Garlic from China. What gives?

[DFB]

This is nothing new. Chinese garlic has been flooding the American market for way over 10 years. Again it all comes down for American consumer demand for "cheap" products. They are also the largest producer of apple juice concentrate in the world too. Personally I wouldnt trust anything from China.

U.S. Growers Say China's Grip on Garlic Stinks : NPR

 

[dmccarty]

Just finished reading a book about a Marine company fighting near the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean Conflict. They said that at night when the Chinese attacked you could smell garlic before you could see or hear them. Go figure.

What book were you reading? I have read about the garlic smell before the ChiComs attacked as well. I used to work with a guy who spend quite a bit of time in the middle of nowhere in the jungles in and likely around Viet Nam. He commented on being able to smell the enemy and assumed he could be smelled as well so his team changed their diet.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

It is not just garlic but apples. China is the largest apple producer in the world. I don't think we are getting desert aka table apples from China in the US but anything made from apple products could be from China. Check the labels...

Later,
Dan

 

[Scooby074]

It's wet, comes in a big-*** jar for about $5. Been a while since we bought any, it lasts us forever and a day in the fridge. Not the strongest garlic you've ever tried, but not bad for everyday cooking..

Sean

Good to know.

I like good, strong, tasty garlic, but it might be worth having for use in a pinch. Certainly better than having to resort to garlic powder!

 

[NorTracNY]

I give credit to the Chinese. Here if we have hazardous waste, we pay to have it tossed. In China, they put it in their products to export!

 

[magicheater]

That is quite a head of garlic. I have grown my own garlic in the past and maybe need to get back to doing it again.
All I ever used was supermarket garlic that i just planted in October. What is hard neck garlic?

Hard neck garlic has a hard central stem and produces a scape. It is not real good for braiding but if kept under the correct storage conditions keeps very well. There are many varieties, I grow 5 of them. Supermarket garlic is generally softneck from what I have heard and is refrigerated at some point after harvest which decreases its shelf life. I am still eating the garlic I harvested last July and will continue to do so into May if I do not run out first.

 

[charlz]

It is not just garlic but apples. China is the largest apple producer in the world. I don't think we are getting desert aka table apples from China in the US but anything made from apple products could be from China. Check the labels...

Later,
Dan

Yep, used to be a lot of apple orchards around here... now there is a lot of firewood for sale.

 

[charlz]

Hard neck garlic has a hard central stem and produces a scape. It is not real good for braiding but if kept under the correct storage conditions keeps very well. There are many varieties, I grow 5 of them. Supermarket garlic is generally softneck from what I have heard and is refrigerated at some point after harvest which decreases its shelf life. I am still eating the garlic I harvested last July and will continue to do so into May if I do not run out first.

I grow a garlic that looks just like what you are holding in the picture, even get some about that large. The previous owner had planted it and I have just been keeping a crop going. What variety is it that you were holding?

 

[jimmyj]

This is nothing new. Chinese garlic has been flooding the American market for way over 10 years. Again it all comes down for American consumer demand for "cheap" products. They are also the largest producer of apple juice concentrate in the world too. Personally I wouldnt trust anything from China.

U.S. Growers Say China's Grip on Garlic Stinks : NPR

My thoughts exactly. We demand super cheap items, be they turkeys or tomatoes and this is what we get. I hate how our nations allow this crap into our markets to compete with our domestic producers. The day third world producers have the same wages and health and safety for workers that we have is the day I start buying their stuff!! (rant over)

 

[TomSeller]

I pay a premium for local organic and grow as much as I can myself. It makes no sense that they can grow it in china and sell it here cheaper without getting breaks along the way.