Oh those lovely odours..Schone Gestank....Les odeurs merveilleuse.....!

Contre le rhume, la grippe, l’hypertension, le vieillissement, le cancer… L’ail est un aliment santé incontournable. Vertus et mode d’emploi de cette petite gousse magique.
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So....what is it - this miracle thing.....?
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Na dann - was ist diese Mirakel....?                                       
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Yep - good against Colds, Influenza, aging, cancer, high blood pressure - attributed with "aphrodisical" powers.....the only problem is occasionally getting close enough to someone who likes to eat the stuff.
Truly...so many dishes just would not be the same or anything remotely resembling anything, if this little member of the onion bulb family wasn't present, and yet the British people seem to be the world's worst acceptors of it's remarkable prowess and capabilities, because of the strong odour given off.
Strangely enough, they are probably also the world's worst cooks....!when they ever get into the kitchen...and even there, it tyends to be the British man who has spent at least some time on the "Continent" who risks it!
Of course, garlic is freely available in Britain, and with the arrival of a cosmopolitan population, its popularity has risen and risen, although never approaching the "Continental" consumption levels. For this reason, "fish pie" in Britain is an "avoidable at all price" concoction, whilst the "Brandade de Morue" is world famous, and is exactly the same thing - but with enormous amounts of garlic in it.
Strange isn't it.
Of course Garlic isn't the only little thing like that, shallots and onions being principal ones.
Impossible to imagine almost every dish without at least one of these ingredients.
Of course they have their drawbacks, but when - as in Italy or France, everybody eats them, then any odour is not particularly remarkable, and - in fact - the more one puts into a dish, the less one seems to notice it!

It is actually only when the product has passed through the body that the main odours are notable - transpiration for example being the simplest way of expelling certain odours, and simply breathing directly into the face of others, although there are others methods of expelling such delicate fragrances.....
I recall a "medecine" called "Liquifruta" in the UK, many years ago which was used in Winter to "support the system" and avoid catching bugs and flu. I must confess to being averse to the odours, extremely powerful, that emanated from people in the London Tube, all pressed together like sardines.
If I hadn't known the dislike of British people for garlic, I could have sworn that it was garlic......and - imagine......... ....but not all were totally honest, calling it something else.....or NOT a sign of garlic....anywhere!
Finally - I recall my own wife telling me that when she arrived at Lyon, in France, coming from Germany, there was a distinct "cloud" of garlic hanging over everything. She adapted very quickly and didn't notice it after a couple of hours...and Germany has changed now as well!

 iwmpop (mr le marquis)          -       Vauvert, France          -           Janvier 2011

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