Baked garlic, perhaps, will not be appreciated by many. Mostly because of its soft consistency, which not everyone likes.
But the true connoisseurs of this vegetable, whether raw or baked, know what a tasty and wholesome appetizer that turns out to be suitable for many main dishes.
The benefits of baked garlic
Why bake garlic at all and will there be at least some benefit in it?
As many note, the benefit is visible after 6 eaten cloves of garlic. And so that it is preserved and absorbed by the body in full, it is necessary to drink at least 1.5 liters of water within a day after eating the vegetable.
After an hour after 6 eaten cloves of garlic, the body begins to actively absorb all the beneficial substances that came into it: allicin, B vitamins and manganese. And the fiber present immediately normalizes the intestines, removing toxins from it.
After 2-4 hours, antioxidants enter the bloodstream, which spread through the cells of organs and tissues, protecting them from free radicals and oxidative stress.
After 6 hours, the beneficial components of garlic normalize the metabolism in the body. All excess fluid is excreted, which positively affects the functioning of the kidneys, and edema of the extremities is also removed. In addition to removing excess fluid, baked garlic slowly but surely burns excess fat.
After 7 hours, the body's immune system improves. She fights better with an infection or a cold, because garlic increases the production of antibodies, which means that their number increases several times.
After 10 hours, the beneficial components of garlic are active in relation to such an organism process as aging. It not only helps smooth wrinkles, but also slows down the aging process.
After a day, processes occur that improve the general condition of the body:
- Fatigue is reduced, which means increased efficiency.
- Bones and joints are strengthened.
- The amount of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood is reduced.
- The pressure is normalized, the work of the cardiovascular system is being adjusted.
Contraindications
- Intolerance to the product.
- Hypotension.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, acute and chronic (ulcer, gastritis, enteritis, etc.).
- Any form of pancreatitis.
- Epilepsy, since garlic contains substances that provoke seizures.
- Stones in the gallbladder, as well as cholecystitis.
- Kidney stones, renal failure and other diseases of the genitourinary system.
During pregnancy, garlic should be eaten with caution, rarely and in small quantities, as a prevention of colds and viral diseases, as well as to strengthen immunity. The abuse of vegetables during pregnancy is very dangerous for the fetus and the woman herself. In the early stages, this can provoke a miscarriage, and in the last weeks and in the process of childbirth, worsen the condition of the baby and mother.
Ingredients for a classic recipe.
The recipe for baked garlic is very simple, which even a novice can do. Its set of components is 3 ingredients:
- garlic heads - 4 pcs.;
- sunflower or olive oil - a tablespoon;
- salt to taste, usually a pinch.
You can take more garlic, with a lot of oil and salt. And it is necessary to cover the vegetable with foil, otherwise it will burn.
Cooking steps
The recipe for baked garlic in the oven is as simple as the set of ingredients necessary for it.
- Heads of garlic of approximately the same size are selected. A thin layer of husk is removed from each, and the top is cut so as to expose the cloves.
- A sheet of foil is lined on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
- Garlic heads are laid out.
- From above they are salted and watered with oil so that it not only covers the garlic, but also seeps in between the cloves.
- Garlic is wrapped in foil and sent to the oven to bake at 200 ° C. Time is enough 25-30 minutes. But if the garlic heads are large, then the cooking time can be extended. You can also extend the cooking if you need more baked garlic cloves.
Baked garlic sauce
From garlic taken out of the oven, you can prepare a sauce that, when added with liquid ingredients (cream, for example), acquires a delicate creamy structure. This sauce is an excellent universal additive to many first and second courses, and some use it as a salad dressing.
Cooking the sauce is simple, the main thing is to properly bake the garlic in the oven. How to do this was described earlier.
Ingredients
To make baked garlic sauce, you will need the following:
- Head of garlic, preferably large.
- Sunflower or olive oil - 3.5 tbsp. l
- Wheat flour - 3 tbsp. l
- Vegetable broth - 250 ml.
- Fat cream - 130 ml.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce making
- First you need to bake a head of garlic. How to do this was described above in the description of the classic recipe.
- They give the garlic time to cool, peel it.
- Heat oil in a pan and spread garlic on it.
- After a couple of minutes, pour the broth into the pan, pour the flour and mix until a homogeneous consistency. Prepare until the sauce thickens.
- Then pour the cream and stir.
- Cook 2 more minutes.
- After cooking, the sauce is salted and pepper to taste.
The cooled sauce resembles a thin sour cream in consistency, so it can be sent to borsch, giving it thereby benefits.
How to cook garlic to preserve all the beneficial properties?
Heat treatment is known to reduce the amount of useful components in products. Also in garlic. Cooking and frying this vegetable is not recommended, since after these processes there is no benefit at all from it. Roasting is a more gentle method that allows you to cook and preserve the good.
Before sending the garlic into the oven, it needs to be kneaded a little and left for 10 minutes. This will allow allicin to be better released from the imprisonment of the walls of garlic and activated during cooking.
If you put the vegetable to bake immediately after a little crushing, the temperature will quickly destroy allinase, which will never have time to connect with allin. Without the allinase enzyme, the vegetable will not have the proper positive effect on the body. And waiting 10 minutes normalizes the binding of enzymes and will benefit the body.
Conclusion
Garlic baked in foil has great benefits. Its preparation and use will protect the body from many diseases, and also contribute to weight loss. But, as many say, you need to get used to baked garlic, because its consistency is too soft, not familiar to this vegetable, and bitterness also disappears.
Unusual and tasty, worth a try. However, this vegetable should not be abused daily. Otherwise, arrhythmia and problems with the cardiovascular system are not excluded.