Why saute garlic first? 

Table of Contents

• Why saute garlic first? 
• What is garlic?
• Selecting the perfect garlic
• Peeling the garlic
• The science behind Sauteing garlic
• Why saute garlic first?
• How to saute garlic?
• Should you cook garlic before adding it to the sauce?
• Conclusion

Why saute garlic first?

Sauteed garlic is a beautiful and wonderful sense for the tastebuds. It creates flavor and adds a bit of complexity to any recipe. Often amateur cooks have this query if they should or not saute garlic first?

The answer is yes, you should saute garlic first before adding it to your dish. This allows the garlic flavor to develop and gives it a great texture that people enjoy. It isn’t required to saute garlic before every recipe but doing so will enhance the flavors significantly in your dish.

In this article, we’ll learn the science behind sauteing garlic and how to do it correctly.

What is garlic?

Garlic is a small flower that has been used as a seasoning for centuries. It was discovered by the Egyptians and has since become one of the most common ingredients in many cuisines around the world, such as Italian, Chinese and Indian. Besides being delicious it also contains many health benefits such as cancer prevention and increasing immune response to infections.

Selecting the perfect garlic

The best garlic for cooking is the freshest of them all. The dry, outer husk should be tight and firm with no wrinkles or sprouts on the clove. Also, avoid any that are discolored or have an off smell. Fresh garlic will not be sticky when handled.  

Peeling the garlic

While peeling the garlic there are two preferred methods: 1) the knife and cutting board method and 2) boiling it in water before peeling.

1) The knife and cutting board method requires you to cut off the very top of the clove, about a ¼ inch from its head. After this is done, use the blade of your knife to remove most of the skin that covers each clove. Finally, chop or crush the garlic as needed for desired texture.

2) Boiling garlic removes some of its harsh tastes while leaving behind some flavor along with more vitamins than number one. To do this place several cloves of garlic into a pot and pour enough water over them so they sink easily without bumping up against each other (about an inch or so). Bring the water to a boil and let it simmer for fifteen minutes. Drain off the excess water and remove garlic from the skin using your hands.

The science behind Sauteing garlic

There are three main reasons why it is important to saute garlic before adding it to your dish:

1) Sauteing garlic first allows the flavor of the garlic to become enhanced and active for cooking. Garlic has an enzyme called allinase, which produces sulfenic acid when combined with water (for example – 20 minutes of rainfall). Sulfenic acid acts as a natural yeast inhibitor in bread but during cooking, it converts to allicin, a key compound in making garlic a potent antioxidant. So by sauteing this chemical reaction occurs releasing more flavor and antioxidants into your dish.   

2) After being cooked, raw garlic can sometimes have a harsh or bitter taste to some people so sauteing prevents this from happening.

3) Garlic is known to create foam when cooked, which occurs due to the air inside of it expanding while being heated up. Although this isn’t harmful it can be unappealing in some dishes so sauteing garlic first causes it to come out while cooking and then dissolve into other ingredients or evaporate away completely.

Why saute garlic first?

There are many reasons why you should saute garlic before adding it to your dish. This process will bring out its flavors, make it tender, tasty, and delicious. While cooking, heat breaks down the cells of ingredients causing them to release their liquids which in turn changes the flavor.

Cooked garlic has a sweeter taste due to this breakdown of cells which is released as amino acids. These create new complex compounds that contain umami flavors increasing their savoriness.

The colors of food are directly related to how much moisture they have. When cooking garlic it helps to dry the cloves before adding them, which is done by heating up a pan or skillet and placing about four cloves in there. This will remove excess moisture from the food making it tasty.

Another way to take out moisture from ingredients is through sauteing garlic first in oil because when heated, the oil removes the water content from foods.

There are three main reasons why it’s important to saute garlic before adding it to your dish:

1. Sauteing garlic first allows the flavor of the garlic to become enhanced and active for cooking.
2. After being cooked, raw garlic can sometimes have a harsh or bitter taste to some people so sauteing prevents this from happening.
3. Garlic is known to create foam when cooked, which occurs due to the air inside of it expanding while being heated up.

How to saute garlic?

Garlic is delicious in all forms, but sizzling it adds wonderful flavor and complexity to any savory dish. Here are 11 detailed steps with which you can saute them flawlessly:

1. Slice off the top of a garlic head. This exposes all of the cloves inside.
2. Peel off the papery skin from each clove, using only the flat part of your knife blade and keeping your fingers out of harm’s way!
3. Chop or crush the garlic as needed for desired texture.
4. Add oil and minced garlic to a small pan over medium-high heat and saute while stirring constantly until browned and fragrant (about 5 minutes).
5. Add spices you want to add at this point such as salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, etc depending on what you’re cooking it with.
6. Now add in other ingredients like vegetables or meat that need to be cooked, such as bell pepper.
7. Add any other ingredients that need to be sauteed before you cook them, which would include most vegetables or meat.
8. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are just tender, stirring frequently.
9. Adjust garlic flavor by adding more minced garlic if desired. 10) Transfer the mixture to a serving dish and serve with your favorite dish!
10. Enjoy!

Should you cook garlic before adding it to the sauce?

Yes. Cooked or roasted garlic is way milder than raw garlic so when added to dishes prior to being cooked it provides for a milder taste making the overall dish better tasting. It’s recommended that when using this method, you should use one clove of garlic for every two servings.

Since raw garlic is stronger and has a harsher flavor, it’s healthy to cook or roast at least one clove per serving. This will make the product more digestible since heat helps with the breakdown of allicin which decreases as it is heated up.

Conclusion

Sauteing garlic first is better as clear from the above points. However further following these guidelines will yield you much better-tasting dishes! Whenever you add garlic in your cooking, take out the moisture from them by sauteing and when making a recipe it’s best to cook garlic before adding it in. This allows for their flavors to be brought out when they’re cooked and maximizes their taste further.