Farm-to-table flavor
Garlic gives Wisconsin farm-to-table flavor, boost for immune system
With plenty of small garlic growers throughout the state, it’s a good excuse to visit a local farm.
Wisconsin home cooks are about to go gonzo for garlic. Patiently waiting all year for the local harvest, they are ready to crush, mince and press the plump garlic cloves that will soon sing with ripe tomatoes, pasta and fall and winter comfort foods. With plenty of small garlic growers throughout the state, it’s a good excuse to visit a local farm. Here are two that will offer their freshly cured Wisconsin-grown garlic this week.
Copper Kettle Farm in Erin
Gourmet garlic grower Copper Kettle Farm, at 5576 County Highway Q in the Town of Erin, hosts its annual Garlic Sale Event Saturday.
Many local foodies crave the farm-to-table connection with garlic, according to Greg Kosmeder, who owns and farms Copper Kettle, following organic procedures, with his wife, Cathy. “It gets very, very crowded,” said Kosmeder, a first-generation garlic farmer.
Copper Kettle’s sale starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., but early birds will be there waiting in the morning, and some varieties will sell out before closing time.
Parking may get tricky off Highway Q, with so many looking to score fresh garlic at their farm, a place Kosmeder likens to a wildlife refuge with plenty of native plants for pollinators.
(FOODIE NOTE: Home cooks might wish to stop at Peck & Bushel Organic Fruit Co. for fresh apples, doughnuts and cider, just east on Q and open for the season that same Saturday.)
At Copper Kettle Farm, over 6,000 heads of garlic that have been dug, cured, trimmed and cleaned will be ready for eager home cooks. With at least 15 garlic varieties, Kosmeder advised people to stay calm.
“People can get overwhelmed,” he said. “So many choices.”
Customers flock to Copper Kettle from all over the state; some are chefs, others home cooks. Either way, they seem to know what they are doing in the kitchen when it comes to garlic, Kosmeder said.
The couple provide descriptions for each type, then let customers “run with it.”
Kosmeder, a retired IT manager, initially sought to sell their garlic only online. But a 2012 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about their operation opening abruptly changed that. Prompted by the publicity of the upcoming article, they decided to hold a oneday garlic sale at the farm.
“We were blindsided,” he said of the huge response to the article, and from then on decided to change their business plan to include direct garlic sales at the farm. Customers have been returning ever since.
“Those people are still coming back year after year,” he said, “We are so grateful.”
It seems once you go fresh with garlic, you never go back to storebought, according to Kosmeder.
“At least 80% of the grocery store stuff is imported,” he said. “There really is no comparison.”
Copper Kettle Farm will sell its 2021 medium-sized garlic for $14.50 a pound, $16 a pound for larger garlic heads more suitable for planting as seed garlic this fall.
Kosmeder anticipates a high demand for a limited number of garlic braids available at the sale. Customers like to display them in their kitchen.
“People want it for decoration,” he said. “First hour, they will be gone.”
EDN Farms near Waukesha
EDN Farms, just southwest of Waukesha, is another small garlic grower that is opening its farm stand this week, on Friday.
EDN Farms sells its garlic online as well, but garlic grower Christian Boneck said he’s developed a loyal following from their farm stand at S66-W28796 River Road, just east of Highway 83.
“We’ve met so many wonderful friends so far. It’s amazing,” said Boneck, who owns and operates the certified-organic 10-acre farm with his wife, Holly.
Wooden bushel baskets of several varieties will fill their farm stand wagon, including popular Romanian Red and Georgian Crystal. The two garlics, which are high in allicin, the compound that relieves inflammation, are Boneck’s personal favorites.
People have been “just flocking” to Romanian Red and Georgian Crystal due to the COVID-19 virus, he said. “These are the garlic that give people the most medicinal value.”
Garlic is an ageold, powerful force for good health, one local dietitian agreed.
“Viruses are a big deal now,” said Karen Krchma, registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of New Newtrition in Thiensville.
Krchma said allicin is just one of four components found in garlic that help fight several viruses. Garlic also contains antibacterial and antifungal properties.
“In the case for using garlic as part of your immune defense plan for bacteria, note that garlic was active against bacteria that were resistant to eight different antibiotics,” she said.
“Garlic has long been used to fight against microorganisms, long before they were seen under a microscope,” she said by email. “Supporting the immune system with garlic is considered to be a reasonable approach as part of the
nutritional program in the prevention and recovery of infectious diseases of the variety that garlic has proven effective against."
Krchma encouraged garlic consumption but specified that eating it in its natural form provides more health perks over processed supplements. Plants will often contain anti-inflammatory and other beneficial components.
“The intent of nature is to use the whole plant, not just create products with an active ingredient,” she said.
As far as taste goes, high-allicin Georgian Crystal also won EDN Farms' Battle of the Bulbs roasting contest.
“This full-bodied garlic delivers a crisp flavor that'll have you craving more,” the EDN website says. “. . . delivering light buttery notes and a powerful immune-system boost, this gem is not to be forgotten.”
Boneck expects having to cut off sales of Georgian Crystal this fall to have enough seed garlic for next year.
Garlic cooking tips
When cooking with fresh garlic, note a few things. First is the difference between heads and cloves. Novice cooks can get them confused only to botch an otherwise easy recipe.
Fresh garlic is sold by the head; the head contains a number of cloves. A head is sometimes called a bulb of garlic. Once you break up a head for individual cloves, use up the entire head within a month, according to Copper Kettle's Kosmeder.
Recipes will usually call for cloves of garlic, customarily anywhere from one to five for savory dishes. The thin peel should be removed from the clove before crushing, mincing or squeezing through a garlic press.
Kosmeder likes to use a Zyliss brand garlic press.
“The more you crush garlic, the more allicin you are going to create,” he said.
Kosmeder does not recommend refrigerating garlic, as it will respond to the cold and begin to sprout. Sprouted garlic is still usable but not at peak quality.
Keep it in a cool, dark, ventilated area; terra cotta garlic containers with holes work well. Kosmeder stressed letting crushed or minced garlic sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking for maximum health benefits as it will create allicin once it's prepped.
Don't be afraid to try robust varieties as all garlic will sweeten and mellow when cooked.
“The stronger ones will hold up in cooking better,” he said.
When pressed to name his favorite garlic, Kosmeder went with Georgian Crystal, although he compared it to choosing a favorite child. Georgian Crystal is often sauteed with olive oil in the Copper Kettle Farm kitchen, then combined with shrimp, stir fries, stew or chili.
Boneck at EDN Farms has a novel way of eating garlic. He takes one clove of Romanian Red, minces it with equal amounts of fresh ginger, then drizzles the whole thing with honey in a spoon. “It's hot, it's spicy, it's sweet,” he said. He repeats the ritual every day. Roasting garlic is usually done by leaving the head intact. It takes very little work but produces a big reward. To roast garlic heads, cut off the very top of the garlic head, exposing the cloves; place the head in foil, then drizzle the top of the cloves with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt before putting in a 400degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cloves are soft.
Boneck recommended balling the foil but leaving an opening like a chimney for steam to escape. The foiled garlic head can be placed in a muffin tin for easy cleanup.
Roasting brings out a caramelized mellow sweetness in garlic. Pull or squeeze the soft, roasted cloves out of their skins to enjoy mashed on crusty bread, potatoes and other vegetables, or mix with Parmesan cheese over pasta. Roasted garlic can be frozen, as well.
Home cooks sometimes run across elephant “garlic,” which isn't even a garlic but a leek. EDN Farms used to sell elephant but stopped as it lacks the medicinal level the farmers strive for, Boneck said.
Garlic powder and festival
Home cooks might wish to pick up garlic powder at fresh garlic sales. Kosmeder anticipates selling out early in Copper Kettle Farm's sale on Saturday.
Copper Kettle's garlic powder is made purely from cloves dehydrated after harvesting.
“It's almost like eating a clove of garlic,” Kosmeder said.
Grocery store garlic powder can contain roots, skins and anti-caking agents, he added.
A 3-ounce jar of Copper Kettle Farm garlic powder costs $8.50; a larger 5ounce jar is $14. Bulk garlic powder will also be sold at $2.50 an ounce.
While the garlic powder will go quickly at the farm sale, more will eventually be available on the farm's website.
Another way to extend the taste of fresh garlic is to freeze it. Whole garlic heads or individual cloves, peeled or unpeeled, can be frozen in a freezer bag. Then remove cloves or head as needed. Freeze garlic as soon as possible for best results.
More creative ways to freeze and cook with garlic to extend the farm-totable garlic experience can be found at the EDNFarms.com. Freshly cured garlic heads should keep for five to eight months in a cool, dry, dark place.
Garlic lovers also can visit the eighth annual Midwest Garlic Fest in Galena, Illinois, on Aug. 28 for a celebration of garlic, farms, music, family and community, according to midwestgarlicfest.com.
Two Wisconsin garlic producers, Tamarack Garlic Farm from Trempealeau and Menn's Organic Garlic from Norwalk, will be vendors.
Jennifer Rude Klett is a Wisconsin freelance nonfiction writer and author of a new cookbook, “Home Cooking Comeback: Neighborly Advice & 40 Pleasing Recipes from the Farm Kitchen of a Midwestern Food Journalist.” Contact her at jrudeklett.com.