Plant Garlic This Year. You’ll Taste the Difference.

I sometimes say in class that garlic in the UK can be quite harsh.

People look at me as if I’ve just admitted I don’t like garlic. “No, I love garlic,” they’ll say. “I use loads of it.”

And I believe them.

Then they taste our tomato sauce. It’s clearly garlicky — but delicate, mellow, almost sweet, but still exciting. This is when I regain people’s trust and a conversation about this ingredient starts.

The issue isn’t how much garlic you use. It’s the age of the garlic, and how it’s cooked.

Understanding what’s happening

Garlic isn’t a fixed flavour. It changes depending on age, storage and heat.

When you cut or crush a clove, you trigger a reaction. A relatively mild compound inside the garlic transforms into a much stronger-smelling one. That transformation is what gives garlic its punch.

(If you’re curious: alliin is converted by an enzyme called alliinase into allicin — the compound responsible for garlic’s pungency.)

In very fresh garlic, this reaction produces brightness and aroma. In older garlic — especially garlic that has spent time travelling and in storage — that same reaction can feel sharper, more aggressive.

Why this matters in the UK

Much of the garlic sold in UK supermarkets is imported. Sea freight from parts of Asia can take around four to six weeks, and after arrival, garlic may be held in cold storage before reaching shelves.

There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s simply how a global food system works. But time changes flavour.

The longer garlic sits, the more dominant its sulphur notes can become. Add high heat, and bitterness appears quickly.

What to do instead

First: cook it more gently than you think you need to.

Add sliced garlic to cold pan, with cold oil. Use low heat to soften the garlic — this should take you around 10-12 minutes. The goal here is controlled extraction, not browning — if the garlic browns deeply, bitterness spreads through the whole dish.

Second: if you want to understand the difference properly, plant garlic once.

You don’t need Mediterranean sunshine. Just light, well-drained soil and patience. Even doing it once will change how you understand garlic.

When you cook garlic that hasn’t travelled across continents or sat in storage for months, the flavour is softer. Rounder. Still garlicky — but not aggressive.

This article isn’t about telling you to grow all your own food. It’s about encouraging you to experience fresh garlic at least once.

Once you taste it, you’ll cook differently — even when you go back to supermarket garlic.