While in Italy visiting a friend, she and I took a short walk to the daily farmers market. Her selections for our lunch that afternoon included generous portions of raw garlic cloves marinated in olive oil, vinegar and spices. She assured me that the part of the garlic that causes bad breath had been removed. Incredulous, but eager to be polite, I ate several of the delicious cloves.
The next morning I met up with another friend, warned her that I had eaten garlic, and asked her to frankly rate my breath. As only a true friend would, she leaned in and took a few sniffs as I breathed out. Nothing. No garlic breath at all. We were both amazed.
The part of each clove causing the bad breath is the center portion that would sprout. If you slightly smash a clove you will see the long thin, sometimes greenish, sprout that runs from the top stem to the bottom of the clove. Remove and discard this piece. This sprout part can be seen in the above photos.
If you love garlic and would like to keep your vampire friends, test this out on a clove and see how it works for you.
