Use Garlic Granules, Minced or In Capsules

Garlic is one of the most widely used bulk spices today. Utilized in a wide variety of cuisines, garlic minced or garlic granules can perk up an otherwise bland savory dish. Garlic can also be taken as garlic capsules, and may have other medicinal uses.

Asian stir-fries offer a wonderful way to use garlic minced. Stir fries are quite adaptable to the ingredients you might have on hand, but there are a couple of steps that you can take that will help your stir fry meet with success. One step is to preheat the wok. The wok should be very hot by itself, and then you place your cooking oil in the wok. This seasons the wok before use and it helps to keep foods from sticking to the pan. Using oils with a high smoke point, such as vegetable or canola oils, allows the oil to heat to high heat without creating a great deal of smoke. A final step to take is to make sure to precut all of your ingredients before you begin cooking in the wok. The ingredients should be cut approximately the same size so they cook evenly. The ingredients should be placed in the wok according to the length of time needed to cook--meats and tougher vegetables should go in first, followed by softer vegetables. Seafood can be added near the end of the cooking process, because it can easily overcook. Typically aromatic vegetables and herbs will go in with the other ingredients in the hot oil, and this would include garlic minced. Other bulk spices could be included, such as crushed red pepper, ginger or curry spices.

Garlic granules are also an excellent choice for salad dressings and dips. The granules spread more evenly throughout the mixture than a coarser mince, and thus you get more garlic flavor in each bite.

Although many people are familiar with cooking with garlic granules, they might be less so when it comes to using garlic capsules. Garlic pills are commonly used as an antiseptic, and may help with arteriosclerosis and heart attack risk. In addition, garlic pills may help with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It is also commonly used as an expectorant, and has been used by certain Native American groups in traditional herbal medicine as such. Garlic capsules may also help to regulate blood sugar. It may also help with intestinal parasites and with infections. It is understood that the potency of garlic capsules is less than that of raw garlic.

Products not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration are not to be considered medicine. If you believe that you have a health problem or concern, you should swiftly seek medical advice from your health care provider.

In this article Anne Harvester writes about bulk spices.