I am interested to read your thoughts on this email I received from Kay.

".....I have an allergy/intolerance to garlic but find increasingly that "garlic" is in just about everything! At one time I just kept away from Italian meals but now find it almost impossible to eat out as the first thing all the chefs/cooks do is prepare the garlic.

For some people it is a very dangerous ingredient but, unlike gluten free food, which is now very well catered for, us poor garlic sufferers have no-where to go except stay at home.

I do wonder if it is a sign of the lack of imagination as to how to get a good taste that garlic has become the main flavour used.
Kay"

Isnt cooking so much with garlic and herbs much like cooking things in stock and wine etc - part of the low fat era which has not really ended - these are just low fat flavours. Even the meat you buy has quite a bit of the fat removed.

I can't say I've noticed garlic being in everything, but I'm sure Kay's paid more attention to it than I have. Food intolerances are a pain whatever they are, but there are so many different ones it's impossible for chefs to cater for all of them.

helen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
...At one time I just kept away from
> Italian meals but now find it almost impossible to
> eat out as the first thing all the chefs/cooks do
> is prepare the garlic.
...."

This is an exaggeration I think. First of all, not all Italian food contains garlic, it's mainly southern Italian cuisine that uses it. Second, it is not hard to find restaurants that serve plain good quality steaks and fish with choices of sauces. A properly made Hollandaise or Bearnaise is delicious and does not contain garlic. Vegetable side dishes do not often contain garlic.

She probably will have to avoid Asian and In***ian restaurants, but otherwise it should be possible to get a good meal that she can eat if she asks politely about any dishes that are not obviously garlic-free and makes it clear that she has an allergy, not just a dislike.

Being someone who puts garlic in just about everything I think Kay's concerns are valid.
I would always put it in soup, long slow cooking, in roast chicken, char-grilled broccoli. mashed potato etc..
My logic is that I love good strong flavours so add garlic and perhaps herbs to assist with this.
I would use a bulb of garlic every week - fortnight.
If chefs are doing the same then I do understand how difficult it must me for someone who is allergic/intolerant to it.

I hadn't heard of an allergy to garlic but doing some searching I can see it is a very real worry. Some who are in that category cannot even tolerate onions, leeks and chives. I make some dishes with garlic but I certainly don't add it to the majority of my dishes.
I wonder whether so many are adding garlic in place of using too much salt but there are plenty of other herbs they could use.
I would find it difficult coping with the various allergies if I owned a restaurant. Maybe all Kay can do (apart from always eating at home) is phone ahead or approach them and ask if they have some dishes minus garlic. Even a lot of the vegetarian dishes often have garlic in them.

Have to say I'd struggle with not being able to use garlic, I go through a bulb or two/week as we all love it.
I have a friend who is allergic to rosemary, and I'm surprised by how many of the things I make regularly have rosemary in them, especially during the winter.

Cafes and brunch places would fingers crossed be a safer bet but understandably going out for dinner will be a bit of an issue.

I love garlic and probably don't even realise its in many of the foods I order.
My dad is Italian and quite often makes a pasta sauce without garlic, I even recall him telling me its often not uses, he's from the North - Trieste.

Im sure asking for a steak with out any garlic is not a problem, fish usually isnt cooked with garlic, burgers, pizzas, salads should be ok.

My Mum has a chilli allergy - its come on in recent years (or shes avoided it in the past). She has had 2 incidences that have been quite scary. She basically cant breath and reports a swelling in her throat feeling. The first time was on Christmas day eating my Thai chilli mussels and the second time, in my company again was at an Asian restaurant eating prawns. Its not seafood she's allergic either.

It does make dinning out a bit uncomfortable and although we always ask, you cant 100% rely on what a waiter tells you.

Maybe planning ahead and letting the chef know so you can get the heads up on things you can order or a meal could be made specially.

Vanessa

PS - I easily go through a bulb or 2 per week



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2017 10:40AM by Vanessa45.

I am currently travelling in Vietnam and two of the people in our group are allergic to garlic and onion.
I had no idea how debilitating this could be and how sick they become once "poisoned".
It certainly hasn't been all easy going for them even though we have pre warned restaurants that they need food without these components.