This year (2015) we’re growing 4 different varieties of hard neck garlic – Purple Glazer, Chesnok Red, Spanish Roja, and Music. Here are brief flavor descriptions for these varieties:
Purple Glazer: A vivid, royal purple tinged with shiny gold and/or silver hues makes this one of the most attractive garlics. As a sub-variety of Purple Stripe, a group known for being the best baked garlic, Purple Glazer has a strong lasting flavor, but not hot and no aftertaste. Very easy to peel.
Cesnok Red: Easy to peel, long cloves with beautiful purple stripes and mild flavor. One of the best tasting baking garlics, it is very sweet and tasty when cooked. Chesnok Red adds a sweet garlic flavor without heat to dishes. It has an distinct smell, more like a roasting sweet onion than a garlic.
Spanish Roja: A rocambole type (reddish skin) loved for its seductive depth of flavor, famous for its pleasantly hot and spicy bite. Flavor is strong and spicy, but not the hottest. Thin bulb wrappers are easy to peel, but like all rocamboles, it’s not for long-term storage.
Music: Stunning, large white heads. A superior garlic imported from Italy in the 1980’s by Al Music. Music has a multi-layered flavor, as this garlic first meets your pallet there is a sweetness about it, as your flavorful journey continues you are greeted by a pungent earthy hotness. The taste is a medium hot, true garlic flavor that lasts for a long time.
Storage tip: Store in a cool, dark place – for long term storage, 45-50 deg. For green garlic, keep in an airtight container in the fridge or leave it out for a day or two. It’s best before it dries out.
