Should Garlic Germs Be Removed?
If you’ve minced a lot of garlic, you’ve probably noticed a small sprout in the middle of the clove called the sprout. Unlike other disease-causing microbes, this one won’t hurt you, but removing it can (sometimes) improve the flavor of the dish.
When the garlic is fresh and young, the buds are pale and soft and don’t affect the taste much, but as the garlic ages, the buds turn green and bitter and are best harvested as soon as possible. there. If you are somewhere in between – and you have something like a pale green garlic “teenager” – it depends on what you do with the garlic.
If you’re going to leave the garlic raw – say for a great aioli – it’s a good idea to always remove the buds unless you have the youngest and freshest garlic on hand. If you are only going to cook the garlic lightly, it is also a good idea to remove the sprouts, as a little heat will not be enough to get rid of the bitterness. But if you are going to cook meat from onions – perhaps frying the whole head – you can leave the embryos inside, as can the lengthy cooking with the taming of the bitter beast. (If it does sprout , however, plant it for delicious greens of garlic.)
Removing the germ is easy: cut the clove in half (or crush it) and use your fingernail or a paring knife to remove it, then continue cooking the garlic (and life) as usual.