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Old 12-14-2008, 12:57 PM   #1  
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Default No-garlic recipes?

We've recently found out that my dad is severely allergic to garlic. Problem is, many of our family's favourite recipes have garlic in them!

For Christmas, my mum has asked for cookbooks without any garlic in them... and I'm stumped!

Please help!
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Old 12-14-2008, 01:04 PM   #2  
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Maybe your mom is overthinking things?

It's not like garlic is THE major ingredient in recipes. Just use your usual recipes and leave out the garlic. It's not going to change how the recipe is made or the composition of anything.

Yes, it'll require an adjustment in taste, but that's about it.

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Old 12-14-2008, 02:35 PM   #3  
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I've never heard of that!!! Oh man I am thankful I am not allergic to garlic, it's just my fave.

I say just leave it out -- I noticed in Germany they don't use a lot of garlic (which is why I don't much like German food) maybe you can get some cookbooks at the libarary from areas with a cold climate (scandanavia?) where garlic doesn't grow well?
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Old 12-14-2008, 05:33 PM   #4  
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Garlic is related to onions and leeks (the allium genus), so it's important to make sure he's not allergic to those too. It's also possible that he's allergic to fresh garlic, but not garlic powder. Talking to the allergist is very important to find this out.

We have a friend who is so severely allergic to onions, that if his wife eats raw or cooked onions and kisses him, his lips will blister. He is not allergic fresh garlic or to dried onion (as in onion powder or dehydrated onions).

But, I definitely think your mom is overthinking it. Sure there are dishes where garlic is the main ingredient (can't make bagna calda, 40 clove chicken, or roasted garlic without it), but mostly it's a seasning that can be left out or replaced with other seasonings. If he's not allergic to dried garlic, that's the obvious choice, but if he is and he's not allergic to other alliums, then replacing garlic with another allium is probably the easiest switchover (onions, shallots, scallions, leek....), but even if he's allergic to those as well, substituting or eliminating the garlic is a lot easier than trying to find specifically garlic-free recipes.

I think alot of people are more intimidated by recipes than they need to be, especially with seasonings. Taking out the garlic in some recipes will leave the food lacking a bit to some folks (especially if you're used to eating, and love the taste of garlic), so you may have to punch up the recipe with another seasoning - and there's no way to tell which seasoning will work the best, except to experiment a little - and after experimenting you learn to be a better judge of how and when to compensate for the lack of one herb or spice with another. The first thing many people think to add or increase is salt - but often that's not the healthiest alternative, and there are hundreds of alternatives.

Last edited by kaplods; 12-14-2008 at 06:12 PM.
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Old 12-14-2008, 05:50 PM   #5  
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well, i was a little curious if there are any cookbooks, so i did a quick search on amazon. there's a book called Garlic-Free Gourmet by Andy Ward..you can either look it up on amazon or google it

that's all i found though!
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Old 12-14-2008, 06:25 PM   #6  
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That sounded interesting so I went on Amazon. Unfortunately there's very little information on the book, and I found that very odd since it was a 2008 release. Well, doing a bit of digging, I see that the publisher is a vanity press (meaning the author paid to have the book published, - and the book could be good or horrible, and may not even have been proof-read). It's prety pricey at $32, so I would see if you can order it through the library to view before buying.

I'd recommend doing the same with another book I found on amazon called Cooking without onions and garlic by Parul Singhal, and only two copies are available through amazon, one new for $219 or one $25 used. but I don't see any information on this book either (oh, and just a note that on amazon, you can't judge a book's value by the price it is selling for, especially if there are only a few copies available - you'll see a book that one seller is selling for a penny and another is selling the same book in an admittedly worse condition for hundreds of dollars).

As a side note, I've read a few books published by vanity presses, and in general they tend to suck. A cook book has a bit more potential, I think than a novel, but I would still try to order it through library loan if you can so you can see it before buying. Or get Barnes and Noble to order it for you, because they don't obligate you to buy the book if you don't like it after browsing through it when it comes in.

Last edited by kaplods; 12-14-2008 at 06:34 PM.
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Old 12-19-2008, 11:08 AM   #7  
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Just leave the garlic out of any recipe that calls for it. Problem solved.
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Old 12-19-2008, 11:14 AM   #8  
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I'd agree with leaving out the garlic. Its easy for most recipes. Jainists (sp?) don't eat garlic, onions or the related and there are a few Jain cookbooks.
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Old 12-20-2008, 08:36 PM   #9  
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I'm just curious if his allergy extends to garlic relatives like onion?
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