Quote:
Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer
The smaller the individual pieces the more surface area you expose, and, thus, the more active ingredients you activate.
However, both letting the garlic sit for any length of time, and cooking it, negates the medicinal benefits. So for cooking purposes your concern is with flavor. And to maximize that, you want to chop, mince, or crush the garlic just before adding it to the cooking pot.
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Yes, completely agree. For cooking, I crush the garlic cloves under the flat of my chef's knife blade, then mince it. And that gives a nice garlic flavor to whatever I'm cooking.
But as both you and "Cook Chatty Cathy" mention, the health benefits of garlic come mainly from consuming the raw veggie. So with every evening meal (regardless of whether or not the cooked meal contains garlic) I have 2 or 3 cloves of fresh, raw garlic. (The local Philippine "native" stuff is best, but it is also really strong--I need to remember to take small bites when consuming that.
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