Marbled Purple Striped Garlic, Bzenec – 4 oz

Native to south-central Asia, garlic was probably domesticated from a single variety, Allium longicuspis, thousands of years ago. Today the plant is grown on every continent except Antarctica.

Garlic, which is a member of the same group of plants as the onion, has been cultivated for millennia. As a cultivated plant, it is so old that it is difficult to credit a country of origin for this vegetable. All modern garlic belongs to one of two subspecies: hardneck (ophioscorodon) or softneck (sativum). Hardneck subspecies try to produce flower stalks with small aerial cloves called bulbils. Hardnecks will not produce large bulbs underground unless the flower stalks are removed. There are three varieties of hardneck garlic: Purple Striped, Porcelain and Rocambole. Softnecks have lost the ability, for the most part, to produce a flower stalk. However, under certain climatic situations, the bulbs may try to produce a flower stalk known as bolting. There are three varieties of softneck garlic: Artichoke, Silverskin and Creole.

The Striped Garlics, hardnecks, are so named because of the striking purple stripes and blotches on the clove skins and bulb wrappers. These are the most beautiful of all the garlic varieties and they also have outstanding flavor. Glazed Purple Striped varieties mature earlier than standard Striped varieties and are shinier. Both varieties have 8-12 cloves per bulb. Marbled Purple Stripe varieties have mottled bulb wrappers and large cloves, usually 4-7 cloves per bulb.

The Marbled Purple Striped Garlics are an intriguing group. While the plants are more similar to Purple Stripes, the bulbs can easily be mistaken for Rocamboles. When broken apart, the bulbs display characteristics of both Rocamboles and Purple Stripes. Bulb wrappers tend to be mottles rather than striped, and most strains have only 4-7 cloves per bulb.

Bzenec, AKA Bzenec Blue comes from the Czech town of Bzenec which is located near the Austrian border in Czechoslavakia. This garlic is the oldest “officially registered” garlic in Czechoslavakia. Bzenec was brought to the United States by respected New York garlic collector, Dr. Boris Andrst.

Bzenec is very hot and spicy when consumed raw and retains its rich garlic flavor when cooked. The cloves are large for a Marbled Purple Stripe garlic, but, in general, would be described as medium-sized. An individual bulb will contain 4-6 cloves.