SavinaRed said:
I have yet to make a sauce for me that doesn't include garlic. I grow my own garlic = 100 bulbs a year. Now I've have made some sauce without garlic for a family member who is allergic to garlic.
If you grow your own garlic, it may be worth your while to grow hardneck garlic. Two categories grown in North America are the Rocambole and the Continental hardnecks.
Rocamboles are much sweeter and less hot than the softneck garlics, but much more garlicky than the best-flavored softneck varieties. They can be used raw (in salad dressings, they are superb !!), and should not be over-cooked; like basil, their flavor can get cooked out by excessive heat or cooking time.
Continental hardnecks range in flavor from Rocambole sweetness to a harshness (when raw) that is unpleasant: i can eat a habanero pepper quite casually, but i cannot eat a raw Georgian Fire or Polish Jenn clove easily. They're just too dang hot!
Having said that, they are among the very best garlic varieties for roasting... i'm not sure what effect the LAB fermentation process has on the flavor, but the pasteurisation process when bottling it should put paid to any concerns.
The Continental hardneck variety Music is one of the more productive, more intensely garlicky strains, with a cleaner/less-harsh heat. It also stores better than most, and is higher-yielding than most.
The Continental hardneck variety Siberian is offered by one of Canada's most reputable seed-merchants, Richter's Herb Seed catalog. They claim it has more allicin than other varieties, and is thus healthier for you. I don't think they can ship roots/bulbs/tubers outside of Canada, but i'm sure there are other sources for Siberian.
Another feature you will appreciate with hardneck varieties is that the bulbs are much larger, with fewer cloves, and are much easier to peel.
