Garlic, an Edible Biography: The History, Politics, and Mythology behind the World's Most Pungent Food--with over 100 Recipes

<b><i>Garlic </i>weaves a colorful, engaging story about one of the world's timeless ingredients--perfect for food lovers, devoted eaters, and readers of culinary narrative.</b><br><br> Garlic is the Lord Byron of produce, a lusty rogue that charms and seduces you but runs off before dawn, leaving a bad taste in your mouth. Called everything from rustic cure-all to Russian penicillin, Bronx vanilla and Italian perfume, garlic has been loved, worshipped, and despised throughout history. No writer has quite captured the epic, roving story of garlic - until now. While this book does not claim that garlic saved civilization (though it might cure whatever ails you) , it does take us on a grand tour of its fascinating role in history, medicine, literature, and art; its controversial role in bigotry, mythology, and superstition; and its indispensable contribution to the great cuisines of the world. And just to make sure your appetite isn't slighted, Garlic offers over 100 recipes featuring the beloved ingredient.