Garlic

Garlic, Allium sativum, a perennial herb related to the onion, is pungent bulb composed of cloves surrounded by a thin white or purplish sheath. It is among the most ancient of cultivated plants and has long been used as a food flavoring, as a medicine, and as a germicide, since its juice contains the antibiotic oil allicin.

Because seed is rarely produced, garlic is propagated by planting individual cloves. When the green top ripen and fall over, the bulbs are pulled. Garlic can be stored for several months if kept dry and cool.

Garlic originating in central of Asia, garlic today grows in southern Europe and the east central United States. It is cultivated for its bulb, containing up to 20 cloves, which are used to flavor of many Mediteranian and Asian cuisines.