Garlic Benefit Impacted by Processing

Aspiring cooks be aware : the process in which garlic is handled in the kitchen can impact its cancer-fighting properties .
Even though a fairly recent study revealed that as little as one clove daily could cut prostate-cancer risk in half , and other research links garlic to a reduced occurrence of stomach , colon and possibly breast cancers , that all will depend on its processing , claims John A . Milner , chief of the Nutritional Science Research Group at the National Cancer Institute .
Garlic’s active agents—allyl sulfide compounds—are created when the clove is chopped or crushed . This breaks the cell walls and begins a cascade of chemical reactions ( which in addition develop garlic’s peculiar aroma ) resulting in the desired sulfides . However Milner discovered that heating the garlic soon after chopping inactivated a vital enzyme in the chemical chain .
Chopped garlic thrown right into hot oil , or whole garlic cooked without crushing ( or at least cutting off the top ) , will still pass on the preferred flavor , but little if any cancer-fighting advantages . As soon as the compounds develop , in spite of this , they are quite stable and will tolerate the temperature of cooking . Milner’s guidelines : “Crush or perhaps slice the cloves , and then allow them to sit for 10 or 15 minutes as you arrange additional ingredients . This would provide the anticancer substances time to form .”
Garlic you purchase in jars , already chopped , might be equally beneficial . “When chopped garlic was kept in the freezer for several weeks ,” says Milner , “the compounds remained active .”

Author: Owner