Had to admit my whole 'more garlic is always better' rule was trash

I used to double every garlic clove in every recipe because I thought it made everything taste better. Then my friend Jen called me out after I ruined a batch of her grandma's spaghetti sauce from 2018 by tossing in 8 cloves instead of 4. She made me taste it side by side and I realized I was just covering up everything else with burny raw garlic flavor. Has anyone else had to unlearn a cooking habit they were way too proud of?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth27622d ago

Honestly, how did it take your friend calling you out for you to notice? Were you just not tasting as you went, or did you really think that much garlic was actually doing something good? I've met people who treat garlic like it's the only spice in the cabinet, and it's almost always because they're scared of other flavors. Did Jen have to show you the side by side or did you finally just trust her? Sometimes we get so stubborn about our "signature move" that we can't see it's just burning everyone's mouth.

gavin22822d ago

Nah I kinda get where they're coming from though. Garlic's got that punch that a lot of other spices just don't have, and when you're cooking for yourself you don't always notice how strong it hits everyone else. It's not about being scared of other flavors, it's just that garlic's an easy shortcut to making things taste good when you're in a rush.