Cutco at the Cuba Garlic Festival

Garlic was the star of the show at the Cuba Garlic Festival in western New York last weekend. Since kitchen knives and garlic go so well together, Cutco has been a sponsor the event for several years.

The highlight for us is always the Cutco cooking demonstration at the Stinking Rose Tent, hosted by students from Alfred State College's culinary arts program.

This year, the students prepared a sensational Jambalaya packed with andouille sausage, ham, shrimp and all things Cajun. Their recipe came from the textbook “On Cooking,” by Chef Mike Artlip. We shared our own Easy Jambalaya recipe on the Cutco Kitchen blog a few months back.

Along with the recipe, Chef John Santora, chairman of Alfred State's culinary arts program, demonstrated how to cut garlic, make a garlic paste and easily dice an onion.

Hundreds of varieties of hardneck and softneck garlic were available at the festival and I quickly discovered that not all garlic is created equal. Some garlic is mild but there are certain varieties that can bring some heat.

Italian purple garlic, for example, is great for Mediterranean cooking. It has a mild but nice garlic flavor that lingers. On the other hand, Metechi (also known as Metichi) is sometimes referred to as “Great Bulbs of Fire” because it's packed with intense garlic flavor.

Those are only two of hundreds of garlic varieties.

I like to think of garlic tasting like wine tasting. There are several flavor notes that you can pick out depending on what kind you're sampling, from mild and nutty to hot and spicy.

Stored in a cool, dry place, garlic should stay fresh for up to 6 months according to the growers I spoke with.

What is your favorite way to use garlic?