See Also: Garlic Lovers;   Garlic Haters;
Article on Garlic;   Garlic Quotes

GARLIC TRIVIA & FACTS

Garlic is used in cooking in almost every culture and country in the world.

U.S. Garlic per capita usage:

1970

1980

1990

2000

2011

0.4 lbs

0.9 lbs

1.4 lbs

2.2 lbs

2.3 lbs

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service


California produces more than 250 million pounds of garlic each year.

Garlic: Top 6 Producing Countries          (USDA)

 

2000

2010

World Total

24.45 billion lbs

38.88 billion lbs

China

16.5 billion lbs

30.06 billion lbs

India

1.16 billion lbs

1.83 billion lbs

South Korea

1.05 billion lbs

600 million lbs

Egypt

590 million lbs

540 million lbs

Russia

430 million lbs

470 million lbs

United States

560 million lbs

370 million lbs

Chicago got it's name from the American Indian word for the wild garlic that grew around Lake Michigan - "chicagaoua".

Garlic

One farm in Monterey County (near Gilroy "The Garlic Capital of the World"*) plants 2000 acres of garlic and produces almost 25 million pounds annually.
*The Gilroy Garlic Festival is held in July each year.

Garlic and onions are among the oldest cultivated food plants. Their culinary, medicinal and religious use dates back more than 6000 years.

Garlic is pictured on ancient Egyptian tombs from 3,000 B.C. and is mentioned in the Old Testament, by Herodotus, Aristophanes, Virgil and Dioscorides. It is said to have grown in the left footprints of Satan when he left the Garden of Eden.

• Around 300 BC, Chinese courtiers had to use cloves to sweeten their breath in the presence of the emperor because they ate so much garlic.

Garlic was an ingredient in mixtures used to attach gold leaf to early works of art.

Elephant garlic is actually closely related to the leek, and thought by some to be the wild ancestor of the leek. The bulbs are very large, and can weigh more than 1 pound. They are also much milder than regular garlic, and can be slice raw in salads. Whole cloves can be sautéed in butter and served as an appetizer.

There is an all-garlic restaurant in Stockholm where they offer a garlic cheesecake.

 

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