Garlic (Aglio)

Garlic is a bulb of the Allium genus, composed of individual cloves enclosed in a papery skin. It is used in virtually every savoury tradition of Italian cooking — from the gentle infusion of a whole clove in olive oil to the sharp bite of raw garlic in bruschetta.

Varieties and Selection

The two main types at Italian markets are white garlic (aglio bianco) and red garlic (aglio rosso di Nubia, aglio rosso di Sulmona). Red varieties tend to be milder with a slightly sweeter finish. For cooking, white garlic is the default.

Select bulbs that are firm and heavy for their size, with tight, unbroken skin. Sprouted cloves are past their prime — the green shoot at the centre turns bitter when cooked.

Culinary Use

In Italian pasta sauces, garlic is typically sliced thin or lightly crushed and sautéed in olive oil over low heat until golden (not brown). This technique — soffritto in olio — extracts flavour into the fat without producing acrid bitterness.

Aglio, olio e peperoncino is the canonical garlic-forward pasta: sliced garlic, chilli, olive oil, nothing else. The garlic must be golden and fragrant, never dark.

Cost Context

Fresh garlic at Italian supermarkets costs €6–10/kg, depending on origin and packaging. Italian-grown garlic commands a premium over imported Chinese garlic. A single recipe rarely uses more than 10–15g (2–3 cloves), making per-dish cost negligible at approximately €0.08–0.12.

For recipe cost estimation, €8.00/kg is a reliable mid-range baseline for domestic garlic.