In partnership with:
IMARB GROUP LTD is a Rwandan agri-business company established in 2015, located in Musanze, Northern Province of Rwanda. The company works under its brand “IMARB Garlic”. This brand is the best garlic with high quality and spicy. They are the best in Africa. Grown in Volcanic Soil, under the Five Rwandan Volcanoes (Kalisimbi, Muhabura, Bisoke, Gahinga, and Sabyinyo). The company has collaborations with 13 cooperatives of over 18,000 smallholder farmers who are into joint agreement.
Garlic is grown from individual cloves. Each clove will produce one plant with a single bulb. This may in turn contain up to twenty cloves. Growing Garlic is therefore self-sustaining. In Uganda it is traditional to plant garlic on the shortest day of the year, whether this is for symbolic or practical reasons is unclear. One can eat garlic fresh out of the ground but if stored it must be cured first.
Garlic, which is inexpensive, is generally used as a flavoring ingredient in recipes rather than as the main ingredient itself. An exception to this is roasted garlic, which can be eaten as a spread or condiment. There is probably no end to the uses and potential uses of garlic in the culinary arts. It can be part of dishes that are sauteed baked, roasted, and braised, and it is added to soups, sauces, marinades, spice rubs, and stir-frys. Garlic is also minced and used as a flavoring in sausages, meatballs, and other ground meat preparations. The entire head of garlic can be roasted whole, and the tender cloves used as a spread or added to a soup or sauce.
Before adding garlic to a recipe, the papery skin needs to be removed. There are several tricks to accomplish this task, the simplest being to gently press down on the clove with the flat side of a large knife; the skin should easily peel off. Once you have the bare clove, you will need to slice, chop, mince, grate, press, or crush the garlic. For some techniques, you can use a knife, but others require a special tool.
It is important to note that the more you handle your garlic, the more the compound called allicin, a pungent chemical, is released. Therefore, if you grate your garlic using the small holes on a box grater, or puree it in a food processor, your garlic will be much more pungent than if it were sliced. If you want to mince garlic without a knife, pressing the cloves with the tines of a fork will produce better results than a grater or food processor.
When cooking garlic, it is important you watch carefully because it can burn quickly—especially when it is chopped small.
—the Spruce Eats, 2022—
“We have chosen to invest in garlic in Uganda because we saw a huge growth potential. But we also have our sights set on Rwandan Garlic for 2023. —Christopher Franklin—
