Great tasting WA garlic in-store now.

Well spring may be here calendar wise even though the weather is keeping us waiting. One great bonus though is it means we have WA garlic fresh from our local farmers ready for your Margaret River shop.

And as much we love our customers to enjoy in-season produce in great recipes we also love to share tips on how you can improve your health and green your home.

So, it is not ground breaking news that garlic is well known for its medicinal benefits but why exactly is it so powerful? Well garlic is a plant in the allium (onion) family and is closely related to onions, shallots and leeks.  And before it became popular as a cooking ingredient it was used for medicinal properties through the ages.  Positive health affects of garlic are due to a compound called allicin. When absorbed into the bloodstream it boosts the immune system, general body and iron metabolism plus it fights against bacteria and helps the heart and liver.  Most commonly it is used for treating common colds and is recognised for reducing cardiovascular diseases.

Preparation – To receive the benefits through daily diet intake you can mince a glove of garlic and add hot water for 5 mins, strain and drink, or you can go raw by eating fresh cloves in any number, say 3 per day for a common cold cure.

If you have concerns with the health of your hair and skin why not give fresh garlic a try.  It has been successfully tested that rubbing freshly sliced garlic can help with hair loss.  The same goes for treating the skin and cold sores or unsightly blemishes and/or psoriasis.  It is a proven natural remedy thanks to its astringing and anti-inflammatory properties.

Preparation – Applied directly to skin, hair or affected area or infused with an oil to regularly massage.   The juice of the cloves is what is highly potent so the juicier the better and this is where fresh is best.

Treat athlete foot soak thanks to garlics amazing anti-fungal properties.

Preparation – Crush garlic into a warm water bath and soak for about 30 minutes.

A couple of home handy hints are to use garlic as a pesticide on your garden, avoiding harmful commercial pesticides plus you can use it to repel mosquitoes and other insects.  They say blood sucking mosquitoes do not like garlic, this is a huge bonus when avoiding chemical based products but just make sure your partner likes it!

Preparation – Garlic can be rubbed direct on the skin, cloves can be left in areas where they flock and for insect repellent DIY see here.

My favourite use based on its ingenuity is to use garlic for mildly damaged glass or in place of glue.

Preparation Garlic juice is sticky and rubbing a crushed juicy garlic glove of hairline glass cracks, wiping away excess liquid acts as a natural adhesive.

Plus why not make your own DIY disinfectant to use as a surface cleaner!

Preparation – Chop 3-4 cloves of garlic, toss them in a spray bottle filled with white vinegar.  Add a couple of drops of lemon oil and spray away.

Now these are just a few chosen favourites of how to use garlic so why not give one or more of them a try.  Our parting tip is to keep up your garlic doses into the spring season by getting creative with fab in season food recipes with friends.   Why not try a ‘low food mile’ spring dish of WA asparagus and garlic, see here for ideas.

By buying local you help us here at The Garden Basket by supporting local farmers and Western Australian industry so we can continue to offer customers high quality, fresh, low food mile produce. A big thanks from us!