Garlic can make the vampires run away. But I think it’s a metaphor; a tale started to make us eat this pungent but very healthy herb because garlic can actually ward off various health problems, including cancer. And unlike the vampire stories, health benefits of garlic have scientific evidence.

The best part is roasted, toasted, crushed, chopped, minced, halved, or whole garlic in food can make the taste literally go from flat to fab! So, read on to know some cool facts and benefits of garlic for health, hair, and skin.

Some of the other veggies that belong to Allium family are onion, leek, chives, shallots, and scallions. The average height and diameter of a garlic bulb is about 2 inches and contains numerous cloves, and both the cloves and bulb are enclosed in a paper-like sheath, which has white, off-white, purple or pink hue. The cloves of garlic are firm and are covered in a thicker paper-like sheath of the same color as the outer sheath. To use garlic, you need to detach the cloves from the bulb and peel them. Garlic tastes pungent and has a strong spicy smell. The pungent taste of garlic mellows down when cooked and adds a nutty flavor to the food.

There are different types of garlic such as softneck garlic, silverskin garlic, artichoke garlic, and hardneck garlic. Softneck garlic is the most common type of garlic that you see in the market and has a soft stalk, papery skin and creamy white in color. The outermost cloves of this garlic are larger in size as compared to those closer to the center. Silver garlic has a pink hue on its outer sheath and has a strong aroma. Artichoke garlic has a milder flavor and has larger but fewer cloves. Sometimes the artichoke garlic has a purple tint on its papery skin. However, it is the hardneck garlic that is known for its purple outer sheath. It has a hard, woody stalk and there are three types of hardneck garlic – rocambole garlic, porcelain garlic, and purple stripe garlic

Garlic is one of the oldest crops. Garlic is mentioned in Indian and Egyptian cultures about 5000 years ago, in Babylonian culture about 4500 years ago, and in Chinese culture about 4000 years ago. The crop originated in Central Asia and is referred to as “center of origin” and a wide range of garlic varieties can be found here. In the early days, there were no specific types of garlic. In fact, after garlic was cultivated in southern Europe in the last 1000 years the softneck and hardneck garlic varieties started to get noticed. Garlic is believed to have become popular as humans migrated to various parts of the world. Today, each year about 10 million metric tons of garlic is produced worldwide, China being the leading producer of garlic with 66% garlic production

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