Garlic History and Seasonal Availability

Numerous cuneiform records show that garlic has been cultivated in Mesopotamia for at least 4,000 years. The use of garlic in China and Egypt also dates back thousands of years. Well-preserved garlic was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun (c. 1325 BC).It was consumed by ancient Greek and Roman soldiers, sailors, and rural classes (Virgil, Eclogues ii. 11), and, according to Pliny the Elder (Natural History xix. 32), by the African peasantry. Garlic was placed by the ancient Greeks on the piles of stones at crossroads, as a supper for Hecate (Theophrastus, Characters, The Superstitious Man). Garlic was rare in traditional English cuisine (though it is said to have been grown in England before 1548) but has been a common ingredient in Mediterranean Europe. Translations of the c. 1300 Assize of Weights and Measures, an English statute generally dated to the 13th century, indicate a passage as dealing with standardized units of garlic production, sale, and taxation—the hundred of 15 ropes of 15 heads each—but the Latin version of the text may refer to herring rather than garlic. Garlic has been used for traditional medicine in diverse cultures such as in Egypt, Japan, China, Rome, and Greece. In his Natural History, Pliny gave a list of conditions in which garlic was considered beneficial (N.H. xx. 23). Galen, writing in the second century, eulogized garlic as the "rustic's theriac" (cure-all) (see F. Adams' Paulus Aegineta, p. 99). Avicenna, in The Canon of Medicine (1025), recommended garlic for the treatment of arthritis, snake and insect bites, parasites, chronic cough, and as an antibiotic. Alexander Neckam, a writer of the 12th century (see Wright's edition of his works, p. 473, 1863), discussed it as a palliative for the heat of the sun in field labor. In the 17th century, Thomas Sydenham valued it as an application in confluent smallpox, and William Cullen's Materia Medica of 1789 found some dropsies cured by it alone.

[Nagy.Patrik]

Love your videos on both account, very informative, and the Seasonal Diet is so well made graphically it always makes me want to eat these foods.

[luxetitan]

I use so much of it, it adds so much flavor!!

[anubisswift]

found out my grandmothers maiden name was vondrak and traced her bloodline to the transylvanian saxons that fought first against then with vlad tepes to defeat the ottomans. kind of like the pumpkin video, maybe too late for halloween but transylvanian saxons would have been an interesting topic. the whole vampire thing probably comes from the muslims being freaked out by christian forces drinking the blood of their animals to withstand a siege...like most transylvanian saxons they emigrated to czech and austria after wwii... never had a problem with garlic if anything we have an odd family recipe for a mean Bagna Calda using no less than 4 whole bulbs reduced down 🤌👨🏻‍🍳⚔️📯⛪️⚜️🪤🐏🩸🧛🏻‍♂️🥀⚰️

[katipohl]

Here in Germany I have 2 varieties of garlic in my garden and plan to heat it into the famous 'black garlic' by using a chinese rice cooker.

[sykotikmommy]

I absolutely love garlic and use lots of it while cooking. My husband has no issue with the garlic smell because he eats lots of garlic also. 🤣

[codewordslinkydog]

I really need to get somein the ground I'm running late

[sarahgilbert]

I have a "grass" in my flowerbed (came with a transplanted rose bush from my neighbour) which looks like chives but smells & tastes like garlic. No idea if it's native to here (Ontario, Canada) or not.

[worm_vaquero]

Rwar garlic, chewed and held in the mouth until I can no longer stand the burn, 3 cloves/day.