This chemical reaction explains why every method of preparing garlic tastes different. If you use a sharp knife and cut garlic into thin slices, you'll get less allicin and once you cook the garlic, it will be more sweet. The sharp knife doesn't crush as much of the garlic's cell walls. If you crush garlic in a press, the chemical reaction happens at just about maximum speed, and you get a very pungent garlic flavor.
This chemical reaction evolved as a defense mechanism against animals who would eat the garlic bulb. Bulbs in the same family--onions, garlic, shallots, scallions, etc--basically engage in chemical warfare. Humans (and certain other animals) have a number of adaptations which allow use to eat these foods anyway.
No idea if jarred garlic bits are cut in citric acid or if it's added later to prevent botulism. I'd guess the latter based on how it tastes.
[0]https://www.seriouseats.com/israeli-style-tahini-sauce-recip...
https://www.ft.com/content/1416a056-833b-11e7-94e2-c5b903247...
I suggest that you do whatever you want/prefer.
As I said in a previous comment[0]:
It's not that I find mincing fresh garlic onerous. Rather
the taste difference (feel free to disagree, I don't mind
-- please do exactly what you want to do) for me isn't big
enough to compensate for the convenience (and lower cost)
of dumping a couple spoonfuls of pre-minced (in water, not
oil -- although if you prefer oil, then have at it) garlic
and off you go.
Sort of. Yes, the flavor (if I eat it out of the jar) is a bit different, but once it's mixed into the dish I'm cooking, the difference isn't big enough for me to care.
To respond by quoting the very comment they replied to comes off as unnecessarily defensive and doesn't seem to assume good faith.
I don't have any useful suggestions and said so. Should I lie?
>To respond by quoting the very comment they replied to comes off as unnecessarily defensive and doesn't seem to assume good faith.
Except the comment they replied to was this one[0] (I checked to make sure before responding), not the one I quoted[1]. In fact, GP posted their comment before I posted the comment I quoted.
I will say that clicking the "parent" link in GP's post (as I did) would have confirmed the above for you.
I know what's in my mind and I wrote in good faith only to express my thoughts and ideas.
If other folks don't like what I say or how I say it, so be it. I don't require their (or yours, for that matter) approval.
That's not an attack on you (or anyone else) or an attempt to be mean or unpleasant. It's just how I see it.
I don't even resent the downvotes. People wiil do as they do, and unless there's a material impact on me, I don't really care.
You are not required to reply to every comment on HN.
I really hate it, but I don't want to go back to Gitmo.
I guess my writing style isn't conducive to conveying my meaning. I won't rehash what I said previously[0] about this, but I answered (without much detail as I couldn't answer their question reasonably as I just don't know).
Perhaps that's something I might think about.
I am a little taken aback with this, not because folks are downvoting me, but because the first assumption folks seem to be making is that I'm writing in bad faith.
Aren't we supposed to (I know I try -- not always successfully -- which doesn't reflect well on me when I don't) to read others' comments in the most charitable way/assume good faith?
I'm not really sure what seemed dismissive there, I certainly didn't intend it to be so. Thank you for taking the time to express this.
If I could impose upon you to clarify what, exactly, seemed dismissive, perhaps I could express myself without that impression in the future. Thanks!
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31951326
Edit: Added the missing link.
I think the confusion stems from a response that seems to be a non-sequitur/ orthogonal to the parent statement. Because of this, readers struggle to fill in the intent, charitable or not.
>>I want to use it, because it seems like such a convenience, but every time I buy a jar it tastes...weird/bad.
>I suggest that you do whatever you want/prefer.
The parent comment is already trying to do what they want, but encountering a challenge.
Telling someone to do what they are already doing and ignoring the challenge/question comes off as inattentive and/or dismissive.
for example:
"Every time I restart my computer, I get a blue screen error code. do you have advice? "
"Just restart your computer"
It is hard to read a logical but charitable intent. The most charitable I can get is not understanding the question, or an error in the response.
Hope this helps
>The parent comment is already trying to do what they want, but encountering a challenge.
>Telling someone to do what they are already doing and ignoring the question comes off as inattentive and/or dismissive.
That makes sense. Thank you. That said, it was pretty clear in my mind that I meant they should use their own best judgement as that's likely the best way to get what you want.
Perhaps what I should have said was:
Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer for you about
that, but if you find that jarred garlic tastes weird/bad,
then I imagine you'd prefer just to use the fresh stuff.
That said, I don't know if it's jarred garlic in general or
just the stuff you purchased, but the jarred stuff
*definitely* tastes different than fresh garlic.
I appreciate your time and effort in explaining this to me.
I can't change the past, but I can try to do better in the future. I hope to do so.
> "Just restart your computer"
I'm reminded of one of the Jargon File's "AI Koans":
----
A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning the power off and on.
Knight, seeing what the student was doing, spoke sternly: “You cannot fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no understanding of what is going wrong.”
Knight turned the machine off and on.
The machine worked.
I want to use it, because it seems like such a convenience, but every time I buy a jar it tastes...weird/bad. I think because it's always mixed with citric acid to keep from oxidizing aggressively? But then it doesn't taste like garlic anymore. Is that something you experience too? Is there a remedy? Does it vary by brand?