It's widely known that garlic is a proven remedy for keeping vampires away. In fact, you'll always find bunches of fresh garlic drying in my kitchen, and I swear I've never had a vampire visit.
Since both dried and green garlic (which sometimes has a purplish hue) have been discussed here before, and I've already extensively listed the many benefits of this wonderful plant, I'll briefly recap.
In essence: it contains a powerful antioxidant called allicin, which is effective in reducing bad cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. It also has significant anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, this time I'll dedicate the main part of this newsletter to the remedy I mentioned at the beginning: why and how did the belief that garlic repels vampires develop?
As I said, at least according to my own empirical experience, it works—keep garlic around, and I promise no vampire will come near you. Yes, of course, for this to be considered a true remedy, the existence of vampires would need to be proven, which is a bit more complicated.
So, what is the origin of the myth? The answer isn't entirely clear, but it's known that common beliefs about garlic repelling evil spirits and various types of monsters existed in different parts of Europe as far back as the Middle Ages.
Garlic, which for farmers in Europe (as well as the Middle East) was a staple food, was consumed in vast quantities, both cooked and fresh. Eating a lot of garlic has an interesting effect.
Garlic contains large amounts of sulfuric acid, which is also the compound that gives it its strong and pungent smell. This compound is absorbed into the blood and then excreted through sweat, so eating large quantities of garlic (which happens to be medically recommended – up to a whole head of garlic a day) will affect the body odor.
This scent was considered to repel demons and vampires. As is known, one of the myths attributed to vampires is that they have exceptional sensory sensitivity, including their sense of smell.
With all due respect to common beliefs and forgotten legends, the greatest publicist of vampires and the one who established the garlic myth is the author Bram Stoker. The Irish writer published a horror novel in 1897 called Dracula, which became the prototype of the modern vampire genre, and the bit with garlic is part of the story.
So, now that we're enlightened, let's go back to our garlic, fresh green garlic. I write "our garlic," and until a decade ago, this was obvious. The thing is that in recent years, due to imports of cheap (low-quality) garlic from China, it's no longer profitable to grow garlic locally, and therefore almost all the garlic you find in the markets is imported.
As I said, "our" garlic is truly ours and comes directly from the farmer, and there's nothing like fresh green garlic. First, it can be used as regular garlic in every way (much more aromatic, tasty, and rich). It can be dried at home for future use just as any regular white dried garlic.
In addition, the green stalk is a wonderful fresh herb, a bit like green onion, but with wonderful garlicky flavors and aromas.
