Last weekend several family members and I sat down to taste test 4 types of heirloom hardneck garlic that I had grown in my raised beds in Zone 7. These were tasted side-by-side with a store-bought variety. The test was set up so no one knew which was which until after we were all done tasting.

Let me tell you, 5 kinds of garlic is a LOT. It was all a blur for me after a bit, but with a lot of palate cleansing we made it work. Despite mixed messages, probably resulting from how much garlic was tasted and where it hit your tongue, I think it's obvious that the German Extra Hearty and Inchellium Red are considerably more mild than the others, that Brown Tempest was hot but really good, that Music was a better smelling, milder version of what you get in the store, and that the store stuff is mostly just heat. Good, but so much hotter than the others.

I used my newly discovered comparisons to help me decide to add Brown Tempest to my slightly mashed new potatoes last night. It was divine- a bit of afterburn with such a great aroma and flavor.

Here are the results. I hope this is useful to someone.

1- German Extra Hearty

Mom- very good, mild

Kevin- very subtle and pleasant

Sherry- after-taste, blah

Mike- yum, a bit hot

Nikki- acrid-hot- smells garlicy, apricot, mushroom

2- Inchellium Red

Mom- hot, not so good

Kevin- pleasant moderate sweet taste, good for bread

Sherry- mild

Mike- mild, plain

Nikki- really mild, no burn, light - smells hot

3- Music

Mom- sharp

Kevin- very pleasant, tad sharper than 2, good for bread

Sherry- hot and spicy

Mike- hotish but tasty, great smell

Nikki- good, mild afterburn, sharp, smell fruity peppers mild

4. store-bought garlic

Mom- strong

Kevin- spicy/sharp good for shrimp & hard cooking (i.e. BBQ)

Sherry- burn

Mike- hot, burn, nice aroma

Nikki- very sharp, not classic garlic, all burn, no aroma, smell sharper classic

5. Brown Tempest

Mom- sharp but pleasant, best

Kevin- very similar to #4 but not as sharp

Sherry- burn

Mike- delicious, hot afterburn, excellent **my favorite

Nikki- yummy but burns the tongue, mild and fruity smell