Aha: this way you know if your garlic smells strong or not

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: aha: this way you know if your garlic smells strong or not.

For garlic lovers (are you talking to me?) there are few dishes that aren't even tastier with a clove of garlic. Just try that garlic soup with three (!) bulbs or my favorite garlic shrimp with white wine. But before you start… Did you know that the way you cut the garlic has a significant impact on the flavor?

The spicy, strong flavor of garlic is due to the substance allicin, which is released as soon as the outer part of the clove is broken when you cut or crush it. We’ve listed the strength and methods of processing for you.

Whole cloves
If you leave the cloves whole, the flavor will be the mildest. This is because you don't break those so-called walls of the garlic. Confited in oil gives the garlic a subtle flavor. Once the clove is soft, you can spread it on a piece of toasted bread.

Slices of
When you slice the garlic thinly, the flavor becomes slightly stronger, but still not very spicy. Are you going to cook the garlic hot and briefly? Always slice the clove; otherwise, you risk it burning too quickly.

Chop finely
You guessed it: if you chop the garlic finely, you can expect a nice strong garlic flavor. If you let the chopped clove sit on the board for a while, the flavor becomes even stronger because the allicin continues to develop.

Grate
A finely grated garlic clove is delicious in pesto or aioli and is by far the strongest in flavor. Do you want the garlic super fine but not super strong? Then sprinkle some salt over the grated garlic and rub the salt into the garlic with the flat side of your knife. And, that garlic press, you can leave it in the drawer.