Misusing This Ingredient Is A 'Crime,' According To Anthony Bourdain

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When Anthony Bourdain's groundbreaking book, "Kitchen Confidential," came out in 2000, it caused an uproar in the professional culinary world. His raw language and detailed descriptions revealed the hidden chaos behind both dives and fine dining restaurants, while he also extolled the virtues of real butter, Japanese knives — and garlic. When it comes to the alium, Bourdain starts off nicely enough in his rant, writing that "Garlic is divine. Few food items can taste so many distinct ways, handled correctly." But whether it was smashing it to a bitter paste or cheating with pre-minced, Bourdain believed that few people respected and used garlic correctly. "Misuse of garlic is a crime," he solemnly pronounced.

The core of Bourdain's argument was simple: garlic treated badly ruins food. In American cooking, especially, he observed a tendency to equate more garlic with more flavor. Garlic, he believed, should enhance, not dominate, a dish. "Old garlic, burnt garlic, garlic cut too long ago, garlic that has been tragically smashed through one of those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting," he wrote.

There were lots of cooking tips Bourdain swore by throughout his life. Yet another one was roasting garlic. "It gets mellow and sweeter if you roast it whole," Bourdain advised. "Still on the clove, to be squeezed out when it's soft and brown." Try it for yourself, and you'll find that a whole roast clove dropped into a pot of soup tastes differently from a raw one that's been grated into a paste. Leaving garlic whole or lightly smooshing also helps keep it mellow, slowly infusing a dish with its funky sweetness instead of bite.

Anthony Bourdain also believed the application of heat is where most people commit their garlic crimes. "Nothing will permeate your food more irrevocably and irreparably than burnt or rancid garlic," he warned. Garlic burns fast, often in seconds, and once it does, there's no saving it. Finally, whatever you do, never settle for jarred garlic. Bourdain didn't hold back on this one: "Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screw top jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don't deserve to eat garlic." Luckily, avoiding the jarred stuff is easy once you try the freezer hack that takes the hassle out of mincing garlic.

Bourdain wasn't all doom and gloom, as he followed up his rant with some suggestions on how to use garlic correctly. His tips include slicing it thin for pasta, a la "Goodfellas," and simply smashing it up with the broad side of a kitchen knife. Bourdain admired cuisines (and Scorsese movies) that understood the importance of balance. He hated twee food trends with a passion, so the food influencer habit of making garlic an entire personality trait or gimmick ("garlicky spicy beans and greens," anyone?) turned him off. 

Bourdain didn't always stay so hot-blooded in his opinions. In later interviews, he came to view "Kitchen Confidential" as an over-the-top book with a bit too much bravado. Many of his views on food-culture topics matured over time — but the garlic advice stayed.