High-Allicin Garlic Butter the LastCathar Way

I’ve been all about garlic for some time now. I’ve always heard that garlic has many medicinal characteristics, and I can attest to some. When I get sick, a clove or two eaten raw is usually all it takes to cure me. I grow garlic in my garden and use it in a million recipes. One clove of garlic has four (4) calories. That means that the flavor any recipe gains from this ingredient comes at a very low cost in terms of calories, not to mention that garlic has zero fat and zero cholesterol.

Recently I read a paper on the process that forms allicin in garlic. Allicin is the ingredient that gives garlic its smell, but it is also the ingredient that gives garlic its magical healing and preventive powers. It seems that allicin is only formed when a clove is chewed, cut, or crushed. Various ingredients of the garlic are then released, and they combine to form allicin. This is thought to be garlic's defense mechanism against pests. Allicin is quick to lose its potency and easy to destroy. Microwaving completely negates all of garlic’s health benefits. Cooking in an oven does the same damage, but not nearly as fast: baking for 60 minutes leaves no measurable allicin in the garlic. 

So I have devised a recipe that I believe maximizes the health benefits of garlic. The preparation is fast and easy--if smelly--but it is designed to work with garlic's powers, not against them: it takes into account all the above characteristics of garlic, resulting in a wonderful and versatile spread for toast or vegetables like squash, spinach, kale....

After removing the skins from two heads of garlic, crush the cloves. You should end up with a big pile of very smelly crushed garlic. Cover this pile and let it set for ten minutes. The sources I read suggested ten minutes was enough time for the formation of allicin to be complete. 

While the crushed garlic does its thing, soften one stick of butter, and heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a shallow frying pan.

Fry the garlic in the oil. Garlic burns fast, so keep it moving in the hot oil. The idea is to cook the garlic as rapidly as possible until it is soft, and avoid overcooking, in order to make the garlic palatable while minimizing damage to its allicin content. The crushed garlic is ready when it just begins to brown. Take it off the heat, add the softened stick of butter and mix together using a fork, until the shreds of crushed garlic are evenly distributed in the mashed butter. Cover and store in fridge.

The resulting garlic butter will be both flavorful and healthful, and should remain good for a week. It is wonderful on toast, on corn, on veggies...

This basic way of preparing garlic can work in a number of recipes, with or without the added butter. Just be aware that any additional cooking will tend to reduce the effectiveness of the allicin in the garlic.

For an excellent overview of the current research on garlic’s health benefits (and the occasional unsubstantiated claims of same) visit Oregon State’s website.

 and now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder what would happen if I left out the butter and just used the garlic as a spread all by itself? I'll let you know how it goes...