question regarding repulsion to dishes prepared with garlic in a certain way

Question

I normally don't use garlic paste but I like the taste of garlic, I love garlic pickle, but I use garlic only in finely chopped pieces along with ginger paste in curries. I never had any problems with that. I have seen that in many recipes the use ginger-garlic paste and decided to try it.

Recently I ground ginger and garlic together, and honestly it smelled different. I added it to sauteed onions, and boiled potatoes and spices to make a curry. The dish had a distinct garlic-like but not exactly garlic smell or taste and almost made me vomit, even when I think of that, I nauseate. But everyone else I served the dish to, they said there was a garlic smell, but they did not feel repulsed and ate my dish.

My question is that how is this phenomena by which a particular person is repulsed by only a certain preparation of food, while the other people are not, possible? Also is there a workaround for using ginger-garlic paste and eliminate its repulsive taste?

Edit: I noticed that the particular repulsive smell and taste occurred after several minutes of sauteing with onions.

Answer 1

The garlic clove contains a lot of volatile chemicals, and they get brought out when the physical clove that contains it gets cut or smashed.

Pushing the clove through a press, or grinding it brings out all the different volatile chemicals, in full force, compared to leaving the head or a clove intact, or versus a coarse chop or fine chop.

There are probably some bitter aromatics or the strength being brought to the fore that you don't care for.

It's also possible that those flavors are interacting with the ginger in a way that you don't care for. It's not easy to say, since that's a matter of personal preference.

Garlic bulbs contain a sulfuric compound just like onions, shallots, and other members of the tasty allium family. In the wild, this acts as a defense to ward away animals. In our kitchens, the same sulfur compounds transform our food into aromatic, mouthwatering dishes – though raw garlic is still a bit too potent for many of us to enjoy!

The sulfur compounds are released as soon as we cut into a bulb of garlic and expose the inside surfaces to oxygen in the air. More chopping will release more of the compounds, so it follows that minced garlic and garlic paste will have the strongest taste.

We use garlic paste and minced garlic in dishes where we want a strong garlic flavor permeating the dish. The small little pieces will also dissolve into the other ingredients over long cooking, leaving sauces smooth and evenly seasoned.

Whole garlic is at the other end of the spectrum. Since the sulfur compounds are never forcefully released, whole garlic will simply add a subtle and slightly sweet garlic flavor to dishes. Crushing the cloves releases a little of the sulfur, making the garlic flavor a little stronger. Roughly chopped garlic dials up the flavor yet again.

TheKitchn.com: Whole, Crushed, or Minced Garlic: What’s the Difference?