Garlic is an ancient and precious medicinal and edible treasure, known as the "health guardian god" abroad. In China, there has long been a saying, "When garlic hits the market, the pharmacy closes."
Sheng Mengli, deputy director of the Nutrition Department at Peking University Hospital, explains that garlic indeed has many health benefits. Firstly, the allicin contained in garlic is a powerful killer of bacteria, inhibiting and destroying bacteria such as Staphylococcus and E. coli. It can be used to treat and prevent diseases like bacterial dysentery and whooping cough. Garlic is also a blessing for patients with high blood lipids. After eating high-fat foods like sausages and cured meats, the fat content in the blood can double. However, if eaten with garlic, this increase in fat can be curbed.
"The reason garlic has such outstanding effects," explains Li Changping, a chief nutritionist at the Nutrition Department of Beijing Hospital, "is because it contains two active substances: alliin and allinase. Once garlic is crushed, these substances come into contact with each other, forming allicin. Allicin has a strong bactericidal effect, but it quickly loses its effectiveness when heated. Therefore, eating raw garlic is more effective for sterilization than cooked garlic."
Therefore, to achieve the best health benefits, it is best to crush garlic into a paste rather than mincing it with a knife. Furthermore, it should be left for 10-15 minutes before consumption, allowing the alliin and allinase to combine in the air to form allicin. Thus, using raw garlic in cold salads and garlic paste mixed with a little vinegar and sesame oil for dumplings are very healthy ways to eat it.
China's traditional cuisine—Laba garlic, pickled with vinegar and sugar by northerners during the Laba Festival, has a light green color and a sweet, sour, and spicy taste. It can relieve dry mouth and enhance appetite. Garlic is rich in vitamins, and when combined with acetic acid, it is beneficial to health. For those with a weak constitution or a feeble digestive system, cooked garlic, such as braised garlic, can be eaten in moderation. In the summer, people who enjoy barbecues love to roast garlic on a fire and eat it while hot. This roasted garlic has almost no pungent smell, tastes like ginkgo nuts, and is very delicious, but its bactericidal and disinfectant effects are greatly diminished.