Episode 40: Vampiric Vulgarities & Wicked Worms- Garlic
Hello and welcome back to our second to last episode in the potion mini series! This week we are digging DEEP into a plant that has been much requested, and has roots in medicine, folktales, and your favorite pasta dishes - it’s everyone’s favorite Allium- Garlic!, or as it’s called in the potion- Owlet’s wing.
Garlic, or Allium sativum, is a member of the allium family….say allium one more time. Anyway, it’s famous family members include leeks, onion, chives, and pretty much all the other plants that taste like that.
Garlic is native to southwest asia, but has since spread all over the globe, with tons of different cultivars popping up pretty much everywhere because of how much better it makes…pretty much everything.
If you were expecting garlic to be native to Italy, you weren’t alone. And while Italy definitely loves a good garlic, china is still actually the world's largest producer of the stuff, growing nearly 80% of all garlic- crazy, I know.
Garlic is obviously known for its round white bulls that are easily split into cloves, which are all lovingly but annoyingly wrapped in a white paper-y sheathing leaf that feels unnecessarily difficult to remove ... kind of like little gifts wrapped up with way too much tape..
And while the bulb is a super important part of the plant- and honestly the part we are focused on today, it’s also important to talk about what’s going on above ground. If you were to grow garlic in your garden, or stumble upon a wild variety, you’d see a long skinny stem (about 3 ft in length) holding up aa big bright pinkish purple or white flower, which is really a collection of tiny flowers that form a ball shape- if you’ve seen horton hears a who- the flower he holds is basically a garlic flower…and if you HAVEN'T seen it 1) stop everything you are doing to watch and 2) I guess you could also say it kinda looks like a clover, but that’s not as fun.
If you haven’t seen a garlic flower, it’s probably because most of them are chopped off before they can even get there, as most people would prefer the garlic to focus that energy on growing a bigger bulb, so they cut that flower stalk- called a scape- off in early spring, and then turn them into a delightful pesto or sell that at farmers markets, where people go absolutely FERAL for them..and for good reason.
Anyway, back to garlic, its leaves are thin little blades that also smell like garlic when crushed, making it fairly easy to identify.
There are some varieties of garlic that produce their bulb instead of a flower- called top setting garlic, which is kind of magical because it just looks like a bulb of garlic on a stick, and I want to frolic in a big field of those like Julie Andrews in the sound of music STAT. imagine the hills are alive with the scent of GARLIC? Iconic, amazing, I am never ever leaving.
And my dreams aren’t as far from reality as you might think, okay? Because garlic likes to grow in adorable little clusters, just like a lot of other bulbs. (MAKE JULIE ANDREWS GARLIC FIELD FOR INSTAGRAM)
There are 2 main varieties of garlic- hardneck and soft neck, and the kind you choose to grow is really just dependent on your climate. Softneck garlic is a better choice for places that tend to be warmer year round, as they are better able to take the heat, and produce smaller, more tightly packed cloves. Most of us are more familiar with hardneck garlic, which prefers much cooler temps, and produces the larger bulbs we are all most familiar with- and before any of you garlic fanatics come for me about elephant garlic- that’s a LEEK, which you would already know if you listened to episode 17 where we really got into it.
Across species, they all generally prefer rich, not too dry soil and temps that aren’t too too hot, but will take a wide variety of soils if need be.
Now, because garlic is such a widespread favorite, it should come as no surprise that it has played a massive role in..pretty much every culture to some extent throughout history. We have even found evidence of it’s presence over 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia, and king tut was BURIED with some- that's how much we have always loved it.
With that much history, you oughta know by now that means we will have PLENTY to discuss, so buckle up, because I have quite the journey to take you on….
We’re starting off where we ALWAYS do- in ancient greece!
Now, there are LOTS of stories about garlic we could get into here, but I am going to just do a quick run down on some of the most popular tales to get us started.
First, let's chat a bit about the very real ways people were using garlic at the time ... .even if most of it has proven to be little more than wives tales…
In ancient Greece and Rome, people believed that garlic was the cure to a wide variety of ailments, and might even be the key to immortality- pretty cool right?
With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why they also thought that if you chewed it while you ran you would be able to outrun everyone in any race, and that if you ate it before battle you would be unstoppable due to all the courage it would bring you….and while i'm not going to say that wasn't true, what I will say is that maybe the stink just gave you an unfair advantage, or you were just super strong because you ate more food and therefore had more energy than the plebeians stuck eating under seasoned mush.
Now, these immortality myths had to start from somewhere, and the story I found was that once, there was a guy SUPER determined to figure out immortality…he worked super hard to figure it out, but no one really gave it too much thought…that is, until he figured it out- then, our boy hades got a little upset, because if no one was dying, who would he hang out with in hell?? So, he ran over to Zeus and told him all about what was going on. Zeus, not wanting to see the natural order of things messed up, decided to make it rain all over Asklepios notes, making them impossible to read, and I guess therefore preventing him from sharing his secret formula for immortality. However, what Zeus wasn't expecting was for the formula to dissolve into the earth, leaving behind a plant that would hold onto it’s properties forever- garlic.
It’s likely because of this myth that people started to leave garlic out for Hecate, the goddess in charge of guiding souls, and both curing and causing illness. To this day, it is something witches who do practice with hecate give her as an offering.
Another story from the time tells of a man named Odysseus who turned to garlic as sort of a swan song before the infamous witch circe turned all of his men into pigs… to which I say- maybe they deserved it?
But in the story, Circe actually takes pity on these men, and wanting to be a good host, invites them over for dinner. At this dinner these men proceed to commit party fouls left and right- their drinking all the wine, eating their salads with their dinner forks, swallowing every morsel of food without so much as tasting it, and just absolutely KILLING the vibes. So, she decided if they were going to act like pigs, she was going to make them pigs…to which I say- go off, queen! Don’t let those men ruin your garden party.
Not wanting to lose his men and the war, Odysseus knew he needed to act fast, so he hightailed it over to hermes, who gave him a clove of garlic (or in some stories a snow drop, which we covered in episode 8,) as protection from the spell, and ultimately giving him the power to help get his pals out of there pre-pigging
And this isn't the only story in history of garlic playing a key part in the transformation (or lack thereof) from animal to human.
Ancient Korean folklore tells the story of a tiger and a bear who dreamed of becoming human. They lived in a cave, and spent their days praying to the god Hwanung who told them if they stayed in their cave, and ate only the 200 cloves of garlic and the bundle of mugwort for 100 days, they would be made into humans. The tiger lost it’s mind after a little less than a month, but the bear persisted for another 20 days, and was turned into a human. However, the bear was lonely, as she had no one to keep her company. She prayed to be given a child, and moved by this, Hwanung decided to marry her. They had a son- Dangun who eventually grew up to be the founder of Korea.
While there are tons of other tall tales I would tell you about garlic, I want to quickly shift gears into some of the fascinating folk magic uses for it!
Hopping back over to italy, garlic was a wildly popular and important plant in medicine due to it’s purported ability to protect from evil spirits and even banish demons.
Now, from what I could find in my research, this is still practiced in some of the more rural areas, but less for demonic banishment and more for parasites.. However, I would argue that some of those little shits should count as demons, so it’s still true for those too..
ANYWAY, back in the day, it was not uncommon for people- especially children to get cavities, toothaches, and upset stomachs…but at the time, we didn’t really know what caused them, since we didn’t even figure out germs until the mid 1700’s, so people assumed that these every day evils were caused by demons. Specifically, little worms that would crawl up into your teeth or intestines and wreak all kinds of havoc.
In teeth, it was believed that the worms would crawl into your mouth, and then wriggle their way right into the middle- leaving a big hole in the tooth, and any time there was pain, it was because they were performing little rituals in there- spreading their evil through your whole body.
And in the stomach, well, some of that is because there were real parasites, but a lot of it was those same little worm-y guys hexing your guts.
Now I know what you’re thinking- surely they had to have figured out some way to treat that- and that’s where garlic comes in. Garlic was and is known for helping to clear the body of unwelcomed guests like germs, some parasites, and in this case- demonic worms.
To do this, the person suffering (usually a child) would wear a tiny sack around their neck filled with garlic and other healing herbs. Then, a church elder or medical practitioner would recite a prayer while shaking the child upside down to hopefully loosen their grip. Then, the child would drink a barley/honey water, which would hopefully make their guts harder to grab back on to…then, the practitioner would make the sign of the cross three times over the stomach, them massage the guts, before finally mimicking the motion of scooping out the tiny demonic friends…
But removing parasites- demonic or otherwise- wasn't the only way garlic has been used in spiritual practices. In fact, in most pagan traditions, garlic has been used to protect homes, and ward off the evil eye. This is typically done by hanging a dried bunch of it in a door or window, with the idea being that the smell alone will keep the evil spirits at bay.
And the thing is, this actually makes sense when we look at the science.
Garlic has been proven to be a powerful antimicrobial and antiparasitic, so it really is helping to keep some of those bad actors at bay in our bodies! Before we get into the chemistry, let me answer a question I am SURE you are dying for me to answer- why do vampires hate it?
Well, if you assumed it ties back to the whole ‘protection from evil spirits thing” you aren’t wrong ... .but you aren’t totally right either. It turns out that what people were pointing to as vampirism might have just been porphyria, a blood disorder caused by a build up of porphyrins- chemicals that help make hemoglobin..and when the body has too many porphyrins, things start getting a little..dracuala-esue. People look pale, with deep bags under their sunken eyes, and it can even make their teeth (espeically their canines) look larger because their gums shrink and recede- leaving those living with it to kinda look like a vampire..but less in the sexy teen fantasy kind of way, and more in a nosferatu way…so really calling these people vampires was just a mean historical diss…but that hasn’t stopped the legend of vampires, or their hatred of garlic, from spreading across books, films, and even cook books.
While we still don’t have a cure for Porphyria, there are PLENTY of other things that garlic can help fix! As we discussed, garlic is an amazing anti-microbial...so good, in fact, that it was used to treat and prevent the bubonic plague! This is due to a chemical it contains called Allinin, which comes from an amino acid, and is converted into allicin in our bodies. This chemical not only gives garlic it’s distinctive smell, but also helps to kill bacteria and parasites by blocking their cells from reproducing, thus stopping them in their tracks- even if they are resistant to other more common things like penicillin! So next time you're feeling a bit under the weather, don’t be afraid to really load your soup up with plenty of garlic- even if it does make your sweat a little stinky from the allicin.
Aside from helping you get over a cold faster, Garlic is also known to have blood thinning properties, thanks to Ajoene, an anti-platelet found in garlic that prevents aggregation, and can increase that effect in aspirin, warfarin, and other blood thinners, which is why it’s typically suggested folks avoid super garlic-y foods before and after surgery, are already on these medications or have a blood clotting disorder.
While there are some times folks will have to avoid garlic, for the most part it has been heralded for the flavor it brings to even the most bland dishes.
Initially, in middle ages Europe, garlic was actually considered a “peasant's seasoning” as it grew fairly easily and abundantly, and was therefore way easier to access than something like pepper or any of the other super fancy spices.
However, this was actually less the case in england, where their food was so bland and plain that EVERYONE lovingly embraced garlic as the hot new sensation it was, and started adding it to..pretty much everything…but if modern day cooking blogs have taught us nothing else, it’s that pretty much all dishes from that area could use WAY more.
Anyway, eventually with all the conquering garlic spread far and wide- lending it’s flavor to pretty much any savory dish you can think of!
Now, onto another rabbit hole that has perplexed my brain for ages- why does garlic sometimes turn blue when it’s being cooked with??
Well, as it turns out, this only happens when garlic is being used with something acidic, and the enzymes in the acid cause the Allicin to oxidize, turning it that wonky shade of blue.
While it is a little weird, and maybe even a little off putting at times, there is nothing wrong with the garlic- it's still perfectly fine to eat, and should taste exactly the same! But if the blue bothers you, try mixing your garlic in with something more basic, or at the very least with something that can protect it a bit more from the acid!
Okay- so now that we’ve covered all of the subtle ways garlic is adding magic into our lives, let’s talk about how the heck it fits into the Macbeth potion, shall we?
Historians believe that the most likely candidate for Owlet’s wing was either ginger (because it kind of looks like a wing sometimes) and garlic- because its cloves also kinda look like tiny wings I guess, and it was a commonly used herb at the time.
Bearing in mind that this spell is supposed to *attract* pure evil, not repel it like garlic would typically be used for, I would guess that maybe it’s intended to be an offering, or to give whatever spirit they are summoning a bit of extra vitality- though that is CERTAINLY not canon, nor would it really make a ton of sense given what we know garlic is *actually* said to do in witchcraft. Now admittedly, I didn’t do a deep dive into every practice of magic out there, so there may be some spells or traditions where garlic would be used to aid in attracting some kind of big bad, but none that I found.
I could probably go on for HOURS about the fabled facts and true histories of Garlic, but for now, I hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about a plant you probably use every day, or at the very least, see alllll the time! There is so many interesting traditions I couldn’t quite get to, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we revisit this one at some point! Until then, I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite places and topics from this episode for you to explore.
The first is gateway garlic farms- they are a really lovely brand, and are actually part of the garlic festival that happens in saint louis every year- such a fun and nerdy festival for anyone close enough to check it out!
Next is the new Carrot museum in my heart (though nothing will ever replace that site) its garlic Escape- so many puns all nestled into a delightful blog dedicated to the wonders of garlic the world over- a true must visit in my book, if for no other reason than to bask in someone else’s unabashed love for something.
After that is The demonic tooth worms (of COURSE) and if you are my friend IRL you have been forced to hear about these forever, and if you want to learn more, go check out the episode from tea time oddities (in the show notes)
If you haven’t listened to the newest crossover I did with frenndiagram, please go check that out- we watched annihilation, and you can watch along with us like the movie night you didn’t know you needed, you can find part one on my feed, and part two on theirs!
ALSO- massive shout out to Kat for taking on editing the show- it's part of content creation that I really struggle with, and I feel really lucky to have her on the team! Hopefully you all have noticed the magnificent improvement already!
That’s probably enough plugging for one episode,but I'll be back next week with a super fun finale to our potion miniseries. Catch you then!
Links:
Leek Episode
Snowdrop Episode
Annihilation Episode
Frenndiagram
Tea Time Oddities
Sources:
GARLIC ESCAPES BLOG-https://garlicescapes.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/a-greek-mythology-lesson/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/porphyria/symptoms-causes/syc-20356066#:~:text=Porphyria%20(por%2DFEAR%2De,the%20body%27s%20organs%20and%20tissues.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/porphyria/symptoms-causes/syc-20356066#:~:text=Porphyria%20(por%2DFEAR%2De,the%20body%27s%20organs%20and%20tissues.
