# I'm one of those rare people who doesn't like garlic... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795 "2013-08-21T12:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/1 "2013-08-21T12:07:05Z")
The taste of it is so overpowering (even a small amount) that I don’t enjoy the dish as much. All I taste is the garlic. So, my question is, is there a substitute for garlic that can give food a bolder flavor? I’m sure it depends on the dish, but here are some examples: Italian food (pretty broad, I know), vegetarian dishes, paella, stuffed mushrooms, to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/2 "2013-08-21T12:17:18Z")
Shallots have a garlic type flavor but are milder and more subtle. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/3 "2013-08-21T12:39:23Z")
Roasting garlic heads (in oven, with olive oil) makes the flavor much milder, even sweet. Besides shallots, consider garlic chives. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/4 "2013-08-21T13:56:44Z")
For Italian foods, onions work well. In fact, there are a lot of parts of Italy where the “rule” is that one uses either garlic or onion in a dish, but not both. So don’t be afraid to try onion-only Italian dishes, they work fine. (Especially amatriciana or carbonara, although garlic is often found in those, or both garlic and onion are omitted.) While I usually make arrabiata with garlic only, sometimes (if I’m out of garlic), I’ll substitute onions in for a different, but still delicious, flavor. Other than that, shallots are the first thing that came to mind. If you want to go off the beaten path, you might consider asafoetida (hing), but that stuff is pretty pungent and I haven’t ever tried using it outside Indian cooking. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/5 "2013-08-21T14:00:06Z")
You could try out all the nine billion pepper types out there. Flavors (and heat) vary widely. ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/6 "2013-08-21T14:01:06Z")
I love the shallot idea! I also use a lot of onion but it doesn’t always work for all dishes ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/7 "2013-08-21T16:22:53Z")
Leeks. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-one-of-those-rare-people-who-doesnt-like-garlic/666795/8 "2013-08-21T18:46:31Z")
> [@67java89](#): > > The taste of it is so overpowering … All I taste is the garlic … a substitute … that can give food a bolder flavor? I have the same issue with garlic. I’d advise, just leave out the garlic, and enjoy the natural flavors of the other ingredients. No need for everything to be “bold”.