Elephant Garlic

Belonging to family Alliaceae and species Allium ampeloprasum, elephant garlic is a type of garlic that has large cloves and a warm, mild, slightly sweet flavor. However, the truth is that elephant garlic is not a true garlic but is actually a leek having a similar appearance like a regular garlic. It is a hardy plant possessing large blue green strap like foliage and a central rib, and large pink to purple color flowers that usually bloom in spring and summer.

The plant that bears flower grow bulbs consisting of 5 or 6 large cloves, while plants that do not flower, instead of bulbs develop only one large, symmetrical clove known as a round. The garlic cloves which are comparatively larger than the regular garlic cloves, having a papery skin are used for both culinary purposes and propagation. Unlike our regular garlic, elephant garlic has a shorter shelf life and so should not be kept for very long.

How to Grow Elephant Garlic

The plant grows best in a rich, deeply cultivated, well drained soil. Unlike other garlic, it is an easy to grow home garden vegetable that thrives well in warm and humid climates. The plant is usually planted by hand in the fall season and harvested in the coming summer. It likes partial to full sunlight and require drip or trickle irrigation throughout its growing season. It is recommended to mulch the plant immediately after planting. Elephant garlic gets easily infected by pests like onion thrips and onion maggots. It is also known to suffer diseases like downy mildew, bulb and neck rots, leaf blast and purple leaf blotch. Hence, purchasing disease-free bulbs, rotating crops, hand hoeing and herbicide applications are some ways to protect the plant from pests and weeds.

Elephant garlic can be hand harvested and to know which is the right time to harvest, one needs to look out for some indications like leaf tops turning dry or bending toward the ground. Hence, while harvesting garlic gently dig out the bulbs using a digging fork to loosen the soil and keep the freshly harvested garlic bulbs in a cool, dark and dry place.

How to Roast Elephant Garlic

Its cloves are used in many elephant garlic recipes but remember that it is not a substitute for our regular garlic and is used in those recipes that call for a subtle hint of garlic, without overpowering the rest of the food. Elephant garlic can be used in its raw form in salads, or sliced and sauteed or roasted in butter to give that sweet and creamy flavor. Roasted elephant garlic is generally used to give an exotic flavor to soups and many other recipes.

Ingredients

• 1 head elephant garlic with many cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil (or more)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat an oven to 425 ºF and meanwhile, slice off the top of the garlic head. Keep it in a piece of foil and drizzle olive oil inside its head until it is completely filled. Wrap tightly with foil and keep it on a cookie sheet. Bake until tender and fragrant, for around 30 - 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool down. Peel the outside part of the garlic bulb and then squeeze each clove. Your roasted elephant garlic is ready to use.

While selecting in the store, purchase elephant garlic that has a firm, equally textured heads without soft spots or areas of browning. Also due to its short shelf life it should be kept under refrigeration and used in a timely fashion.