GARLIC VINEGAR

2 oz. garlic, peeled and chopped
1 qt. white wine vinegar

Garlic is ready for this purpose from midsummer to Michaelmas [Sept. 29].
Peel and chop two ounces of garlic, pour on them a quart of white wine vinegar, stop the jar close, and let it steep ten days, shaking it well every day; then pour off the clear liquor into small bottles.
Obs: The cook must be careful not to use too much of this; a few drops of it will give a pint of gravy a sufficient smack of the garlic, the flavor of which, when slight and well blended, is one of the finest we have; when used in excess, it is the most offensive. The best way to use garlic, is to send up some of this vinegar in a cruet, and let the company flavor their own sauce as they like.

The Cook's Oracle by William Kitchiner, MD, New York, 1832

Comment: Dr. Kitchiner's precise notes on timing remind us that our ancestors were far more in tune with the rhythms of the seasons and the growing cycles of plants than we are today. We expect, reasonably enough, to be able to walk into any store at any time and buy fresh garlic regardless of whether it is before or after Michaelmas.

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