Living With Garlic Intolerance or Allergy

Tips for Coping with a Garlic Intolerance or Allergy

1. Dining out? Ask questions. Don't be ashamed. Your garlic allergy or intolerance is a real medical condition. Food allergies can lead to life-threatening situations if a restaurant staff does not take your condition seriously! You may wish to call a restaurant before making a reservation or planning a meal there, to ask about the chef's use of garlic. Find out if they will be able to accommodate you with a garlic free or at least raw garlic-free meal depending on your needs. It can just be helpful to know what kind of options you may have available without worry.
   
   Or, once at the restaurant, ask questions of your server. Does their house salad dressing contain raw garlic? Could you get regular mashed potatoes instead of garlic mashed potatoes (or some other side-dish substitute?) Is there garlic in their bread dipping sauce, and if so could you get some plain butter or olive oil instead? Don't be ashamed of or afraid to ask for information. If you can't be accommodated or the server just says "I don't know" without asking the chef, eat elsewhere.
2. Look to cuisines that don't excessively use garlic in their cooking. Japanese food, for instance, is one cuisine which seems to be very safe for those with garlic problems - I cannot say I've ever seen it on an ingredient list or had a garlic reaction from Japanese food. Use of garlic is not as prevalent in the cuisines of Northern Europe, including Germany and Scandinavia. Authentic Northern Italian food (and restaurants) take a much lighter approach to garlic usage than their Southern "Red gravy" counterparts. In contrast I've found Middle Eastern food often sets off my garlic intolerance as can Korean, as much as I enjoy both cuisines.
3. Read labels carefully. If you have a severe garlic allergy, you'll have to be very careful with pre-prepared foods, as garlic may simply be one of the many unnamed "spices" on a label. Garlic powder is very problematic to many people with a garlic allergy and you'll sadly find garlic is in nearly every kind of prepackaged seasoning or condiment, from ketchup to salad dressings to pasta sauces to canned soups and frozen dinners. You may do best shopping in specialty markets and looking for products designed to be allergin-conscious - or, realize that you may have to do more cooking from scratch to avoid that nasty garlic in everything!
4. Grilled fish and meat is typically a safe bet. When in doubt at a restaurant, you usually can't go too badly wrong with a nice grilled steak, or grilled/steamed/pan-fried fish. Just do find out if the meat is marinated first (garlic is often used there) and ask for any sauces to be served on the side or left off completely. Who needs more than salt, pepper and a little butter on a good steak, anyway?
5. If you can tolerate garlic in some forms, adjust how you cook with it. If you're not allergic but just intolerant to raw garlic, try modifying recipes to suit your need. Instead of adding raw garlic to dips and condiments, saute your garlic in olive oil first until well-browned. Instead of adding finely chopped garlic to a marinade or sauce, just crush the cloves to release their oils - and that way you can later pick out the cloves and avoid consuming them whole. Or use garlic in a traditionally Northern Italian way when pan-frying or making sauces: warm crushed cloves in your olive oil on the stove, but immediately remove them from the pan once turning brown or after a minute or two at high heat. This way the garlic lightly flavors your cooking oil without dominating the dish. I've found these tricks typically help me safely consume garlic without suffering indigestion or pain afterward.
6. Always be cautious if you are allergic, no matter how much you've been reassured a dish is "safe". Many people just don't understand how serious a food allergy can be. They'll think if they just remove the garlic cloves or scrape them off a dish, you'll be fine if you "don't see the garlic there." They'll not realize that garlic is already in an ingredient in the pre-prepared seasonings and sauces they're using in their recipes. Cross-contamination can be a problem as well for the highly sensitive, such as using the same serving utensils in plating "garlic-free" and "garlic-laden" dishes.