4 ms·

It's mixed in with the preservative tastes of vinegar and benzoates. From a culinary perspective, hard pass based on that alone, unless that's a desirable trade

It's mixed in with the preservative tastes of vinegar and benzoates. From a culinary perspective, hard pass based on that alone, unless that's a desirable trade-off for whatever your use cases are. The difference is simply extremely palpable.

asdajksah2123 4y ago
And in many cases it can make a huge difference even outside of taste. For example, using pre-shredded cheese on your pizza? It will never melt and become gooey the way a low moisture block of mozzarella you've shredded yourself will. Because, as it becomes obvious once you learn about it, in order to prevent that shredded mozzarella from becoming just a clump of cheese, which is exactly what would happen considering the temperature differences it goes through and all sorts of crushing pressures that are applied on it until it makes it to your fridge. The pre-minced garlic needs all sorts of preservatives that will impart a significant flavor to preserve it and prevent it from browning. Presliced fruit is almost always gonna be covered in something to prevent it from spoiling. Sugar syrup might be the least offensive, but then it becomes less of a fruit serving than a sugar serving. There are good convenience foods you can use. Frozen foods are usually pretty high quality. The texture might not work for certain applications, but they are usually flash frozen when they are at the peak of the season and so really good when they're used. In fact, stuff like canned tomatoes are often better than their "fresh" counterparts during the off-season. Canned foods can also be excellent. No one sneers at people for using those, and in fact, most good chefs (and most of hte TV chefs as well) will recommend using those. Heck, even frozen sliced and peeled vegetables. But some convenience foods are simply not good if you are capable of doing without. Processed garlic is usually one of those.
- jamal-kumar 4y ago
  Yeah, it's 100% better to use fresh ingredients where possible and just do the processing right in the kitchen. I just kind of figure the person who wrote this article could really benefit from a couple of different easy to use food processors if their hand is messed up. There's a ton of great information on the internet that I'm going to keep in mind in case I ever get gravely injured: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cooking+with+one+arm https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cooking+with+on...
klodolph 4y ago
You're not really tasting what's mixed in; it's actually the garlic that is different. Cutting or crushing garlic starts a chemical reaction between two chemicals in the garlic called alliiin and allinase, which produces allicin. Allicin is the characteristic flavor of garlic that's somewhere between fragrant and overpowering. Using pre-cut garlic means that these chemical reactions, and other reactions, have had a lot of time to progress.
- jamal-kumar 4y ago
  That's really interesting, I believe it. There's a ton of stuff which gets its taste affected by even just a few hours in the air and oxidization. Apples come to mind.
- Nebasuke 4y ago
  Sure, there's a chemical reaction at play, but I think it's a strong assumption that they can't taste the vinegar. Sure the garlic now tastes different, but vinegar is also a strong taste that plenty of people, including me, will notice. I'm quite sensitive to vinegar, and really don't like having it in my minced garlic unless it fits the sourness of the dish. Most of the times I use an oil based one as the flavour is more neutral. I can't even enjoy poached eggs in most places, since most taste like vinegar to me. I discovered later that it's a common trick to add vinegar to more easily poach eggs, but for me it normally overpowers the flavour of the egg.
  - klodolph 4y ago
    There is a certain percentage of people who taste vinegar much more strongly.

asdajksah2123 4y ago

And in many cases it can make a huge difference even outside of taste. For example, using pre-shredded cheese on your pizza? It will never melt and become gooey the way a low moisture block of mozzarella you've shredded yourself will. Because, as it becomes obvious once you learn about it, in order to prevent that shredded mozzarella from becoming just a clump of cheese, which is exactly what would happen considering the temperature differences it goes through and all sorts of crushing pressures that are applied on it until it makes it to your fridge. The pre-minced garlic needs all sorts of preservatives that will impart a significant flavor to preserve it and prevent it from browning. Presliced fruit is almost always gonna be covered in something to prevent it from spoiling. Sugar syrup might be the least offensive, but then it becomes less of a fruit serving than a sugar serving. There are good convenience foods you can use. Frozen foods are usually pretty high quality. The texture might not work for certain applications, but they are usually flash frozen when they are at the peak of the season and so really good when they're used. In fact, stuff like canned tomatoes are often better than their "fresh" counterparts during the off-season. Canned foods can also be excellent. No one sneers at people for using those, and in fact, most good chefs (and most of hte TV chefs as well) will recommend using those. Heck, even frozen sliced and peeled vegetables. But some convenience foods are simply not good if you are capable of doing without. Processed garlic is usually one of those.

jamal-kumar 4y ago
Yeah, it's 100% better to use fresh ingredients where possible and just do the processing right in the kitchen. I just kind of figure the person who wrote this article could really benefit from a couple of different easy to use food processors if their hand is messed up. There's a ton of great information on the internet that I'm going to keep in mind in case I ever get gravely injured: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cooking+with+one+arm https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cooking+with+on...

klodolph 4y ago

You're not really tasting what's mixed in; it's actually the garlic that is different. Cutting or crushing garlic starts a chemical reaction between two chemicals in the garlic called alliiin and allinase, which produces allicin. Allicin is the characteristic flavor of garlic that's somewhere between fragrant and overpowering. Using pre-cut garlic means that these chemical reactions, and other reactions, have had a lot of time to progress.

jamal-kumar 4y ago
That's really interesting, I believe it. There's a ton of stuff which gets its taste affected by even just a few hours in the air and oxidization. Apples come to mind.
Nebasuke 4y ago
Sure, there's a chemical reaction at play, but I think it's a strong assumption that they can't taste the vinegar. Sure the garlic now tastes different, but vinegar is also a strong taste that plenty of people, including me, will notice. I'm quite sensitive to vinegar, and really don't like having it in my minced garlic unless it fits the sourness of the dish. Most of the times I use an oil based one as the flavour is more neutral. I can't even enjoy poached eggs in most places, since most taste like vinegar to me. I discovered later that it's a common trick to add vinegar to more easily poach eggs, but for me it normally overpowers the flavour of the egg.
- klodolph 4y ago
  There is a certain percentage of people who taste vinegar much more strongly.