I’ve had this idea for a newsletter stewing since Spring, and have been waiting for the right moment to release it into the world. It’s hard when there is so much to say about something, especially something as grandiose and holy as this. It all started back in February, when we were binge watching Les Blank’s films. I was already a fan of his documentaries from watching the classics, Burden of Dreams and Gap-Toothed Women, so it didn’t surprise me that I quickly became obsessed with his ode to one of my most used herbs in his film, Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980).
I *highly* recommend that you watch this documentary as an accompaniment to this newsletter. It can be viewed on the Criterion Channel, which has a seven day free trial. Also, now is the perfect time to join to get your holiday viewing of my beloved Fanny and Alexander in for the season (you can thank me later). The doc is a celebration of garlic and focuses on cultural garlic moments in California from the view point of chefs (ft. Alice Waters), farmers, vampire experts, and more (lots of footage from the Gilroy Garlic Fest which still happens! Road trip anyone??). One of the stars of the film is L. J. Harris, who started a garlic fan club called Lover’s of the Stinking Rose, and also wrote The Book of Garlic, which I did not hesitate to buy and can be yours too for the low price of $8!
I have a lot to share about garlic, but first I want to highlight food as medicine. Eating our medicines, in a whole food way, is the best way to get ‘em in ya. The magic, if you will, is in the whole form. It’s not just about x, y, and z compounds that make something healthy or not. It’s about the relationship with the food, the peeling of the garlic, the smell of it, the ability to see the quality of it with your own eyes. If you’re really lucky, that relationship can start with planting and growing the food that you consume. There’s a quote in the film about the work of peeling each garlic clove. The interviewee says, “It feels good to do. That’s the part that’s a little hard to talk about without sounding like a hippie dipshit”. That basically sums up my sentiments. Some things are better off felt and not said anyways.
Garlic aka allium sativum, a member of the lily family, has been cultivated for thousands of years, so as you can imagine there is a lot of garlic lore out there. It is one of the oldest recorded medicines, with writings of it being found on ancient temple walls as far back as 1500 BC. The Ancient Egyptians loved it - using it as a form of currency for those building the pyramids. King Tut was even buried with six bulbs placed in his tomb, which ties garlic to the theme of protection. Maybe it has to do with its strong aroma that there is this long standing belief that garlic repels evil. Case in point: vampires. There’s a clip in the film with some weirdo talking about vampires and he makes an interesting point regarding vampires being life-suckers. People who drain your energy or electronics and screens that zap us of our life zest could all be seen as our modern day vampires. Garlic, our strong companion, is life-giving. It’s a vital stimulant and tonic, which means that it increases our life force energy and actually strengthens our tissues.
Last year while scoping out the shops on a little Greek island, I bought a garlic charm. I thought it would make a cute christmas decoration, and it does, but now I am seeing it for what it truly is: a good luck charm. In Greek tradition it would be used as protection against the Evil Eye, and whether that concept resonates or not, we all have our own version of an "evil eye” in our lives I am sure.
Clearly there’s a lot of lovers of garlic out there, and I hope you join the fan club after reading this too, if you’re not already a garlic-head. But, this fan fare has not always been so. There was a push against garlic in medieval times within the aristocratic society due to its “offensive” odour. They didn’t like the smell and how it represented the more vulgar, realistic and primal qualities human life. In fact, garlic is actually an aphrodisiac (yes, you read that right!), and has been documented as such throughout history. This might also add to its “impure” status among the upper class and religious elites. There’s practically a war against garlic breath in our western world, with no one wanting to smell off-putting after indulging in the herb. In a world of appearances, garlic has not been considered pretty or of the status-quo, but doesn’t that just show how powerful it is? Garlic doesn’t care - in fact - I think it wants to leave its mark on those who eat it, like a protective shield or maybe a way of announcing to the world “I LOVE GARLIC!”, so us likeminded people can sniff each other out (literally).
Now, there are some people that garlic might not be for. Garlic is a hot and dry herb. In Persian Unani Tibb medicine, it is considered third degree hot and third degree dry, and the scale only goes to four! The “Al” in its botanical name, Allium, actually comes from the Celtic word for “burning”. Garlic contains a compound called Allicin, and that is the one responsible for the burning sensation you get from eating it raw. 17th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpepper, astrologically associated garlic with the planet mars and the sign aries, both of which are ruled by fire. So, if you have a hot and dry constitution, or in TCM are considered deficient yin, garlic might make things worse. This could feel like headaches, overstimulation, or simply overheating. For these people, I would suggest garlic occasionally, but not chronically. For the rest of us, have at ‘er! Finally I can find gratitude in having my cold, damp constitution.
The uses of garlic are great and many, so I’ll give you the quick overview of some of its herbal actions here: antibiotic, antiviral, antiparasitic, antifungal, antioxidant, emmenegogue (promotes menstruation), circulatory stimulant, blood thinner, immune stimulant, expectorant (great for coughs), diaphoretic (helps to break a fever) and carminative. Let’s unpack some of that. Fresh, raw garlic makes an incredible herbal antibiotic, and was used in WWII by the Russians as a makeshift penicillin when supplies ran out. Garlic is the first antibiotic we knowingly used for that purpose. Its antiviral qualities make it perfect for fighting colds and consuming garlic regularly will also strengthen your immune system to keep viruses from getting to you. A clove a day keeps a lot of things at bay, honestly! Folk medicine commonly would use chains made of raw garlic worn as necklaces to ward off sickness and worms. For fungal infections like candida, you can insert a whole clove vaginally as a suppository.
On Halloween I made a big batch of Fire Cider which is currently in the cupboard infusing. I loaded up the vinegar mix with a number of things including, red onion, pomegranate, ginger, and of course, a whole lot of garlic. This will be the perfect medicine to turn to if I start to feel the onset of a cold. I also like to make garlic shots, which is basically like a ginger shot but with garlic added into the mix. I toss a few cloves into the blender with lemon juice, ginger, honey and some water, and drink it up. Garlic oil is another great thing to have on hand for earaches (there’s also reports of people using it to cure deafness?!). You can infuse honey with some cloves as well to make a super delicious garlic honey that is perfect for coughs and sore throats.
The cool thing is that you don’t even have to ingest it to experience the benefits of garlic. Simply doing a garlic foot bath or rubbing raw garlic on your feet will do the trick. The allicin penetrates the skin and is quickly absorbed into the blood stream. It’s a fun experiment to try just to see how quickly you’re able to actually taste the garlic in your mouth.
A few weeks ago we watched Mermaids, which is totally unrelated to this newsletter BUT it made me go down a Cher rabbit hole on youtube in which I found this video which has the same energy of garlic, in my opinion. Iconic, hot, and bold.
This newsletter truly is a love letter to garlic. If you’re feeling like doing a deep dive into garlic, you should also read this garlic newsletter from The Kitchen Table (also Madelyne sells these perfect garlic hats which we should probably all get). Let us all rejoice in the rich and profound history of garlic. Let us use it in new ways and see it in a new light. A couple of years ago I planted 1000 cloves at my parent’s place (my dad’s friends call him Garlic Boy lol?) and am grateful for how that changed my relationship to something that, at times, felt like a boring kitchen staple. I hope we all see it as so much more than that.
⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ p.s. happy sagittarius season! ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆