Mondo Knows Facts
Crushing garlic creates its sharp pungent aroma
Damaging garlic cells allows enzymes to convert alliin into volatile allicin
Intact garlic cloves contain little odour until their cell walls are ruptured by chopping or crushing. Mechanical damage brings the enzyme alliinase into contact with alliin, rapidly generating allicin. Heating garlic inactivates this enzyme, which is why cooked garlic tastes mild and sweet compared to raw cloves.
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Tags: garlic, allicin, flavour
Crushing garlic creates its sharp pungent aroma: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Damaging garlic cells allows enzymes to convert alliin into volatile allicin. The figure is taken from Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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