#organic garlic

[shree-1r]

[hiddurmitzvah]

I wanted to celebrate with these two prints that I made, a long history that jewish people, garlic and pickles have. You can purchase these print via my Etsy shop.

And here's the history:

Already in ancient times, garlic was a central part of celebrating Shabbat. The Talmud devotes several passages to talking about garlic, explaining that it is a key part of Shabbat meals. “With what does one delight in the day of Shabbat?” the Talmud asks, recording an answer provided by Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat, who recalled the words of his teacher Rav: “With a dish of beetroot, and a large fish, and heads of garlic” (TalmudShabbat 11b). Elsewhere, the Talmud refers to Jews who celebrate Shabbat as “garlic eaters,” so closely identified was Shabbat dinner and lunch with this fragrant vegetable. (Talmud Nedarim 31a)

Even later on, in the medieval times, the conncetion between jews and garlic was quite close. In fact, it helped the community to survive!  In Istanbul, when Jews avoided the plague during a terrible epidemic, it was said that the virus did not penetrate the Jewish area because of the smell of garlic. Jews hung bulbs of garlic outside their doors to ward off the plague as a talisman and sign of good luck. The food historian Gil Marks adds: “Historically, the addition of garlic was among the typical Jewish touches that enhanced local dishes. In many cultures, the presence of garlic marked a dish as Jewish.”

In Germany, in the towns of Speyer, Worms and Mainz were home to large, vibrant Jewish communities. A popular acronym for these areas took the first letter from each town – S, W (which is written with a double “U” sound in Hebrew) and M – echoed the Hebrew word for garlic, shoom. The area was known as Kehillas Shoom (or SchUM) – the community of “Shum”, or garlic in Hebrew.

So identified were German Jews with garlic that some anti-Semitic images persist from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, depicting Jews holding or posing with bulbs of garlic.

But jews and pickles go back for a long time too. Eastern European Jews brought their pickle-making traditions to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and made it famous there. Pickled cucumbers were an important part of their diet due to the need for preserving food in harsh climates in Eastern Europe, where was a common practice to collect and preserve pickles in order to survive winter. Everything could be pickled, from lemons to carrots, with varying degrees of culinary success.

Some took the cucumber, a cheap, accessible vegetable, preserved it in the spring to make them last through the winter and feasted on it throughout the year. Some of those people were Jews and thus the Jewish love affair with pickling began, as a way of keeping vegetables hygienic and healthy.

Fermantation itself as has a biblical orgin in various places.  Perhaps the best-known early reference to fermented food is the Passover story in Exodus (12:39): When the Jews were "thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry," their dough could not rise (through fermentation). We know this unleavened bread as matzo. But when they left Egypt, after some time, their longing for these goods came up: "We remember the fish which we were wont to eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic” It’s likely that the cucumbers mentioned by our Jewish forebears were pickled in some way. Ancient cucumbers tasted extremely bitter and the ancient Egyptians “cooked” their cucumbers by lightly fermenting them. The resulting pickled vegetables were slightly alcoholic, and were seemingly eaten for their mind-altering properties.

[los-plantalones]

garlic scapes are insane i love them

[oh-he-grows]

Garden Update 10/09/2024: Garlic!

Planted my garlic for the season, which includes a little elephant garlic as well. Two years ago I planted way too early so I didn't want to make that mistake again, even with the weather being as unpredictable as it is. Second week of October it is! Soaked the cloves overnight in fish emulsion, planted into compost, and mulched with the decomposing foliage of the tomato beds. Looking forward to a good harvest, I plan on watering heavy for the next week until I see sprouts, then fertilizing and ignoring them until spring. This strategy worked great for last years container garlic, so if I just pick them at the right time next year they should be even better.

[lovesodeepandwideandwell]

Foooooooood glorious fooooOOooOOoooooood (tasty food!)

[aguineapigcouldntdothis]

pesach cleaning in a home youve only lived in for a few months that didn't have a jewish resident before you is an adventure. how do I know they didnt eat bread while sitting in the shower with the water off?? exactly. time to clean that too i guess

[reddit-007]

The Mueller Pro-Series 10-in-1 Vegetable Chopper is quite the multitasker for your kitchen! It features eight different blades that allow you to chop, dice, slice, and even spiralize various vegetables and fruits. For instance, you can easily create uniform onion pieces for your salsa, or slice potatoes into perfect fries in seconds.

The built-in container helps keep your workspace tidy, and the egg slicer feature is great for preparing salads or garnishes quickly. If you're making a salad, you can use the chopper to dice cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers efficiently. Plus, the compact design makes it easy to store.

Overall, this gadget is particularly beneficial for meal prep, saving you time while ensuring your ingredients are prepared uniformly. Have you used it for any particular recipes yet?

________

Highly Recommend !

[rohirric-hunter]

My throaaaat hurts

[true-blue-sonic]

A story I wrote just now based on this post, wherein I discuss some headcanons I have about Silver and his survival skills. Specifically around my ideas of how he views cooking and eating in the past! Also an Espilver fic because I love these two <3

Word count: 1493 words

Cooking for two sweet-toothed picky eaters is a challenge every day, but luckily Espio likes cooking.

“So today we are making spaghetti. You’ve had it before, you like it,” the chameleon explains, rummaging around in their little storage in the cabinets for his first ingredient: the garlic. With the cloves rapidly freed the ninja places their encasings, the peels, in their tiny organic waste bucket at the sink. No clutter for him while he is cooking, and besides, finally he has someone who actually listens to the manners he’s trying to teach the entire Chaotix. Silver has truly taken a shine to the kitchen as well, popping in every single day to learn more about food and all its peculiarities, and today is no different.

Behind Espio the hedgehog nods most seriously, peering over at the utensil drawer as Espio grabs the things they’ll need. “I’ll help. What are you doing?” follows, as it has every single day since Espio decided he wouldn’t mind having some company in the kitchen, and the chameleon smiles.

“I’m cutting the garlic so it is small enough to cook with. Normal people use a garlic press for this, but unfortunately we live in a household of lunatics, so I need to use a knife,” he tells the other, deftly cutting the cloves into miniscule cubes. Not an issue for a skilled ninja, and besides, it had been him who insisted kitchen devices like garlic presses were a waste of money anyway. As it stands, he is the only one who ever would make use of it, and the chameleon prefers a swift training of his skill with the blade alongside an opportunity to show off to anyone watching him chop up the food at lightning speed. Charmy can’t use any such tools because he is not allowed to cook, Vector’s culinary prowess limits itself to heating up ramen noodles and ruining pudding, and Silver...

Espio turns around to brag about just how perfectly cut his garlic cubes are, right on time to see his beloved pull his hand out of the organic waste bucket and shove all remnants of the bulb into his mouth.

“...Silver,” the chameleon brings out.

A hum follows amidst odd crunching noises Espio rather would not have lent an ear to.

Standing stupefied the chameleon blinks, having half a mind to push his voice into the tone that occasionally works on Charmy when the bee is misbehaving. “Spit. That. Out.”

The hedgehog in question freezes in his curious chewing, face stuck between a vibe of What In The World Am I Doing intermixed with Why Am I Being Scolded. “Vhwat?” follows muffledly, as Espio places his knife on the cutting board and dives towards the other to grab his chin. “Hmgh- Espwioh!”

“Out,” Espio orders, tensing his hold and puffing up Silver’s cheeks... and his beloved coughs as the whole peel gets spat out indeed, and the writhing in the ninja’s arms stops in favour of staring owlishly at the clump on the counter.

“.......Hm,” follows, somewhat disheartened. “That was, uh...”

“Not something we are supposed to be doing, now is it?” Crossing his arms Espio shoots the hedgehog a worried glare... which grows even more worried as Silver vigorously shakes his head.

“No, that’s not what I mean. Tastes great, Es!”

“...It cannot.”

“No, really! It’s... good.”

“Silver, it is waste. We cannot eat this,” Espio explains, lovingly smacking at Silver’s powers as sparks of cyan reach out for the slightly-drool-covered bulb remnants once more. “You stop that. What are you even doing, going through our waste like a raccoon?”

“Es, you always say we can’t waste food! And that stuff is food!” the disapproving retort comes, though now it is the chameleon’s turn to shake his head.

“Tenshi, you are incorrect. When preparing ingredients, there simply are some parts that cannot be eaten. Those have to be thrown away. And that includes the bulb of the garlic; we can only eat the cloves I’ve been cutting.” But it does explain some things he’s wondered about ever since Silver has joined their household, the chameleon muses; namely how the hedgehog often seems two seconds away from rummaging through any bin, eats everything, has become Charmy’s number one plate cleaner when the bee doesn’t want to finish his dinner, and seems to hold some very odd opinions around eating. “And you are not in the ruined future anymore,” Espio adds more gently as Silver opens his mouth for a protest. “I know this might seem like a strange thought, but this is how it works here. Uh, just like how we cook food too, and don’t eat it raw. You found that strange too, right?”

“That is because it is,” the pointed response follows, though mercifully Silver’s eyes drift away from the garlic peels towards Espio’s minced cubes the chameleon still has not been able to brag about. “So I can’t eat those like that either,” gets added slowly, Espio shaking his head with a laugh.

“No, you cannot, that would be nasty... even if I think you actually might be able to but that means I don’t have enough for the recipe and I need to cut more. Speaking of, it’s very nice cubes, is it not?”

Crouching in front of the counter, Espio’s hand at the ready to intercept in case his beloved gets any ideas about giving the garlic a small nibble all the same, Silver studies it. “Tiny,” his verdict is. “...Can’t I just eat one? Just to try it? Maybe it’s great.”

“Just as great as the peel, hm?” Espio can’t help but tease, lifting up one bit of minced garlic with the tip of the knife so Silver’s powers can grab it... and promptly the chameleon laughs at how Silver’s face falls the very moment the stuff enters his mouth, into a look of pure, allicin-induced unhappiness. Living in a ruined future also has given the hedgehog little idea about flavours other than nasty and gross, but that does mean many things can be overwhelming for him, even if said hedgehog merely swallows and pushes a smile on his face once more.

“It’s nice, Es.”

“Liar,” the ninja easily retorts with a smirk.

A deep sigh follows. “A little,” Silver laments, flopping himself against Espio. “Eating food is weird. Never could have thought something like eating would be so complicated.”

“You’ll get used to it in no time.” Fingers moving up to give Silver an encouraging stroke over his quills the chameleon muffles another laugh at the way his psychic’s nose wrinkles. The stench of garlic is clear on his gloves as Espio gives them a whiff himself; not suitable for supporting caresses, that much is certain. “How about you help me with using this garlic to make a very tasty dish, then? You liked the spaghetti the last time,” he proposes as a peace offer instead.

Ears perking up Silver nods vigorously, Espio grabbing a pan from the cabinets. “Fill this for two-thirds with water and place it on the stove, I’ll handle the fire. And after that, grab the spaghetti. We can put it in when the water is warm enough.”

“Will do!” the chipper response comes, garliccy drama seemingly already forgotten as Silver darts away to the sink and Espio uses his distraction to swiftly swipe the garlic peel right into the closable trash can. His perfectly minced and sadly-not-very-appreciated cubes of garlic end up in another pan, alongside the tomato sauce and the package of discounted vegetables... before Espio freezes at a peculiar noise.

“Silver,” the ninja calls out warningly over his shoulder at the crunching sounds of his beloved nibbling a string of uncooked spaghetti, a laugh merely following.

“This one is nice, Es.”

With a flick of the lighter the stove gets turned on, Espio shaking his head as he wrenches the package of noodles from the other’s hands. “Incorrigible, you. Will you try to drink the sauce next if I leave you here unattended?”

“It does look tasty,” the prompt response follows alongside Silver’s golden gaze curiously studying that pan in question, and Espio can only laugh as he quickly intercepts and directs his beloved towards the kitchen chairs instead; from here on there is little the hedgehog can do anyway, as Espio doesn’t want to let him too close to a lit stove yet, and thus his role falls back to being his cheerful encouraging self that makes cooking just a bit more enjoyable. Incorrigible or not, Espio wouldn’t want to have Silver any other way, and besides, it’s nice to finally not have to deal with a picky eater to cook for...

But perhaps he does need to explain the differences between food and waste a bit more clearly, just in case.

Not needing to cook for a picky eater means nothing if he needs to fish Silver out of every trash can because of that, after all.

Author’s notes:

Not originally planned but this fic goes out to my absolute barbarian friend who just monched uncooked spaghetti straight from the packaging while I was scolding her in abject horror, luv you <3

I hope you enjoyed reading!

[kingdrawcse]

Chemistry behind Garlic

Garlic, originating from Central or Western Asia, traces back to ancient Egypt with records of cultivation dating as far back as 2780 BCE. The pungent flavor of garlic is primarily attributed to 'allicin.' Fresh garlic lacks this spicy aroma until its cells are damaged, leading to the rapid generation of allicin and other volatile sulfur compounds, creating its distinctive spicy scent. Consuming garlic results in unpleasant breath due to the metabolism of sulfur compounds, producing allyl methyl sulfide (AMS) with a distinct sulfur ether odor. AMS is expelled through the lungs and skin, causing bad breath and body odor.

[a-costly-grace]

Fresh garlic

[los-plantalones]

prep for stir fry! i LOVE that all i had to buy for this was celery. the rest was foraged / grown on the farm. 🫛🍄‍🟫🥕

[oh-he-grows]

I processed my container garlic tonight! 51 heads, which if you remember I harvested 100ish. Not a great survival ratio. I think with the insane heat of the last month my garage is inhospitable for curing them, but I don't have anywhere else cool and dry to hang them. The biggest heads especially would have 1-2 completely liquid cloves, or they would have a ring around the top that was partially rotting every clove. Not sad about it though, I got a good harvest- I'll just have to do better next year.

[polarfarina]

Made some easy meat tomato sauce for dinner and mmmmm even though the tomato part was pre-done it was still so so good and satisfying. Look

So filling. So delicious