Types of Garlic

Garlic has two subspecies: hardneck and softneck. These two subspecies than can be broken down into 11 types of garlic.. Each type of garlic has many "varieties" or "kinds" so there are tons of different garlic. Garlic flavor is subjective so experiment and try a few kinds to find the kind you enjoy the most. Each type has a different storage period. Most garlic from the superstore is softneck so if you're looking for a garlic with more kick try a hardneck. In Manitoba the Rooster variety which is sold in almost all big box stores is from China and is a softneck. They bleach this garlic and I'm sure there is other chemicals they use (think about it, it will take a couple of months to a year before the garlic is sitting on a Manitoba shelf: pulled from a field, sent to a factory, China factory, China customs, ship, Canadian customs, than shipped to a factory, and how many more steps).

Below are the most common varieties of garlic and the kinds I grow or would like to grow.

Marbled Purple Stripe

• Stores up to 5-8 months

• Has big cloves (4-7 cloves per head)

• Hot flavor

• Have beautiful purple wrappers

• Kinds: Red Russian and Siberian

Glazed Purple Stripe

• Stores up to 5-8 months

• Has big cloves (8-10 cloves per head)

• Mild with good garlic flavor

• They do better in drier soils or soils that have good drainage

• Kinds: Red Razen and Oregon

Purple Stripe

• Stores up to 4-8 months

• (8-12 cloves)

• Mild and rich flavor and is an excellent roasting garlic

• Kinds: Chesnok Red and Persian Star

• Russian Red is also considered a Purple Stripe, but when I bought it it was classified as a Rocambole.

Rocambole

• Stores up to 4-6 months

• Big cloves (8-12 cloves)

• Considered to have the best flavor. Sweet, rich, and complex

• Kinds: Spicy Korean Red and Ukrainian Hot

Porcelain

• Stores up to 6 months

• Massive cloves (4-6 cloves)

• One of the hottest tasting garlics

• Kinds: German White, Music, and Mennonite.

Artichoke

• Stores up to 8-12 months

• Smaller cloves (10-14 cloves)

• Milder flavor

• Is a soft neck garlic that can be braided

• Kinds: Italian Softneck and Inchelium Red