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EveryParampara

Traditions with garlic

Garlic, the pungent bulb of an onion relative, has been eaten and prized since the earliest civilisations, in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China.

Garlic, the pungent bulb of an onion relative, has been eaten and prized since the earliest civilisations, in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China. It is in the cooking of Italy, Korea, Lebanon and Mexico, and in the charm against vampires of Romanian folklore. A food of the common people, it is also a food of belief. Some communities, such as Jain and some Hindu, avoid it for religious reasons. These pages describe the places and meanings of garlic.

Where it is used

In Korea, garlic is in kimchi and barbecue, and in Italy aglio e olio. In Lebanon, toum, a white garlic sauce, goes with chicken, and in Spain, ajo blanco and gambas al ajillo. In France, aioli is eaten on Fridays in Provence in a grand aioli feast. In Gilroy, California, an annual Garlic Festival used to draw crowds. In Georgia, garlic goes into the walnut sauces and chicken tabaka.

What it means

In European and Middle Eastern folklore, garlic wards off the evil eye, witches and vampires, and braids hang in kitchens. Egyptian pyramid builders were given garlic, according to Herodotus. In Korean legend, a bear became a woman by eating mugwort and garlic, and the story is the founding myth of the nation. Faiths that avoid it, such as the Jains, do so because it grows in the ground, and kills the plant when harvested.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Garlic (spice). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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