ROASTED GARLIC vs. GARLIC CONFIT
Grab a nice loaf of bread, dig the tender cloves out, drizzle with the oil and enjoy!
Just a quick post to give some observational consideration to two items that are basically the same thing. There are few subtle differences perhaps, but not much. I am refraining from looking anything up online to give any exacting definition to these terms. I will give my opinions only, defining words in my own terms as opposed to what a culinary book or dictionary may state (hopefully they are similar enough).
Starting first with confit (con-fee), essentially any food item that is very slowly braised or poached in its own (or another type of) fat. The most commonly known and loved application of this is a duck leg confiture. This is a fairly in depth procedure that one day we can get more into, but for now let’s say it is well-seasoned, slightly salt cured duck legs submerged in duck fat and cooked very slowly until fork tender. The legs are stored in their cooking fat completely devoid of oxygen touching them which lends to longer shelf life once prepared. It was always my understanding that this technique was used by the French to extend the life of this product in a cool setting without having proper refrigeration.
At any rate, that brings us to what many chefs like to call garlic confit. It’s an elegant, sophisticated name to be sure, and it is accurate for what it is. It’s also roasted garlic. But really it’s more like garlic poached in oil. It won’t get any caramelization on it if done carefully. And maybe there’s the big difference. Roasted garlic, specifically the example we will show below, is going to be cooked at a slightly higher temperature. Cooked in the oven it will have a deep, rich brown caramelized appearance.
The garlic confit preparation will be simple. Remove garlic cloves from the head, slice the root end off, peel without crushing them, cover with olive oil, cook on stove top at the lowest possible flame you can get. They are done when they are completely soft and full cooked through. Let cool and store in its cooking oil. I think the main advantage of this process is it allows you to use an attractive, well preserved and fully edible garlic clove on a plate.
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