Garlic: A History
Taught by Sarah Lohman
Sarah Lohman is a culinary historian and the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed book Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine. She focuses on the history of American food as a way to access stories of women, immigrants, and people of color, and to address issues of racism, sexism, and xenophobia. Her work has been featured inTheWall Street Journal andThe New York Times, as well as onAll Things Considered; and she has presented across the country, from the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, DC to The Culinary Historians of Southern California. She is also 1/2 of the Masters of Social Gastronomy, a monthly food science and history talk at Caveat NYC, with Brainery co-founder Jonathan Soma.
Americans classify themselves in two categories--the garlic eaters and the non. Some proudly accept the odor that wafts from their skin as a result of lusty garlic consumption, while many reject even the slightest hint of garlic breath.
Garlic has gone from being blamed for the hot and fiery dispositions of Italian immigrants to being celebrated in recipes like James Beard's recipe for Provençal chicken (cooked with 40 cloves of garlic!) Do taste buds adapt and become accepting of new flavors over time? Can a food scent be appealing to one culture, and revolting to another?
In this class, we'll explore the American history of this pungent bulb from the streets of Manhattan’s Little Italy to Food Network favorite. Then, we'll discover the most effective ways to slice garlic and how to get the best flavor out of garlic in your home cooking. But before you head home, we'll also test the best solutions for garlic breath.
Class includes garlic snacks!