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Asiatic and Turban Varieties of Garlic
We will probably have a few Asian and Turban Garlics This Year.
- Updated November 3, 2009 -
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Asiatic and Turban Varieties of Weakly Bolting Hardneck Garlic
Asiatic and Turban garlics were originally classified as a seperate group that was part of the Artichoke garlics but recent DNA research done independently by a couple of friends of mine, Dr. Gayle Volk of the USDA in Fort Collins, Colorado and Dr. Joachim Keller of the Institute for plant Research in Gaterslaben, Germany, shows them both to be weakly-bolting hardnecks that are distinct from each other as well as the other groups of garlics.
Asiatics and Turbans share some interesting characteristics and are also the very earliest harvesting of all garlics and if you can grow them you'll have garlic before anyone else's is anywhere near ready to harvest. They are short storing garlics as most don't last more than 5 months at room temperature before sprouting. They are always the first garlics to sprout in the fall. They are also unusual in that they don't mature gradually like all the other garlics; when they are ready, their tops start to fall over, like onions. That's the time to check their bulb size and get ready to start harvesting them before they lose all their bulb wrappers, as they will if they stay in the ground for very long after they are ready to be harvested. If they lose their bulb wrappers, their storage time will be reduced even more than usual.
There's a feeling that they might be a little less resistant to pathogens than the other varieties, when grown in wet conditions. Not proven, mind you, just suspected by a few would-be growers who became discouraged by their lack of success in growing them in the mud. I don't know if that is a valid criticism as no kind of garlic grows well in the mud. They do seem to grow exceptionally well in dry climates like the southwestern USA, if properly irrigated. As a result, they're not as widely available as most other kinds of garlic; there simply aren't as many people growing them and the supply cannot meet the ever increasing demand, resulting in what appears to me to be opportunity waiting for someone who likes challenges and is resourceful.
All the Asiatic/Turbans I have grown have had stalks (called scapes) that form an upside-down U before straightening up. All cultivars of a given variety of garlic generally have the same scape pattern before they straighten up; all Rocambole scapes form a double loop while Purple Stripe garlics form 3/4 of a loop. Asiatics have a smaller seedhead (properly called an umbel) while Turbans have a larger umbel that resembles a turban. The umbel is covered with a membrane called a spathe and the pointed end of the spathe is called a beak. Turban garlics usually have a beak in the range of 6 to 9 inches or so while the Asiatics have a beak of 12 to 18 inches. Both have the longest beaks of all garlic varieties. Not all have scapes but most usually do.
Asiatics and Turbans usually have 9-10 large fat cloves that form something of a circle around a center that may or may not have a scape. There are few or no tiny interior cloves. Some cultivars are instantly hot to the taste while others may be remarkably mils for up to half a minute before you get a very hot taste that spreads from the back of the mouth forward. They can be very pungent and have a musky aftertaste. Most are usually hot although I have tasted mild one but was not sure if that was their normal taste or the temporary result of unusual growing conditions that can temporarily change the taste of a garlic.
Our website is a fair reflection of gourmet garlics that are generally available and if I can find somebody with some Asiatic or Turban garlics for sale, I will have some to sell; if not, it will be another year without these very good garlics.
Asiatic Garlics
Asian Rose - A strong
Asiatic Garlic.
Asiatic garlics typically have six to eight cloves per bulb in a circular configuration around a central scape. They're generally large bulbs with fat cloves. The bulb wrappers are firm, tight and vivid with broad, bold purple stripes merging into areas of solid purple. A very strongly colored garlic. The clove covers are silky and a lovely golden tan with a rosy aura and tiny pink veins. It is one of the very first cultivars planted in the fall and the first harvested in the spring around here. The taste puts it in a class almost by itself.
When you first bite into a clove there is a beautiful pure garlic flavor that is utterly devoid of heat, so you begin to settle back and enjoy the marvelous flavor and after six or eight seconds you can begin to feel a slight warmth in the back of your mouth and you start to say "Ah, there it is, I knew there had to be a little heat." Suddenly your entire mouth seems to explode in flames, your face turns red and you break out in an instant heavy sweat. The fire rages hotter and hotter for about 30 to 45 seconds and you begin to wonder what to do about it, then it begins to gently dissipate and is almost gone at the end of one minute leaving you to sit in your sweat and wonder whether you have the courage to take another bite any time soon. It took 30 to 45 minutes for the hair on the back of my neck to dry-just from a half of a clove. I have come to nick-name this cultivar the Chinese Time Bomb.
I no longer wonder where fire breathing dragons come from in Chinese folklore - they're ordinary people who have eaten too much of these Chinese garlics.
While it is not the hottest garlic I have ever tasted, it isn't any too far behind. In my limited experience, (I've only tasted 50 kinds) Metechi and Skuri #2 (Purple Stripes) are a little hotter and perhaps Wild Buff and Rosewood, too-both porcelains. If you want a powerful early harvesting garlic that will leave you breathless, or should I say breathful, try a few of these two Chinese firecrackers, they should have a very high allicin potential and be good medicinal or insecticide garlics-but make sure your fire insurance premiums are paid up first.
Asian Tempest - A strong
Asiatic Garlic.
Asiatic garlics typically have about eight cloves per bulb in a circular configuration around a central scape. They're generally large bulbs with fat cloves. The bulb wrappers are firm, tight and vivid with broad, bold purple stripes merging into areas of solid purple. A very strongly colored garlic. The clove covers are silky and a lovely golden tan with a rosy aura and tiny pink veins. It is one of the very first cultivars planted in the fall and the first harvested in the spring around here.
Asian Tempest came from South Korea and when you first bite into a clove suddenly your entire mouth seems to explode in flames, your face turns red and you break out in an instant heavy sweat. The fire rages hotter and hotter for about 30 to 45 seconds and you begin to wonder what to do about it, then it begins to gently dissipate and is almost gone at the end of one minute leaving you to discover the rich earthy garlickness hiding behind the heat. It took 30 to 45 minutes for the hair on the back of my neck to dry-just from a half of a clove.
I no longer wonder where fire breathing dragons come from in Asian folklore - they're ordinary people who have eaten too much of these fiery garlics.
While it is not the hottest garlic I have ever tasted, it isn't any too far behind. In my limited experience, (I've only tasted 50 kinds) Metechi and Skuri #2 (Purple Stripes) are a little hotter and perhaps Wild Buff and Rosewood, too-both porcelains. If you want a powerful early harvesting garlic that will leave you breathless, or should I say breathful, try a few of these two Chinese firecrackers, they should have a very high allicin potential and be good medicinal or insecticide garlics-but make sure your fire insurance premiums are paid up first.
Korean Red - A rich yet mellow Asiatic Garlic.
Asiatic garlics typically have six to eight cloves per bulb in a circular configuration around a central scape. They're generally large bulbs with fat cloves. The bulb wrappers are firm, tight and vivid with broad, bold purple stripes merging into areas of solid purple. A very strongly colored garlic. The clove covers are silky and a lovely golden tan with a rosy aura and tiny pink veins. It is one of the very first cultivars planted in the fall and the first harvested in the spring around here. The taste puts it in a class almost by itself.
When you first bite into a clove there is a beautiful pure garlic flavor that is utterly devoid of heat, so you begin to settle back and enjoy the marvelous flavor while waiting for the hotness to sear your mouth any second but it never comes. And after a minute or so, the rich garlickiness is replaced with a smooth warm aftertaste that just makes you feel good.
If you are looking for an early season garlic that harvests before any of the others and is great for raw eating and stores about six months from harvest at room temp., this one is for you.
Asiatic and Turban garlics are usually pretty hot but this one is for those who love garlic flavor but who don't want the hotness.
Russian Redstreak, An Asiatic Garlic A rare early season mild garlic.
--Sorry folks, not available this year.--Russian Redstreak has evolved from a Rocambole garlic, Russian Red, according to Ron Engeland. If so, it is one of the few garlics that are related to Rocamboles that does well for us in our growing conditions. They tend to be streaked lightly with purple and are very early maturing garlics that must be pulled out of the ground before they get overly mature and split open the bulb wrappers. The Asiatic group still produce a seed stalk (scape) even though they're softnecks. They often have some large dark purple bulbils on their necks. These bulbils are truly beautifully colored. Failing to remove the scapes does not seem to harm bulb size very much. They are slightly smaller than Red Toch on the average and about the size of Chet's but with more color. They are supposed to be rather sharp tasting but they have been delightfully mild and full flavored with only a little heat for us in our climate.
They are a productive garlic, store very well, present a nice appearance and have an excellent raw flavor. If you want a very early maturing garlic that can be grown almost anywhere in the country and is a prolific reproducer, try a few of these jewels from Moscow.
Gregory's China Rose, An Asiatic Garlic
Gregory's China Rose is a visually impressive garlic with a rich earthy flavor that lives up to its appearance. While their flavor is deep and rich (9+ on a scale of 10), they are not a very hot garlic right now but will warm up a little as they age (heat is 4 on a scale of 10). They are so heavily streaked with vertical purple Stripes they seem solid purple. I like this garlic - a lot..
Gregory has disappeared and his wonderful garlic is no longer available but it was so unique that a mention of it is warranted. He grew these garlics in Northern California for 10 years and then moved to Oregon to grow them in larger quantity but his phone was disconnected and I could find him again. In taste, S&H Silverskin is similar as is Mother of Pearl, a silverskin that is hard to find these days.
Asiatic garlics are very early maturing garlics that must be pulled out of the ground before they get overly mature and split open the bulb wrappers. The Asiatic group still produce a seed stalk (scape) and are classified as weakly bolting hardnecks. They often have some large dark purple bulbils on their necks. These bulbils are truly beautifully colored. Failing to remove the scapes does not seem to harm bulb size very much. Asiatics tend to be big bulbed garlics because most growers let them overmature as it's hard to know just when to harvest them. Just when you start to think about checking them, they've already matured and the bulbs are flowering out.
I'm still not completely certain it's an Asiatic, it could be a Turban, which are grouped biologically with Asiatics but that have larger umbels that resemble a turban and the beaks on their spathes are long but much shorter than the Asiatics.. Only an true alliophile would really know (or care). I'm really looking forward to growing some of these this year so I can learn more about them.
They are a productive garlic, store very well, present a bold appearance and have an excellent raw flavor. If you want a very early maturing garlic that can be grown almost anywhere in the country and is a prolific reproducer, try a few of these jewels. An excellent garlic for warm winter areas.
The Turban Group of Weakly Bolting Hardneck Garlics
Chinese Purple - A Turban Garlic
Chinese Purple is a very unusual garlic in several ways.
First, the bulb wrappers have vivid purple stripes on a very white background.
Secondly, there is a strong tendency for these softnecks
to produce a hardneck and the bulbil capsule at the top of the scape
has a very definite turban shape to it. Thirdly, the clove covers are
dark brownish-purple.
Chinese Purples have a very strong garlic taste with a fierce heat. I privately call them
Chinese cherry bombs as the heat is instantaneous and they seem to
explode in your mouth. They have a strong aftertaste that sticks around
for a while. While they are not the most powerful garlic I have ever
tasted, they are one potent package.
I perspired so much when I taste tested this one that it took 30 to 40 minutes for the hair on the back
of my neck to begin to dry out. If you like strong garlic, this is
one to get.
This would be an excellent garlic to use for the medicinal
benefits or if you want an extra strong garlic to use in insecticide
or anti-bacterial sprays as it would seem to have a very high potential
to produce lots of allicin. Asaiatics and Turbans are always the first garlics we harvest each year as they
the appear to mature before any of the others. Another surprise is
the bulbs are much larger than you would think as you look at the size of their foliage. When
you see them growing in the garden among other types of garlic, their
leaves are not nearly as large as the others and you begin to think
they aren't going to form very big bulbs, but the bulbs are surprisingly large.
They store clean but they don't store as long as most other artichokes as they seem
to want to get back into the ground earlier in the fall since they
mature so early in the spring. Our Chinese Purple garlics average about
12 cloves per bulb in a fairly circular configuration.
Maiskij --Sorry folks, not available this year.--
This Turban garlic originated in Turkmenistan, one of those small, mountainous Islamic republics near Chechnia that used to be in the Soviet Union. Not a particularly large garlic but a beautifully colorful one that harvests very early in the season. They form hardnecks and have lots of purple in rather flaky outer bulb wrappers that are easy to peel. The cloves are tannish with purple stripes on a purplish blush background and with slightly elongated tips. The bulbs contain an average of eight cloves in a circular pattern and have no small internal cloves.
The taste is medium strong, leaning toward being bold, but not overpowering. Their size not only gives them a concentrated taste with very good character, but makes them very appealing to the eye. They are an attractive, early, tasty garlic that stores well but not real long as they want to get back into the ground by October and tend to sprout in the early fall.
Shilla is a very unusual garlic and surprising in several ways.
First, the bulb wrappers are very white background-most Asiatics and Turbans seem to have a lot of purple coloration.
Secondly, there is a strong tendency for these weakly bolting hardnecks to produce a scape and the bulbil capsule at the top of the scape
has a very definite turban shape to it. The clove covers are brownish-purple.
Shilla have a very strong garlicky flavor with a moderate heat. In addition to a nice garlickiness they have a distinct undertone
to them that strongly reminds of Dijon mustand, rather similar to Rose du Lautrec, a Creole garlic from the South of France.
They have a strong aftertaste that sticks around for a while. While they are certainly not the strongest garlic I have ever
tasted, their Dijon-like flavor makes them very unusual .
Asiatic and Turban garlics are always the first garlics we harvest each year as they mature weeks before any of the others.
They should be grown in conjunction with longer storing garlics like Porcelains or Silverskins since they harvest a month or two before them and provide garlic at a time of year when good garlic is very hard to find.
Another surprise is the bulbs, which are much larger than you would think as you look at the size of their foliage.
When you see them growing in the garden among other types of garlic, their leaves are not nearly as large as the others and you begin to think
they aren't going to form very big bulbs, but the bulbs turn out to be larger than you might think.
They store clean but they don't store as long as most other garlics as they seem to want to get back into the ground earlier in the fall since they
mature so early in the spring.
Shilla garlics average about 12 big fat cloves per bulb in a rather circular configuration around a central core with no tiny interior cloves.
How Our Garlics are Grown
Usually our garlic is grown near Brownwood in central Texas. We live on a working cattle ranch and have several old family garden plots where our garlic is grown without the use of any toxic chemical pesticides or herbicides and in rotation with vegetables we grow for family use and sometimes the local farmers markets. Soon, we will devote more acreage for growing garlic in rotation.
This year we will offer some of the garlic we have grown (mostly for warm winter area gardeners) and for the fourth straight year, other sustainable and organic growers have made their finest produce available for us to sell. They all know to send me only their best, because I will neither buy nor sell any lesser quality garlic. Besides, I pay these growers their price and they are rightfully proud of their garlic. Those I continue to be impressed with are the ones I buy from. If our garlic isn't the best in the country, I'd like to find out what is, 'cause I would like to buy some of it.
Most of our growers are Certified Organic and are among the best available sources of Certified Organic Garlic
and we will happily fill your order with garlic from them at no extra cost if you ask for Certified Organic.
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[ Our Home Page ] [ Online Catalog ] [ Garlic Overview ] [ 40 Varieties ] [ Growing Garlic ] [ Cooking with Garlic ] [ Chemistry of Garlic ] [ Garlic Pills & Oils, Etc. ] [ Health Benefits ] [ Links ] [ FAQs ] [ How to Order Garlic ]
[ Sampler Assortments ]
[ Pickling & Preserving Garlic ]
[ Artichoke (Softneck) Garlics ]
[ Asiatic Garlics ]
[ Creole Garlics ]
[ Porcelain Garlics ]
[ Purple Stripe Garlics ]
[ Rocambole Garlics ]
[ Silverskin (Softneck) Garlics ]
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