Solo garlic

Last updated
Solo garlic
Single clove garlic.jpg
Single clove garlic
Species Allium sativum
Cultivar Any
OriginYunnan
Views of the bulb Soloknoblauch jm26754.jpg
Views of the bulb
Solo garlic packaged with different language names SingleBulbGarlic.jpg
Solo garlic packaged with different language names

Solo garlic, also known as single clove garlic, chinese garlic, monobulb garlic, single bulb garlic, or pearl garlic, [1] is a type of Allium sativum (garlic). [2] The size of the single clove differs from approximately 25 to 50 mm in diameter. It has the flavour of the garlic clove but is somewhat milder and slightly perfumed. The appearance is akin to that of a pickling onion, with white skin and often purple stripes. Compared to traditional garlic, Solo garlic offers the advantage of being easy to peel quickly.

Contents

Single clove garlic originated in the mountainous Yunnan province of southwestern China. [1] It is not a single variety of garlic, but rather a product of specific planting practices. [1] As a result, single cloved versions of other garlic species such as Allium nigrum and Allium ampeloprasum are also available.

Growth

Small bulbs of solo garlic can be obtained by planting the bulbils of any variety of garlic. [3] However, commercial production comes from areas where garlic is likely to produce a solo bulb due to environmental factors.[ citation needed ] The climate in these areas, combined with careful cultivation, leads to a large percentage of the garlic crop failing to split into multiple cloves.[ citation needed ]

Cultivation

Solo garlic is believed to have originated in Yunnan, China, a mountainous area. The product is known as 独子蒜 "only-child garlic". [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chives</span> Edible species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Chives, scientific name Allium schoenoprasum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and Chinese onion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shallot</span> Variety of small onion

The shallot is a cultivar group of the onion. Until 2010, the shallot was classified as a separate species, Allium ascalonicum. The taxon was synonymized with Allium cepa in 2010, as the difference was too small to justify a separate species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garlic</span> Species of edible plant

Garlic is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeastern Iran and has long been used as a seasoning worldwide, with a history of several thousand years of human consumption and use. It was known to ancient Egyptians and has been used as both a food flavoring and a traditional medicine. China produced 73% of the world's supply of garlic in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onion</span> Bulbous vegetable, grown for food

An onion, also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified as a separate species until 2011. Its close relatives include garlic, scallion, leek, and chive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulb</span> Short plant stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases for food storage and water

In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases that function as food storage organs during dormancy.

<i>Allium ursinum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland. It is a wild relative of onion and garlic, all belonging to the same genus, Allium. There are two recognized subspecies: A. ursinum subsp. ursinum and A. ursinum subsp. ucrainicum.

<i>Allium tuberosum</i> Species of onion native to southwestern parts of the Chinese province of Shanxi

Allium tuberosum is a species of plant native to the Chinese province of Shanxi, and cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in Asia and around the world.

<i>Allium tricoccum</i> Species of wild onion

Allium tricoccum is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is a North American species of wild onion or garlic widespread across eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Many of the common English names for this plant are also used for other Allium species, particularly the similar Allium ursinum, which is native to Europe and Asia. An edible plant, Allium tricoccum is used in a variety of North American and indigenous cuisines, and has also been used by Native Americans in traditional medicine. A French rendering (chicagou) of the Native American name for this plant is the namesake of the American city of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant garlic</span> Subspecies of flowering plant

Elephant garlic is a plant belonging to the onion genus. It has a tall, solid, flowering stalk and broad, flat leaves. The flavor is milder than garlic and can be eaten raw in salads, roasted, or sauteed, but is generally not a substitute for conventional garlic in cooking. It is sometimes confused with solo garlic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree onion</span> Species of flowering plant

The tree onion is a perennial plant similar to the common onion (A. cepa), but with a cluster of bulblets where a normal onion would have flowers. Tree onions are also known as topsetting onions, walking onions, or Egyptian onions. Genomic evidence has conclusively shown that they are a diploid hybrid of the shallot and the Welsh onion (A. fistulosum). However, some sources may still treat the tree onion as A. cepa var. proliferum or A. cepa Proliferum Group.

<i>Allium vineale</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium vineale is a perennial, bulb-forming species of wild onion, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and the Middle East. The species was introduced in Australia and North America, where it has become a noxious weed.

<i>Allium canadense</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium canadense, the Canada onion, Canadian garlic, wild garlic, meadow garlic and wild onion is a perennial plant native to eastern North America from Texas to Florida to New Brunswick to Montana. The species is also cultivated in other regions as an ornamental and as a garden culinary herb. The plant is also reportedly naturalized in Cuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl onion</span> Variety of onion

The pearl onion, also known as button, baby or silverskin onion in the UK, is a close relative of the leek, and may be distinguished from common onions by having only a single storage leaf, similar to cloves of garlic. In French they are known as oignon grelot. One English-speaking reference also mentions the term petit poireau antillais.

<i>Allium scorodoprasum</i> Species of flowering plant

The sand leek, also known as rocambole and Korean pickled-peel garlic, is a Eurasian species of wild onion with a native range extending across much of Europe, Middle East, and Korea. The species should not be confused with rocambole garlic, which is A. sativum var. ophioscorodon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garlic powder</span> Spice derived from dehydrated garlic

Garlic powder is a spice that is derived from dehydrated garlic and used in cooking for flavour enhancement. The process of making garlic powder includes drying and dehydrating the vegetable, then powdering it through machinery or home-based appliances depending on the scale of production. Garlic powder is a common component of spice mix. It is also a common component of seasoned salt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulbil</span> Small young plant that grows from the parent plants stem

A bulbil is a small, young plant that is reproduced vegetatively from axillary buds on the parent plant's stem or in place of a flower on an inflorescence. These young plants are clones of the parent plant that produced them—they have identical genetic material. The formation of bulbils is a form of asexual reproduction, as they can eventually go on to form new stand-alone plants.

<i>Allium paradoxum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae

Allium paradoxum, the few-flowered garlic or few-flowered leek, is an Asian species of wild onion in the Amaryllis family. It is native to mountainous regions of Iran, Caucasus, and Turkmenistan and invasive in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garlic production in China</span>

Garlic production in China is significant to the worldwide garlic industry, as China provides 80% of the total world production and is the leading exporter. Following China, other significant garlic producers include India and Bangladesh (1%). As of 2019, China produced 23 million tonnes annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aglio Rosso di Nubia</span>

The Aglio Rosso di Nubia, also known as Aglio di Paceco and Aglio di Trapani, is a Sicilian variety of garlic, characterized by the intense purple color of the robes of its bulbils. It is mainly cultivated in Nubia, a fraction of the comune of Paceco, in the Province of Trapani. In less extent, it is also cultivated in the neighboring municipalities of Trapani, Erice, Buseto Palizzolo, Valderice, Marsala and Salemi.

<i>Allium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae

Allium is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants with hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic, and the type species for the genus is Allium sativum which means "cultivated garlic".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Alex, Renton (8 October 2013). "The best garlic varieties: a guide". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  2. Official Journal of the European Union C 201, 23/07/2010: Explanatory Notes to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities (PDF), retrieved 30 January 2013
  3. Wildfong, Bob. "How to Grow Garlic from Bulbils". Seeds of Diversity. Retrieved 23 March 2018.