What: Fresh garlic

Season: Summer; dry garlic available year-round.

About: This particular garlic is a purple Italian variety, with purple striations throughout the bulb. Check at local farm stands for a wide range of varieties. Each will offer a different flavor. Farm-fresh garlic is not like the dry, papery kind you get at the grocery store, which has been cured for monthslong storage. Fresh garlic is more perishable and also tends to be more vibrant and varying in flavor. This variety has a bold, spicy flavor to match its purple appearance. If you want to give new garlic varieties a try, start looking now for choices. According to “The New Food Lover’s Companion” by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst, you may want to give garlic a shot for its purported health qualities. “Throughout the centuries, its medicinal claims have included cures for toothaches, consumption, open wounds and evil demons.”

Preparation: This is the fun part. When raw, garlic has a very strong flavor, and a little goes a long way. One clove can flavor a salad’s worth of vinaigrette or bowl of hummus. One way to mellow out the flavor is through roasting. Consider chopping the top off of the garlic, so that a portion of each clove shows. Now wrap the bulb in aluminum foil. Place a half-inch of water into the bottom of a muffin tin and place the foil-covered bulb on top (alternatively, you can skip the water and drizzle some olive oil on top of the garlic before wrapping it). Roast in a 400-degree oven for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the garlic is soft and pliable and not overly brown. Serve on warm bread.

— Alandra Johnson

Produce purchased from Agricultural Connections, which distributes goods from regional farms (www.agriculturalconnections.com).