Garlic, with its strong, spicy flavor, is a critical ingredient to many meals like Mediterranean dishes, pastas, steaks, and burgers. Furthermore, garlic has been revered for thousands of years as an herb with remarkable health properties, from fighting off the common cold to lowering bad cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, many beginner cooks are hesitant to work with this amazing spice. Find out how to use garlic in your cooking to add flavor without overwhelming your other flavors by reading these commonly asked garlic questions.

What are the Health Benefits of Garlic?

Garlic has been prescribed for health problems for as long as people have been prescribing medications. The major health benefits of garlic come from two sources: Allicin and Diallyl Sulphides.

Allicin has strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. However, it is only released when garlic is chopped; the more finely chopped, the stronger the health benefits. Furthermore, cooking or storing will cause the allicin to break down, meaning that fresh, raw, finely chopped garlic has the strongest benefits. However, too much raw garlic can also be harmful, and even cooked garlic can still have health benefits.

Diallyl Sulphides are thought to have a positive effect on the circulatory system, lowering levels of bad cholesterol and keeping the heart healthy. Furthermore, they may boost the immune system. Unlike allicin, diallyl sulphides do not break down when cooking garlic.

Will Garlic Overwhelm My Dishes?

As anyone who’s ever sprinkled too much garlic salt on a slice of pizza knows, garlic can add an overwhelming flavor to a dish, making it difficult to make out any other flavors. However, it’s actually quite easy to regulate the strength of the garlic that you use. There are two major factors that regulate the strength of the garlic in your meals: how finely the garlic is chopped, and when in the cooking process you add the garlic to your food.

How Fine Should I Chop Garlic?

Whole cloves of garlic have a quite mild flavor, whereas piercing the cloves will release more flavor. Meanwhile, very finely chopped garlic has the strongest taste of all.

So how finely the garlic should be chopped hangs upon how strong you want the garlic in your meal to be. For a very mild garlic flavor, try caramelizing whole garlic cloves. For a moderate taste, hack or thickly slice your garlic cloves. For an intense garlic taste, such as you’d like to find in garlic bread or lasagna, chop the garlic as finely as you can.

When Should I Add Garlic to the Meal?

To receive the maximum taste and health benefits of garlic, allow the cloves to stand for at least ten minutes after cutting and before adding them to your meals.

The longer that garlic is cooked, the milder its flavor will become. In order to have a more subtle garlic flavor, add the spice to your meal early in the cooking process. Just be careful not to burn it, or it will get a harsh, bitter flavor. For a stronger, more noticeable garlic flavor, add it to your meal shortly before the cooking is done.

Is There Any Herb that Counteracts a Strong Garlic Flavor?

Whether you have gone a bit overboard with the amount of garlic in your meal or you just want to get rid of garlic breath after overindulging, you’ll be glad to hear that parsley does wonders to counteract strong garlicky flavors or odors. For example, if you make a soup and find that the garlic is overwhelming all of the other flavors, put some parsley leaves in a tea strainer and allow them to soak in the broth. The parsley will absorb some of the garlic flavor. Similarly, chewing on parsley after a garlicky meal will reduce the scent on your breath.

Garlic is a wonderful spice that can improve your health while adding flair to your dishes. Don’t be afraid to experiment with using it in your cooking.