Garlic

Hiroshi Numata

Vice Chairman of Aomori Mita-kai, President and Representative Director of Aomori Prefecture Products Co., Ltd. - 1973 Faculty of Law

Aomori Prefecture is known as the top producer of apples in Japan, but in fact, it is also the top producer of garlic and burdock. Garlic is said to have originated in Central Asia and was brought to Japan via China around the 8th century. In Japan, it was used for a long time as a medicine and tonic, and with the Westernization and diversification of food after the war, it gradually came to be used as a food ingredient.

Aomori-grown garlic boasts an overwhelming market share, accounting for 80% of the national production. I believe there are three reasons for this. 1) The climate, with cool summers and severe winter cold, fosters a unique sweetness and pungency. 2) A system has been established where garlic can be shipped throughout the year by storing it in constant-temperature warehouses after harvesting and drying. This was modeled after the apple shipping system. 3) The creation of varieties such as Fukuchi White Six-Piece and Takko No. 1, which are white, large-grained, and have a rich flavor and aroma.

My company handles over 100 types of garlic-related products, and black garlic (aged garlic), garlic crackers, chips, and ramen are well-received.

Hitoyasu Sato

Editor - 1982 Faculty of Letters

Provence, on the Mediterranean coast, is loved worldwide as the "French countryside." In foreign lands where you sense the smell of each city, the scent of Provence is inevitably linked to garlic. This vegetable is deeply rooted in the culture of Southern France.

Representative dishes include Tourain, a soup made with vegetables like tomatoes and beaten eggs, and along the coast, Soupe de Poisson, made from pureed fish, which is also quite common in Japan. Both are rich soups with a base made by sautéing garlic in olive oil. Floating toasted baguette slices is also common, but the bread is rubbed with raw garlic to add even more flavor. The Mediterranean coast became part of France around the time of Louis XI (15th century). Until then, people in Southern France criticized Parisian cuisine as tasteless, while in the north, they reportedly called Southerners "those garlic-smelling fellows."

Now, that soup is not something you drink. As you all likely know, if you use the spoon vertically to place it on your tongue instead of slurping, you won't make any unpleasant noises.

Naoki Hirose

Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Meisei University - 2003 Faculty of Letters

When reading medieval Chinese religious texts, I often see the "Five Pungent Spices" (Goshin) (types of green onions, chives, and garlic) forbidden alongside alcohol and meat. In Buddhism, consuming them is said to cause restlessness and irritation, while in Taoism, it is said to make the body smell and cause the "Gods" to depart. "Gods" refers to the spirit, as well as the deities that dwell within the human body. In Taoist practice, one is required to house (visualize) deities within the body. By doing so, the deathly energy of the physical body is replaced by the life energy of the deities, allowing one to become an immortal xian.

On the other hand, medical texts of the time state that garlic is effective in curing swellings and colds, but Taoist priests added biting notes to those claims. "Commoners chop it up and eat it with raw meat, but there is nothing worse than this for shortening one's life." "Eating it with salted fish causes jaundice." Looking back, I feel that if such a feast existed, one would certainly want alcohol. Imagining it this way, I feel I have a better understanding of why the Five Pungent Spices are forbidden alongside alcohol and meat.

Hiroshi Muto

Professor Emeritus, Keio University

It was a long time ago that I first became aware of the power of garlic, long before I would grow up to write a book on "Dracula." My greatest pleasure was going to a ramen shop on my way to school and adding plenty of all-you-can-eat grated garlic. Strength surged through my body. A vital scent!

The original "Dracula" is not a movie, but a late 19th-century novel written by the Irish author Bram Stoker. On the surface, it is a simple story of thwarting a conquest of Britain plotted by a vampire living in Eastern Europe, but it contains various devices. Regarding garlic, it existed worldwide as a countermeasure against vampires, but a characteristic of this novel is that it is linked to Catholic rituals. The vampire hunter in the original work confronts Dracula using garlic and stakes along with the Eucharist used in Mass, crosses, and Latin prayers to God. In this context, the vital scent of garlic contributes to exterminating the foul-smelling vampire.

Scent is connected to religious rituals and actually reflects the complex relationship between Protestant Britain and Ireland, which has a strong Catholic culture.