The pungent bulb of a hardneck or softneck allium, split into cloves. Its character changes entirely with how it is cut and how hard it is cooked.
What it does in a recipe: A concentrated aromatic that provides sharp bite raw and deep savoury sweetness when cooked gently in fat. Pick the swap that covers that job - the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.
Drying removes the water and concentrates the flavour compounds roughly eightfold, which is why the working quantity is so small.
MethodAdd it to liquids or dry rubs rather than dropping it into hot oil, where it scorches almost instantly.
Trade-offDusty and slightly sweet rather than pungent, with none of the raw bite. It works in a spice blend and disappoints in anything where garlic is the point, such as aglio e olio.
How you cut garlic decides how strong it is. Crushing or mincing ruptures more cells and releases far more allicin than slicing does, so a smashed clove tastes markedly stronger than the same clove sliced.
At a glance
Garlic in summary
Garlic at a glance: category, its job in a recipe, the diets it suits, the diets its substitutes can satisfy, and how many substitutes there are.
1 clove garlic (about 1 tsp minced) = 1/2 tsp jarred minced garlic. It is real garlic, but packed in acid or oil, which mutes and slightly flattens the flavour, so a smaller quantity lands about right. Slightly sour and one-dimensional against fresh garlic, and it never develops the sweetness of a properly softened clove.
Can I use garlic powder instead of garlic?
1 clove garlic (about 1 tsp minced) = 1/8 tsp garlic powder. Drying removes the water and concentrates the flavour compounds roughly eightfold, which is why the working quantity is so small. Dusty and slightly sweet rather than pungent, with none of the raw bite. It works in a spice blend and disappoints in anything where garlic is the point, such as aglio e olio.
Can I use granulated garlic instead of garlic?
1 clove garlic (about 1 tsp minced) = 1/4 tsp granulated garlic. Granulated garlic is the same dried product ground coarser, so it is less dense by volume and you need roughly double what you would of the powder. The coarser grind disperses more slowly, so it can stay gritty in a sauce that is not simmered.
Can I use garlic scapes or wild garlic leaves instead of garlic?
1 clove garlic (about 1 tsp minced) = 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic scapes or wild garlic leaves. The green parts of the plant carry the same sulphur compounds at much lower concentration, so it takes about three times the volume. Fresher and greener, closer to a chive than to a clove, and it will not give a long-cooked dish the deep garlic base it wants.
Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter - confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.