Don’t you just hate it when a recipe calls for a “clove” of garlic. Have you ever seen a head of garlic? Are all the cloves on all the heads the “same size” Heck no. There are big cloves, little cloves, medium sized cloves. So when a recipe calls for a clove, how much garlic should one clove yield?

Well, first and foremost, I think all seasonings should be done to taste. When I read a recipe that calls for a set amount of any herb or spice, I use that as a guideline only, and so should you. After adding their recommendation you should taste, add some more or not, depending on how you like where you are right now with the flavoring. And always, after you are done cooking - before you serve  -  taste one last time and adjust. Tasting and smelling are two of the most important elements of cooking.

 

Lessons Learned by Smelling

 

Once, when a non-cooking girlfriend was watching me prepare dinner, she asked “Lindy, why do you smell everything before you put it into your dish”…well, the reason is quite simple, if it doesn’t smell good at the start, it’s not going to taste good at the finish. And you might be surprised to find how many things can go bad, very quickly. Nuts are notorious for going rancid because of their high fat content- so keep your nuts in the freezer. You can also do a lot of mental tasting by smelling foods, which helps keep those calories off your hips, thighs, and stomach and everywhere else.

A very valuable lesson could have been learned had I followed this advice a few years ago. I was painting the rooms of my house and a buddy, who was a professional painter, told me that I could “save” my brushes without having to clean them after each days use by wrapping them up in plastic wrap and putting them into the refrigerator. There they would stay fresh until I was ready to restart my project. Well, I'm all for saving time and energy so I wrapped my brushes up and put them in the refrigerator. A couple of days later I decided to make some Baked Salmon with a Light Jalapeño Lime Sauce; I took the salmon (wild but frozen) from the freezer to let it thaw. I cooked it up that night, made the delicious Jalapeño Lime Sauce,  and sat down to dinner. We take a bite “Wait a minute”…we both said “this tastes funny – what is that flavor? Ok important tip…if you are using a WATER based paint, you can wrap your brushes up and store them in the refrigerator, but, if you are using OIL based paint, not a particularly good idea. The strong vapors of the oil based paint tainted the salmon. Now, I could have smelled it, had I bothered to prior to cooking - but you could taste it for sure. We had a lovely pizza that night (thank goodness for take out).

 

And the Answer is:

 

OK…back to the original question,  How much garlic should one clove of garlic yield? An average clove of garlic will yield about ½ teaspoon of minced garlic. Mystery solved.

LindySez: You're welcome ~ Cheers