Garlic breath isn’t really about your mouth. Once allicin and the other sulfur compounds in garlic hit your bloodstream, they start working their way out through your lungs — which is why mouthwash barely touches it. The fix has to work from the inside, and a handful of everyday foods do exactly that.
Nature’s Internal Deodorizers
- Raw Apples: They are the absolute standout here. Apples are rich in enzymes and polyphenols that chemically break down and completely neutralize the volatile sulfur compounds responsible for the smell, rather than just masking them.
- Fresh Mint & Parsley: These work through a different route. They are loaded with chlorophyll and phenolic compounds that actively deodorize both the mouth and the stomach when chewed.
- Green Tea: The catechins (a powerful class of antioxidants) in green tea measurably cut down the concentration of garlic’s odor compounds with just a single warm cup.
- Raw Greens: Crunching on raw greens generally does some quiet cleanup work on the palate. Spinach and lettuce work great, or you can try something less common like purslane if you happen to have it around.
Bacon, Purslane & Tomato Salad
Speaking of purslane — if you’ve never cooked with it, it’s worth seeking out. It tastes almost exactly like clean, mild cucumber, and it carries a surprising amount of vitamin C along with Omega-3 fatty acids, which is highly unusual for a leafy green. This salad puts it front and center against smoky bacon and ripe tomato, balancing heavier, richer meals perfectly.
What You’ll Need
- Fresh purslane leaves, foraged or store-bought, thoroughly washed
- Crispy cooked bacon, crumbled
- Ripe garden tomatoes, diced
- 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
- A light vinaigrette (apple cider vinegar, a hint of minced garlic, salt, and pepper)
How to Put It Together
- Toss the purslane, diced tomatoes, and white beans together in a large bowl.
- Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss gently so you don’t bruise the purslane.
- Top with the crumbled bacon right before serving, ensuring it stays crunchy instead of going soft in the dressing.
Pro Tip: If you end up with more purslane than you know what to do with, it’s worth pickling the surplus. Blanch the leaves in boiling water for exactly 30 seconds, then pack them into sterilized jars with apple cider vinegar, garlic cloves, peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaves, and a red hot pepper. Winter you will be grateful.
Turning a Tomato Surplus Into Winter Gold
A good tomato harvest has a way of turning into a problem — counters full of fruit that’ll go soft before you can eat it all. Canning is the answer, and these two recipes turn that surplus into something you’ll actually reach for in January.
1. Homemade Spicy V8 Vegetable Juice
What You’ll Need
- 4 lbs. homegrown tomatoes, quartered
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 bunch celery, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 8 hot peppers (adjusted to your spice tolerance)
- 1 head of garlic, fully peeled
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons salt (or half celery salt)
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons mixed herbs (oregano, basil, and a couple of allspice berries)
- Optional: A handful of spinach, cabbage leaves, kale, watercress, or fresh parsley for an extra nutritional boost.
How to Put It Together
- Simmer base: Combine everything except the sugar in a large pot. Bring it to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, then ease it back slightly and hold it at a steady boil for 2 hours to let the flavors fully develop.
- Strain: Pull the pot off the heat and strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot, pressing firmly with the back of a spoon to squeeze out every bit of liquid. (Don’t toss the leftover pulp — it’s a solid base for other cooking!)
- Reduce and bottle: Return the strained liquid to the stove and boil for another 2 hours, until it’s reduced down to roughly 3 quarts. Stir in the sugar, pull it off the heat, and let it cool fully before bottling.
2. Old-Fashioned Rich Tomato Ketchup
What You’ll Need
- 1 peck fresh tomatoes (about 8 quarts, or 16 lbs.)
- 3 large carrots, sliced
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- Optional: Cinnamon sticks, mace, cayenne, Piri Piri pepper, or horseradish to put your own stamp on it.
How to Put It Together
Can safely: Pour the hot ketchup into sterilized 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace, and seal tightly. Process the jars for 15 minutes in a pressure canner for safe, stable storage.
Prep the tomatoes: Score a small “X” into the top of each tomato, then scald them in boiling water for 60 seconds before plunging them straight into ice water. Slide the skins right off and discard the hard stem tops.
Slow cook: Combine the peeled tomatoes with the sliced carrots, onions, vinegar, and all the spices in a large pot or pressure cooker. Simmer slowly on low heat for 3 hours (or process for 1 hour if using a pressure cooker) until fully softened.
Smooth and thicken: Push the whole mixture through a food mill or ricer until smooth and silky. Return it to the pot and simmer uncovered until it thickens down into a real, non-runny ketchup texture.