Leoncito

From the beginning, garlic lovers in the northern hemisphere have been able to get freshly harvested and cured garlic for only a few months in the fall following summer harvest but seldom beyond the end of the year harvested and only rarely into February or March because garlic matures only one crop a year and each crop has only a few months before it must sprout and grow or dehydrate and wither, so we had to endure agonizing  months without our favorite fresh, firm garlics.  BUT NOT ANY LONGER!  Ben and Claire Ronniger went to a remote part of Argentina in search of a Certified Organic garlic grower and found exactly what they had been searching for and have decided to import their organic Leoncito (little lion in Spanish) garlic and make it available to everyone via their website, Allicins Ranch.com along with their own Certified Organic varieties in season.This large softneck artichoke is unusual in several ways; color, taste and storability. Leoncito has more purple in the bulb wrappers than one usually sees in an artichoke and the lush semi-thick wrappers peel easily away revealing large cream-colored cloves with elongated tips and only the faintest hint of purple. It harvests in mid season and stores very well until winter. It averages eight oir ni large fat cloves in three clove layers and usually has no small internal cloves.

Leoncito ranks about 5 - 6 on the garlickiness scale and 8-9 on the pungency side. It has a semi-rich flavor and a lot of bite that just increases with age and it stores well for 6-8 months.

Many Artichoke garlics tend to be somewhat mild, but this one is different. Depending on growing conditions, it can be very hot and strong. This is especially good if one uses garlic for natural, herbal medical or folk remedies as hot raw taste vis an indication that it produces lots of allicin. At first, it doesn't seem to have any aftertaste at all - then in a few minutes it begins to grow and becomes very noticeable and builds to a peak in about thirty minutes. If you like garlic with a bold flavor that really sticks around, this is for you. In years where the taste is milder due to growing conditions, the aftertaste is still strongly present, even though the initial taste is milder. A real garlic lover's garlic.