At SmokED Stuff, we believe that great ingredients make great food. That’s why we take great care in sourcing only the freshest and most responsibly produced ingredients for our premium seasonings.
A major ingredient we use is Granulated Garlic. We source our Garlic from California, which is more costly than sourcing it from China, but we do that for several reasons, and we’d like to explain why. Disclosure – this article is a little long, but we think it’s worth a 5-minute read.
Firstly – Taste.
The taste of California Garlic has been proven to be superior to Chinese Garlic both formally and informally. Some methods have been blind taste tests, which are considered unscientific, and others have been brix tests conducted by the National Food Laboratory.
· The blind taste tests had chefs tasting and then voting for which was the more flavorful garlic. The result was that the California garlic was thought to be more flavorful.
· In the brix tests, the lab measured allicin, the compound in garlic that gives it its scent when crushed. The results showed that the California Garlic has 4,400 parts per million (ppm) of this odiferous compound while Chinese garlic only has 3,500 ppm.
Secondly – Traceability.
Chinese supply chain issues are concerning. 10 billion pounds of garlic is produced in China each year. It is grown by nearly 1.2 million farmers, across five major growing regions, whose crops are usually cultivated on less than two acres of land. These operations are run like a home garden, where generic seeds are used, and the application of fertilizers and pesticides do not have to be documented and are not regulated.
After harvest, the garlic is sorted into three categories: 60% gets sent to the fresh market, 20% is reserved for seed, and the rest is sent to be flaked/processed into dehydrated garlic products. The garlic that has been graded for dehydrated products is purchased by a collector who sells it to a larger wholesaler. From there, the garlic is placed on the floor of an open-air, wholesale garlic market, where it is auctioned off and taken to a facility to be flaked and processed.
That’s at least five different hands the garlic has passed through before it has even been packed. This complex supply chain is why it’s often impossible to get traceability from farm-to-shelf in China.
At the suppliers we use, garlic is grown specifically for the dried garlic market. Our suppliers have direct ownership of the entire supply chain, from seed to processed ingredient, which allows us to provide our customers with flavorful and fully traceable garlic with unparalleled food safety standards.
Our garlic starts as cloves at their research and development facility in Hanford, California, where it goes through their proprietary virus-free garlic program. From there, it is planted and harvested by their agricultural operations team and cultivated in partnership with local farmers.
The entire process happens in California, where farmers are held to the highest standards and face the most stringent regulations — creating the safest and most sustainable garlic in the world.
At their plant in Gilroy, California, where the garlic is washed and milled, experts ensure quality checks throughout the entire process. Then it’s packaged and prepped to be shipped to SmokED Stuff.
Lastly – we support American farmers.
According to the USDA, agriculture contributed 5.4% to the US Gross Domestic Product and provided 10.4% of US employment. It only makes sense to buy American when we can.
Elevate your dishes to the next level with our unique blends and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that you’re using the best possible ingredients in your cooking. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to take your meals from ordinary to extraordinary. Visit smokedstuff.com today to take advantage of these special products.