Garlic is usually peeled and finely chopped before using in a dish. Cooking mellows its flavour and subdues its bitterness and strong smell, so it's seldom eaten raw. It can be roasted whole in its papery covering.

It's a great flavouring for pizzas, pasta dishes, with chicken, beef, lamb, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable stir-frys as well as with mayonnaise, bean salads, and on its own, as the base for Spanish garlic soup.