Great Ontario Garlic Abounds
Garlic, beautiful garlic!
The 15th Annual Garlic Festival is here and the market is truly bustling! It is market season at its best. From garlic events, to cooking demos and information sessions, Garlic Festival is a garlic-lovers dream. We certainly have plenty of activities in store this weekend, and of course, PLENTY of fresh Ontario garlic. This year, our vendors are selling 86 different varieties of fresh garlic and garlic products, such as garlic spreads, garlic dressings, garlic baskets, pottery garlic holders and much much more. We wanted to give you a garlic-y taste of just some of the highlights from today’s festival. Come to the Carp Fairgrounds tomorrow, Sunday, August 10th from 10am-3pm, for the 2nd (and last!) day of Garlic Festival 2014!
We are thrilled to be able to feature garlic as the star of the show. This beloved cooking ingredient often takes the back burner. We’ve set up a tasting area so that you get to know just a few of the 86 varieties of Ontario garlic, first-hand! From mild to spicy and with complex aromas and tastes, it’s a real eye opener for garlic enthusiasts. The tasting area is open again tomorrow, so don’t be shy!
A few of you may have noticed the famous black garlic featured on our tasting table. Black garlic is created by cooking garlic at 140 degrees celsius for 20 days or more! It carries a distinctive taste that you just might love: Black garlic delivers the sweetness and flavour of the garlic, but with none of the bite.
On Saturday, we held our annual garlic contest. The contest awards garlic in a number of categories, from bulbs to braids. Garlic braids are a particularly eye-catching craft. Garlic is known for its long shelf-life, and the tradition of garlic braiding is a tribute to this simple, yet high-impact ingredient. Here are just some of the beautiful contributions to our contest this year.
Here, Julian shows off his 1st place ribbon for the Best Hardneck Garlic Bulb of Garlic Festival 2014! Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter (scroll to the footer to sign up!); we’ll announce the full list of winners in next week’s issue!
We hope you made it to today’s cooking demo, hosted by Chef Cristian Lepore of DiVino Wine Studio. The wilted kale salad with garlic mousse was a beautiful showcase of garlic.
These were just a few of the highlights from today’s Garlic Festival, but don’t worry if you missed out! The fun continues tomorrow at the Carp Fairgrounds from 10am-3pm. Don’t miss out! Join us and stock your pantries with the best Ontario garlic, garlic products, and more! We’ll see you at the market.