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Take a couple of heads of garlic, sit them in some oil with spices, and cook for an hour or two, then spread it on bread. It's great...with the right kind of garlic. With the wrong kind, you'll be praying for death, and so will everyone around you.
I've tried this a couple of times, and trial and error is not cutting it. Does anyone know a variety of garlic that is mild enough for this sort of thing, but still possible to find in a store?
Almost all readily available garlic is of the softneck variety. The mildest of true softnecks is artichoke garlic. Aside from a true softneck garlic, you may also want to try Elephant garlic. This is milder than true garlic, as it is actually part of the leek family, and might be too mild for what you're attempting to do here. Try both!
I've never had a problem with the generic stuff available in your general supermarket -- I can only assume that you've either burned the garlic (nasty and bitter), or haven't cooked it long enough to develop the sugars (still potent & hot), or that the garlic was bruised before cooking.
I cut off the tops of the head to expose the cloves, place it on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and wrap it up. Toss it into a 375F oven (190C), and leave for an hour.
It should turn soft all the way through. Grab the head (I have welding gloves that I use as potholders, if you don't, you might need to let cool for a few minutes), and squeeze over a plate -- the cloves should pop out easily and be a medium to dark brown.
Mash with a fork, then scoop into a jar, cover with a little bit of olive oil, and I've had it last for a month in the fridge.
Hardneck garlic is a delicacy, usually found only at local farmers market, but many farmers are starting to offer it online. The flavors and properties vary significantly. "Siberian" hardneck garlic is slightly sweet and carmelizes into the most awesome taste sensation I've ever tasted. Softneck or Elephant does not carmelize like Siberian. "Metechi" is also a type of hardneck that carmelizes, and it has a distinct earty, slightly bitter flavor. Available online at Abbott Organics.com
