# Ack! Too much garlic! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249 "2010-05-30T02:23:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/1 "2010-05-30T02:23:45Z")
I finally did it. I’ve always been one of those “there’s no such thing as too much garlic” people. But I made a batch of baba ganoush tonight with too much garlic. I reek of it. I’m sweating garlic. I can’t get close to the bowl without my eyes watering. You can’t taste anything BUT the garlic. There is such a thing as too much garlic. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/2 "2010-05-30T02:28:19Z")
Sounds like Heaven! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/3 "2010-05-30T02:31:55Z")
I’ve said it before. Garlic is Nature’s cologne. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/4 "2010-05-30T02:32:28Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Sounds like Heaven! Nooooo! Stay away! It will kill you! As an amusing aside, the first Google result for “garlic toxicity” is [this](http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/questions/garlic.html) page, with these gems: > [@](#): > > I cannot point you to specific studies that have been done on the “toxicity” of garlic because they do not exist. There is no point for researchers to spend time researching garlic while there are bigger issues out to research! > > My point of view on garlic is based on basic logic that any 5-year old can understand. Garlic is so strong that you would never want to eat it in its natural state. It is used as a flavoring agent to stimulate the taste buds. After its consumption, every pore of the body smells like garlic. The breath is terrible to those who _don’t_ eat garlic. > > Garlic is a “food” that has been avoided by natural hygienists for more than 100 years and for good reasons. We do not need any “study” to prove this. and > [@](#): > > It seems to me obvious that we shouldn’t eat foods that have a really strong taste - foods that we could never enjoy in their natural taste if we didn’t mix them with something else. Let’s just say I…disagree. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/5 "2010-05-30T02:36:03Z")
I once had so much roasted garlic that the next day, not only did everyone I worked with complain, but the UPS man, as soon as he walked in the door, asked “What stinks?!!” By late afternoon, the stench had pretty much dissipated. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/6 "2010-05-30T02:48:39Z")
I had a similar experience this week, with salt. I was preparing 4 pounds of ground meat for hamburgers and meat loaf, to which I normally add 1/4 cup of “light” salt. Due to a senior moment I added 1/2 cup of kosher salt . . . which is 10x as salty as light salt, plus I used twice as much. The only thing to do was to add more and more meat and other ingredients to stretch out the salt. I finally wound up with 16 pounds . . . and it’s still too salty. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/7 "2010-05-30T03:30:13Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > The breath is terrible to those who _don’t_ eat garlic.. Vampires ? 😕 ? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/8 "2010-05-30T03:41:07Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Vampires ? 😕 ? Elderly Mid-Westerners? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/9 "2010-05-30T03:42:31Z")
There’s a difference? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/10 "2010-05-30T05:31:18Z")
I saw the thread title and thought I had slipped into an alternate dimension _again_ today, but then I saw **Krokodil** ’s post, and I figured either I was still where I thought I was, or at the very least I’d be able to deal with this place okay as it wasn’t all that different yet. ---
**Author:** ![Rahne\_McCloud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rahne\_McCloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rahne_McCloud)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/11 "2010-05-30T08:09:53Z")
Try making a dish called “Boiled Garlic”, it calles for 30 cloves of garlic. I made this once ruined a pot, my house smelled for a week, but it was well worth it. It kept my family away for that time frame. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/12 "2010-05-30T10:01:36Z")
damn, now I have to make up a batch of roasted garlic to smear on bread ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/13 "2010-05-30T17:58:19Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Nooooo! Stay away! It will kill you! > > As an amusing aside, the first Google result for “garlic toxicity” is [this](http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/questions/garlic.html) page, with these gems: > > > [@](#): > > > > I cannot point you to specific studies that have been done on the “toxicity” of garlic because they do not exist. There is no point for researchers to spend time researching garlic while there are bigger issues out to research! > > > > My point of view on garlic is based on basic logic that any 5-year old can understand. Garlic is so strong that you would never want to eat it in its natural state. It is used as a flavoring agent to stimulate the taste buds. After its consumption, every pore of the body smells like garlic. The breath is terrible to those who _don’t_ eat garlic. > > > > Garlic is a “food” that has been avoided by natural hygienists for more than 100 years and for good reasons. We do not need any “study” to prove this. > > and > > Let’s just say I…disagree. What a load of crap. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, which a)HAS been studied scientifically, and b)is actually TOUTED by those who believe in sticking to “all-natural” medicines. And frankly, I like a bit of raw garlic in salads and such, but he doesn’t, so therefore BAD and DON’T EAT and a little bit of NO ONE CARES ABOUT GARLIC AND WHY WOULD THEY for good measure. :rolleyes: But the guy’s a raw vegan, so I gotta figure he’s a bit nutty. And fruity. And leafy green - where was I going with this? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/14 "2010-05-30T18:24:25Z")
Garlic saved me from running away and joining a cult. Well, maybe not exactly. I once received a free “cookbook” that actually had as much religious propaganda as recipes. The basic theme was that you should only eat food that would be acceptable to offer to God. That meant no animal flesh, as this god was an ethical vegetarian. Even though I wasn’t, I could get behind a god who did not want to cause unnecessary suffering to living creatures. Then I got to the part where I wasn’t supposed to put garlic in anything because the god didn’t like it. What the hell? God’s poor little palate is too delicate for a touch of garlic? I lost all respect for him and threw the book away. (We didn’t have a recycling bin at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/15 "2010-05-30T18:39:30Z")
A big problem with eating metric buttloads of garlic is that—it so literally becomes a metric buttload. :eek: I once ate out at an Italian restaurant (The Macaroni Grill) where there were too many whole garlic cloves to count swimming around in my pasta and chicken. The next day the bathroom at work smelled exactly like what I’d eaten the night before. No kidding—not even a poo smell to accompany it! OK I think I’ve shared too much. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/16 "2010-05-30T20:53:21Z")
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at [Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/40-cloves-and-a-chicken-recipe/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/17 "2010-05-30T20:55:21Z")
Since you don’t crush the cloves, the taste is milder than you might expect. ---
**Author:** ![HepToTheJive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@HepToTheJive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HepToTheJive)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/18 "2010-05-30T21:13:22Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > I finally did it. I’ve always been one of those “there’s no such thing as too much garlic” people. But I made a batch of baba ganoush tonight with too much garlic. I reek of it. I’m sweating garlic. I can’t get close to the bowl without my eyes watering. You can’t taste anything BUT the garlic. > > There is such a thing as too much garlic. Yikes. I still don’t think it’s possible to use too much, I am VERY liberal with it and it always works in my favor. I used to visibly upset my girlfriend’s mother when I cooked pasta for them and I would keep adding garlic. I told her there is no way it is too much, you will hardly taste it. She was amazed that I was right. She was used to adding 1 clove for a 5 person meal. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/19 "2010-05-30T22:07:57Z")
> [@HepToTheJive](#): > > I still don’t think it’s possible to use too much, I am VERY liberal with it and it always works in my favor. I used to visibly upset my girlfriend’s mother when I cooked pasta for them and I would keep adding garlic. I told her there is no way it is too much, you will hardly taste it. > > She was amazed that I was right. She was used to adding 1 clove for a 5 person meal. Well, to be fair, this is fresh, uncooked garlic added to a cooled eggplant slurry. So, there’s no loss of aromatics due to cooking. You get a full dose of straight-up garlic. It’s actually massively spicy because of it, and I haven’t added any extra pepper, etc. I’m happy to report, however, that, as a sandwich condiment, my dangerously garlicky baba ganoush is quite nice! ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249/20 "2010-05-30T22:09:37Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Since you don’t crush the cloves, the taste is milder than you might expect. Yep. Plus, it’s cooked. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ack-too-much-garlic/541249.md?page=2)