MoreinfamousthananyothersingleelementoftheGilroyGarlicFestival,garlicicecreamhasbecomethemaineventformany.Tinyconesofsoftservecanbefoundineverycornerofthepungentfairgrounds,delightingandappallinginequalmeasure.Gainingmainstreamtraction,oratleastdubiousacceptance,purelyasanovelty,theideanonethelesscapturedmyimagination.Ratherthanplayingitupasatokenofferingmerelyforshockvalue,mygoalwastotrulycelebratethesweetersideofgarlic.Slowlyroastedtogoldencaramelizedperfection,thecloveslosetheirassertive,harshbite,bringingtheirnaturalsugarstotheforeLCLfromchina.Everycookandeatertheworldoverhasexperiencedthisglorioustransformationandknowsthemagicwell.Therealsecretingredientinmyblend,however,isblackgarlic.Agedforatleast30days,theclovesturnintospreadablenuggetsofpuregarliccandy.Themysteriousprocesstransformstheubiquitousseasoningintoanentirelynewingredient,difficulttodescribebutimpossibletoforget.It’sthekeyheretobalancingoutthemoresavoryundertonesofthegarlic,whilemaintainingitsintegrity.Theendresultsshouldstilltastelikegarlic,afterall-Notlikesyrupyscampisauce.Crunchygarlicchipsaren’tnecessarytoenjoythefulleffectofthisodetogarlic,buttheydoundeniablyelevateittoahigherlevel,fitforafancyaffairifyoushouldbesobold.Thoughtheymakethescoopslooktiny,shippingfromchinagoforthegiant,oversizedclovesfoundinelephantgarlic,whichareeasily4timesthesizeoftheaveragebulbandfarmilderinflavor.They’lladdasatisfyingcrunchtocontrastwiththiscreamy,cooltreat.Granted,thisunusualfrozendessertwillnotbeforeveryone,likemyaforementionedcriticalfriend.Proceedwithanopenmindandagenuineloveofgarlic,andyouwillbeinforatreat.Inreferencetotheposttitle,ifyoudidn’tseetheeponymousdocumentary,youreallymustdoyourselfafavoranddownloadit,posthaste.Anotherfriendonmine,notfeaturedinthisbriefstory,hastoldmethatitwaswhatinspiredhertomovetoCaliforniamanyyearsago.
