The Almighty Onion

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Garlic

Garlic is held in the highest respect for its pungency. Barbara's interest in garlic has been growing in recent years. It's a good thing; I like it. Sometimes I will come across a pocket of garlic in a salad that gives a real zing to the tongue. It is amazing that something so hot and pungent becomes a sweet, mild spread for crackers when you bake it.

Barbara plants individual garlic cloves, root end down, about two inches deep and four inches apart, in the fall after the first killing frost. Garlic is very hardy. The roots will begin to grow but not the tops. After the ground freezes the first time, she covers the bed with mulch so alternate freezing and thawing doesn't cause the cloves to heave, which breaks the roots. In spring, the mulch is removed. She plants stiffneck garlic. Softneck garlic is the most pungent. The third of the three types is elephant, which is the largest, as the name implies, and the mildest. When the stiffneck plants put up a seed stalk, it should be snipped off. This seed stem is called a scape. It is easy to spot as it forms a beautiful curl. It is harvested much the same as onions, though if it does not come out of the soil easily, it should be dug up. What about the claim that onions have aphrodisiac properties? "During Pharaonic times, celibate Egyptian priests were prohibited from eating onions because of the potential effects. Later on, in France, newlyweds were served onion soup on the morning after their wedding night to restore their libido." We found this information, and more like it, on the Web at http://www.santesson.com/aphrodis/onion2.htm.

Garlic/Onion Health Miracles

Even though the onion has figured prominently as an aphrodisiac through much of history, it has not been scientifically proven to be one. Research into the health benefits of onions has come up with some very interesting results, however.

Studies performed at Anderson Hospital in Houston found that mice developed 75% fewer tumors when given diallyl sulfide, a component of garlic, prior to exposure to a colon-specific carcinogen. When the study was repeated — this time using a carcinogen that affects the esophagus — the results were even more dramatic.

Dr. Michael Wargovich, who performed the studies, said, "We were shocked at the end of that experiment. Even though the garlic-treated animals were exposed to one of the most potent carcinogens around, not one got cancer. We believe diallyl sulfide triggers the liver to detoxify carcinogens. This is no longer health food stuff. At our hospital, two cancer research sections — gastrointestinal and head and neck — have committed themselves to garlic chemopreventive studies. We realize that this presents a roadblock to a lot of tumors, and many specialists in early cancers now consider this the way to go. It's really exciting."

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