bulbs in the prepared ground several weeks before really cold weather sets in. That will allow for healthy initial root growth. But what if you just couldn’t get your garlic in the ground last fall? Have no fear, for spring planting is a viable option. In 2002-2003, we conducted a series of experiments with Dr. Gayle Volk of the USDA’s National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation headquartered on the Colorado State University campus here in Fort Collins. The tests confirmed that early spring planted garlic can yield perfectly acceptable bulbs. While the average bulb size does tend to be a bit smaller than those from fall planted cloves, the quality was excellent, and their taste superb. They also did great as seed stock for the following year. Once planted, the garlic catches up with its fall-planted brethren pretty quickly. Our experience is that they are ready for harvest within a week to 10 days of each other.The trick for spring planting is to get the clove in the ground pretty early in the spring. This means planting as soon as the soil has been thawed for a week or two and has started to warm. Here in Colorado that means mid-March to very early April. The further south you live, or if you enjoy the milder winters along the Pacific Coast, you can plant right now. We have coddled some elephant garlic and several varities of softnecks through the winter, for those who wish to give spring planting a whirl. We also have sampler packs for those wanting a variety of strains. NEW IN THE GARLIC STORE We are always on the lookout for new garlic products. And we are happy to report that the nation’s food entrepreneurs have not stopped coming up with all sorts of delightful and delicious garlic products. Our new wares include: Toasted Elephant Garlic Flakes - our friend Dale Collis has come up with an outstanding product. The flavor this adds to the food may surprise even the ones, who normally scoffs at Elephant garlic because they don't think it has enough flavor. This proves them wrong. Garlic Aioli - from our favorite San Francisco restaurant, Lulu’s, right around the corner from the Moscone Center, this classic “Mediterranean Mayo” is Provence in a jar. Try it on herb roasted potatoes. Spicy Garlic Sauce - from Cajun Power, these bayou chefs know how to do bontemps things with garlic that is tres bon. The folks from Abbeyville, LA suggest using it for marinating, basting, dipping, Bar-B-Q, and on oysters and burgers. The Chief Clove has been known to take it straight! Joe’s Roasted Garlic Sauce - the “Jump Up & Kiss Me” team have perfected this Bar-B-Q sauce which is nirvana for those who like a tangy, molasses-based slather for their grill. Garlic Oil - Boyajian is known for its quality gourmet foods. This pure olive oil infused with fresh garlic is no exception. Chopped Garlic Flowers - this Canadian pesto-like relish is pure garlic flavor. Try it on cream cheese with crackers. Or as a pesto, or with pasta, or with roasts, or with fish or with… Far East Roasted Garlic Puree - garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, soya sauce, sesame oil and seeds, and sea salt, in a puree. You can get creative with this! Pickled garlic…several more are now available, including an organic pickled hardneck, a mild, red chili, and jalapeno flavored cloves from the original “Pikled Garlik” company. Bet ya’ just can’t eat one! SPRING GARLIC…ALL SEASON LONG? It’s that time of year again. Everyone craves fresh garlic. But last year’s harvest is fading. What to do? Garlic is a very versatile plant. And many are discovering that the immature garlic plant makes a spectacular vegetable, ideal for stir frys, braising, salsa and anywhere else you might use green onions. Harvested when 12 to 16 inches tall during April or May, before any bulbing has started, garlic provides a plant that looks like a scallion but has a no-doubt-about-it garlic flavor. And it also solves the eternal dilemma…what to do with those little cloves that are too small to grow into decent bulbs and a pain to peel. Why not plant them for garlic greens!? Spring garlic, aka green garlic or garlic greens in various parts of the country, is traditionally planted in the fall. But in experiments conducted last year here at Yucca Ridge Farm we demonstrated that they can indeed be spring planted. In fact, if you still have cloves available, they can be planted well into summer. The picture shows our friend, Darrell Merrell, founder of the Tulsa Garlic Is Life Festival with a bucket of freshly harvested green garlic. This picture was taken on November 1st! This the result of an early fall planting! The planted cloves take about 6 to 8 weeks to grow into a harvestable plant. Moreover, while many prefer to harvest the entire plant, like a scallion, it is possible to trim the greens about 1-2 inches above the ground and have decent regrowth for a second harvest. This doubles your amount of greens, and saves digging out the entire plant (a labor of love for some, but labor all the same). So, as soon as your ground is thawed, throw in a few cloves. And keep on doing so at 4-6 week intervals. Green garlic can become a summer-long garden treat. GARLIC IN THE FARMER’S ALMANAC The 2004 edition of the Original Country Accents Magazine Farmer’s Almanac contained a nice three page article on garlic, entitled “Growing the Stinking Rose.” And we are pleased to note, several garlic recipes from TheGarlicStore.com’s resident garlic culinary maven, Liv Lyons. One of her latest ideas follows below. A NEW GARLIC RECIPE FOR YOU… We get a lot of requests for garlic bread recipes. There are quite a few of them out there, and if you happen to have a good one, we encourage you to share it with us. Garlic Bread 1 1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced through, but still attached at the bottom 1 stick butter, softened 5 garlic cloves, pressed Mix the butter and the garlic. Spread the mixture on both sides of the bread slices. Wrap in foil and heat in 400°F oven for about 15 minutes. Garlic Bread 2 1 loaf Italian or French bread, cut into individual slices 1 stick butter, melted 2 tbsp garlic powder 4 tbsp Romano cheese Toast the bread slices on one side. Blend butter, garlic powder and cheese. Spread on the untoasted side and finish under broiler until browned. Garlic Bread 3 1 loaf Italian or French bread, halved lenghtwise 6 tbsp olive oil 5 garlic cloves, minced 2 tbsp parsely, minced In heavy pan and at low heat, saute the garlic in the oil until soft. Blend in the parsley. Brush the herb oil over the cut sides of both loaf halves. Wrap in foil and heat in 400°F oven for about 15 minutes. The Garlic Grower’s Video/ DVD Makes a Great Gift: 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).