This is why I started the Toronto Garlic Festival

People like Edward Kuciak, who came out to the 5th Annual Toronto Garlic Festival on Sunday. We spoke for just a couple of minutes, but it was obvious to me that he's a big lover of Allium Sativuum.

http://szlachta.blogspot.ca/

Even the Cameraman Likes It

We did an on air interview with Le Dolci. Afterward the camera guy swarmed the table for a bite of the home-made black garlic marshmallows.

On air garlic chopping

I had a great time with Frank Procter on AM 740 am. He didn't mind that I chopped some fresh garlic, on-air, for his garlic bread. Garlic smell can't travel over radio waves, too bad.

When to harvest garlic

A few people have asked me when to harvest their garlic. Here's an excerpt from my book which explains when and how to harvest garlic.The book, Ontario Garlic: The Story From Farm to Festival (History Press, 2015) weaves archival research with stories and anecdotes from farmers, chefs and New Canadians. It's available in bookstores and local libraries.


"The harvest is when the mature plant is dug up from the soil. Garlic should  be harvested when the tip of three to five of the leaf sheaths have turned brown. It means the plant has reached its maturity and is starting to decay.  Why do the leaves provide a clue when to harvest? Each leaf is part of a structure that serves different functions, from photosynthesis to structural support for the stem, to providing a protective layer for the bulb. Because the leaf sheath and covering on the bulb are part of the same structure, the change in colour is an indicator that the plant has reached peak maturity.  Leaving the plant in the soil beyond this point will cause the layers on the bulb to decay. It’s important to preserve as many of these layers as possible—they protect the bulb during curing and storage. Some farmers advise digging up and examining a few test plants before the leaves have started to turn brown, especially in wet weather. Moist soil can cause the layers on the bulb to degrade prematurely. If this is the case, don’t wait for the leaf tips to turn brown. It’s time to harvest.

How to Harvest

Loosen the soil by digging straight down

Loosen the soil with a fork, spade or other digging tool, taking care to dig straight down—parallel to the stem of the plant, six to eight inches (fifteen to twenty centimetres) deep and at a distance of three to four inches (eight to ten centimetres) from the stem—far enough not to damage the bulb. Lever the tool back and forth, gently loosening the soil around the bulb. Now, grasp the base of the plant, near to the soil surface. Pull straight up, taking care to not bend the stem, and gently brush off loose dirt and dead leaves, as these can potentially harbour moisture-loving pests and disease during curing and storage. Lay each bulb on the ground. Before digging up too many plants, check your already harvested bulbs to ensure  they have not been damaged by your digging implement. If necessary, adjust your digging method with the next plants to be harvested and send those damaged bulbs to the kitchen!

Tie the Plants for Curing

Tie garlic plants together in bundles of five or ten (or of your choosing), with a string approximately four feet long—two bundles per length of string. Wrap each bundle twice around using a wide-diameter string, such as hemp rope, to lessen the possibility of cutting into the stem of the plant. Tie tightly to avoid having plants slip out of their bundle—the stems will shrink as they dry. Each set of two bundles is hung by the string to dry or “cure.” Remember, a cut or bruise in the stem or in the leaf sheaths that cover the bulb can allow fungus, mould or other undesirable organisms into the plant.

Curing

Immediately after harvest, garlic is hung to cure for two to three weeks. This allows moisture to escape and prepares the plant for long-term storage. Hang garlic bundles in a shaded, ventilated locale. In places with high humidity, set up a fan.

Cut the Bulbs from the Stem

After curing, use household scissors to trim the roots and gardening cutters to cleanly cut the bulb from the stem. Most growers cut the stem very close to the bulb, in part because any amount of stem left behind can pierce adjacent bulbs while in storage. For bulbs that have tight-clinging skins and are difficult to crack, such as the Music strain (a porcelain variety), farmer Patrick Carter prefers to leave about two inches (five centimetres) of the stem on the bulb, as this makes it easier to crack the bulb in preparation for planting."


    Excerpt from Ontario Garlic: The Story From Farm to Festival (History Press, 2015)

Brewers Plate was very busy, very beeery

The Toronto Garlic Festival table feature garlic braised tacos made by chopped Canada winner Chef Anne Sorrenti.

Chef Sorrenti's Taco Nixtamal with Garlic Braised Beef, and Garlic Greens and Cabbage Slaw

Chef Anne Sorrenti centre left

Book is scheduled for June 27 launch

I wish the cover had a food shot.
Oh well, you can tweak and  worry and fret. It's the content that will sell it, I hope....

Chef Anne Sorrenti wins Chopped Canada

My good friend Anne Sorrenti won Chopped Canada recently. It's a well deserved win. I interviewed her for my book and learned that she's been cooking since she was a young girl. As she told me, "From a young age I started a lot of fires in the kitchen. But I knew how to put them out."

Warm Up for the book tour

Enjoyable night at Table Talks at the Depanneur restaurant. I answered questions from dinner guests about garlic while owner/chef Len Senator cooked garlic roasted with chicken thighs, cherry tomatoes, red onions, potatoes & balsamic vinegar. On the side, crispy, nutty garlic chips top a salad of sweet, caramelized seared carrots mixed with arugula & goat cheese

 












The three questions:
Where does garlic come from?                          
What are the best prep and cooking techniques to get different flavours from garlic?             
What’s the difference between Ontario and imported garlic?
The answers: to be found in my book: Ontario Garlic: The Story from Farm to Festival, coming summer, 2015

Len Senator behind the counter

Thanks to interview subjects for the book

The stories and anecdotes from my interviewees gave a pulse to the archival research for the book (Ontario Garlic: The Story from Farm to Festival
Many thanks to:

  

 Julia Aitken, Steve Anderson, Seymore Applebaum, John Arena, Mario Aricci, Sal Badali, Dominic Badali, Jennifer Bain, Bob Baloch, Bruce Bell, Halia Buba, Mike Buba, Ed Burt, Massimo Capra, James Chatto, Ane Christensen, George Cleary, David Colhmeyer, Wayne Conway, Arnold Cornelius, Greg Couillard, Alan Cowa, Pat Crocker, Mark Cullen, Sonia Day, Ivonete de Sousa, Simon De Boer, Rita DeMontis, Donna Dooher, Peter Dyer, Kirk Elliott, Josie Emond, Kaniz Fatima, Alexandra Feswick, Joe Fiorito, Chef D, Kathy Flint, Jenny Forte, Roberto Fracchioni, Kevin Frank, Lynn Freeman, Alison Freyer, Eileen Garber, Brad Goulding, Barry Gragg, Wayne Greer, Rob Gregorini, Donna  Griffith, Jean Gural, Warren Ham, Kate Hamilton, Lloyd J.Harris, John Higgins, Daniel Hoffman, Curt Hospidales, Justin Huang,  Chung-Ja Jackson, Stan Jeong, Mel Jones, Josh Josephson, Jamie Kennedy, Graham Kerr, Michael Kidus,  Banchi Kinde, Tom Kioussis, Marie Klassen, Johann Kleinsasser, Dinah Koo, Dorothy Lane, Lorraine Lazarenko,  Jason Lee, Mrs.  Lee, Susur Lee, Theresa Lemieux, Emily Leonard, Marilyn Lightstone,  Chris Likourgiotis, Karon Liu, Brad Long, Pero Lounge, Shirley  Lum, Nina MacDonald, Stuart McLean, Ted Maczka, Heather MacMillan, Tiferanji  Malithano, Sanjiz Mathews, Célestin Mbanianga, Cathy McClusky, Joanne McClusky, John McClusky, Mike McClusky, Susan McClusky, Chris Mcdonald,  John McDougall ,Gretchen McDowell, Mark McDowell, Bruce McEwen, Anna McGrenaghan, Alex McKay, Stuart McLean, Mary Luz Mejia, Ennio Mercantonio, Rod Meyers, Peter Minaki, Cory Mintz, Jordan Mitchell, Mark Mitchell, Peter Mitchell, Scott Mitchell,  Aisha Mohamed, Helena Moroz, Amy Morris, Wayne Morris, Mike Murakami, Colette Murphy, Al Music , Sivakumar Nadarajah, Subagini  Nadarajah Bart Nagel , Zarqa Nawaz, Brenda Norman, Vanesha Nuckchaddee-Khadaroo, Laurie Oehy, Marilyn Onucky-Vervega, Giacomo Pasquini, Aman Patel, Edo Pehilj, Argentino del Piero, Joan Pond, Ron Raymer, Sheila Robb, Cookie Roscoe, Harry Rosen, Suman Roy, Tony Sabherwal, Jessica Schmidt, Len Senator, Sridharan Sethuratnam, Sandra Sharko, Roma Shewciw, Matthew Smerek, Anne  Sorrenti, Michael Stadtländer, John Stefura, Mary Stefura, Mike Strathdee, Stella Walker, Anne Waters,  Adam Waxman, Sara Waxman, Jacqui Wice, Mary Williamson, Ted Woloshyn, Evelyn Wu, Anne Yarymowich, Monika Zhu

Book is done

After more than a year my book on garlic is done. Ontario Garlic: The Story From Farm to Festival is a cultural history of the stinking bulb. The story starts with the earliest use of garlic in ancient Central Asia and traces its path all the way to Ontario. It's cultivation and the role of immigrants in popularizing the plant is told through stories and anecdotes, including The Man Who Loved Garlic and Hated It, and Mike Myers and the Garlic French Toast. To be published summer 2015 by History Press. Exact pub date to be announced.